Alta Allen
Alta Allen (born Alta Crowin) (September 6, 1904 – July 24, 1998) was an American actress.
Alta Allen | |
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![]() Allen in 1920 | |
Born | Alta Crowin September 6, 1904 Oakland, California, U.S. |
Died | July 24, 1998 93) Boonsboro, Maryland, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1921 – 1926 |
Spouse | Hampton Del Ruth (m. 1920 – ?) |
Early years
Allen was born as Alta Crowin[1] in Oakland, California in 1904 to a Scottish mother, Jessie (née Robertson), and W. J. Crowin, who hailed from the West Coast. She made her first professional performance at an Oakland theater in a production of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Allen's role in this production was as Beth March. She was ten years old at the time.
Allen was "one of the most popular of Oakland's younger social set."[2]
Career
Allen's early professional experience included acting in stock theater in Oakland and directing and performing in the Fairmont's Rainbow Lane revue.[2]
![](../I/AltaAllen.jpg.webp)
In 1920, William Fox, the founder of the Fox Film Corporation, observed Allen as she performed the leading role[3] at a musical revue within the Fairmont Hotel.[4] Subsequently, she signed a contract with his studios, although she would only perform one role in any silent film released by Fox Film: the 1921 comedy Skirts.[4] She would subsequently sign a contract with Universal Studios,[5] and later appeared in several films released by this corporation, including The Marriage Chance (1922),[6] and A Self-Made Failure (1924). Her final credited screen appearance occurred in 1926, as Thora Barton in the cast of The Set-Up.
Personal life and death
On November 25, 1920, Allen married actor, screenwriter, and director Hampton Del Ruth[1] (the couple later divorced).[7] She died of natural causes at her Boonsboro home on June 24, 1998, the age of 93.
Filmography
![](../I/Skirts_(1921)_-_7.jpg.webp)
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1921 | A Shocking Night | Bessie Lane | |
Seven Years Bad Luck | Betty | Max's Fiancée | |
Be My Wife | Mary | The subject of the main characters' affections | |
Skirts | Kidnapped girl | ||
1922 | The Marriage Chance | Eleanor Douglas | |
1924 | A Self-Made Failure | Mrs. Spike Malone | Alternative title: The Goof |
Daring Chances | Agnes Rushton | ||
1926 | The Set-Up | Thora Barton | Daughter of Cliff Barton, the murder victim |
Raggedy Rose | Rose's former co-worker | Uncredited role |
References
- Walker, Brent E. (13 January 2010). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland. p. 561. ISBN 978-0-7864-5707-6. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- "Oakland Girl to Be Starred Here". Oakland Tribune. September 11, 1921. p. 50. Retrieved December 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Balboa Films: A History and Filmography of the Silent Film Studio p. 170
- American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929 p. 381
- "Alta Allen". Silents Are Golden. Tim Lussier. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ""Marriage Chance" has Novel Plot". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 21, 1923. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- "Alta Crowin Mentioned in the Record of Hampton Del Ruth and Alta Crowin". familysearch.org. 1920-11-25. Retrieved 2016-10-02.