Betty Jewel

American actress
Max Schlesinger
​
(divorced)​
  • Frank Elfred

Betty Jewel (born Julia Baroni) was an American actress active in the 1920s.[1][2]

Biography

Betty was born in Omaha[3] to an Italian father, Attilio, and a French mother (who seems to have died when Betty was young). She later graduated from a convent before deciding to pursue a career in show business. Early on, she was a Ziegfeld showgirl. Her father owned a number of Italian restaurants, and he managed to secure his daughter a meeting with D.W. Griffith through some of his customers.[1][4]

Griffith took a liking to her and christened her "The Third Orphan of the Storm" (the other two being Dorothy and Lillian Gish).[1] Soon she was tapped to feature in films like The Silent Command and The New Commandment; she'd later win star status in Westerns like The Mysterious Rider and Arizona Bound. She reportedly spent a year learning to ride horses at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, to prepare for roles in these Westerns.[5]

She married Max Schlesinger in 1927; the pair eventually divorced, at which point she seems to have retired from the business.[6] She later married Frank Elfred. She was also briefly linked to British actor Ronald Colman.[2]

Filmography

  • Orphans of the Storm (1921)
  • The Silent Command (1923)
  • Mile-a-Minute Romeo (1923)
  • The Necessary Evil (1925)
  • The New Commandment (1925)
  • Partners Again (1926)
  • The Mysterious Rider (1927)
  • Arizona Bound (1927)
  • The Last Outlaw (1927)

References

  1. ^ a b c The Worm (30 Dec 1923). "A Worm's-Eye View of the Movies". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  2. ^ a b Thirer, Irene (1 Jun 1927). "Colman-Jewel Betrothal Report". The New York Daily News. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  3. ^ "'The Necessary Evil' coming to Dom". Evening Vanguard. California, Venice. November 12, 1925. p. 2. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Kingsley, Grace (February 5, 1927). "New Paramount Director". Los Angeles Times. p. 6. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Skill in the Saddle Won Role in Picture". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 13 Mar 1927. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  6. ^ Cowan, Joseph (14 Sep 1928). "Film King Calls Girl's $250,000 Suit a Joke". The New York Daily News. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Betty Jewel.
  • Betty Jewel at IMDb


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