Elita Proctor Otis

Elita Proctor Otis (1851 or 1860 – August 10, 1927) was an American actress.[1] She had a long distinguished stage career before her foray into early silent films. In 1909 she may have been the first actress to play Nancy Sikes on screen in a Vitagraph produced version of Oliver Twist.[2]

Elita Proctor Otis
portrait of Proctor Otis
Born1860 (1860)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedAugust 10, 1927(1927-08-10) (aged 66–67)
Pelham, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active1909–1926
SpouseWilliam C. Camp
RelativesRedfield Proctor (great-uncle)

Early years and career

She was born around 1860 in Cleveland, Ohio.[3] Her father, William Henry Otis,[4] was a banker.[5] Redfield Proctor, who was a senator from Vermont, was her great-uncle.[4]

Otis's stage debut came with the Kemble Dramatic Society.[6] She made her professional debut as Ernestine Echo in Crust of Society at the Globe Theatre in Boston.[7]

Broadway plays in which Otis performed included The House of Bondage (1914), Potash and Perlmutter (1913), Are You a Crook? (1913), The Purple Road (1913), The Greyhound (1912), The Three Romeos (1911), The Girl from Rector's (1909), Mary's Lamb (1908), Society and the Bulldog (1908), The Little Michus (1907), About Town (1906), The Two Orphans (1904), In the Midst of Life (1902), The Brixton Burglary (1901), Quo Vadis (1900), Woman and Wine (1900), and A Ward of France (1897).[8]

Later years and death

Otis was married to William C. Camp.[9][10]

For the last 12 years of her life she was an invalid. She died on August 10, 1927, in Pelham, New York.[1] Her funeral was held at the Church of the Transfiguration on August 17, 1927, and she was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.[11]

Filmography
  • Adventures of a Drummer Boy (1909) (credited as Elita Otis)
  • Oliver Twist (1909) as Nancy Sykes
  • Les Misérables (Part I) (1909) aka The Galley Slave
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909) as Hippolyta
  • The Great Diamond Robbery (1914) as Mother Rosenbaum
  • The Greyhound (1914) as 'Deep Sea Kitty' Doyle
  • The Triflers (1920) (as Olita Otis) as. Effie Stilwell
  • Under Northern Lights (1920) (credited as Oleta Ottis) as Madge Carson
  • The Torrent (1921) (credited as Oleta Ottis) as Anne Mayhew
  • While the Devil Laughs (1921) (credited as Oleta Ottis) as Pearl De La Marr
  • The Secret of the Hills (1921) (credited as Oleta Otis) as Mrs. Miltimore
  • The Infidel (1922) (credited as Oleta Otis) as Miss Parliss
  • Refuge (1923) (credited as Olita Otis) as The Princess
  • Miss Nobody (1926) (credited as Oleta Otis) as Miriam Arnold
  • The Lost Express (1926) as Mrs. Arthur Standish

References
  1. "Elita Proctor Otis Dies. Once Prominent Actress Had Been an Invalid for 12 Years". The New York Times. August 15, 1927.
  2. Pictorial History of the Silent Screen by Daniel Blum c. 1953 pg. 14
  3. The 1870 census lists an "Ella P. Otis" born in 1860 and this may be her. Her parents were married on 14 September 1860. She listed herself as age 30 on 27 June 1901 on her marriage license. This would have her born in 1874. In the 1920 census her age would have her born in 1871. IMDB and IBDB use "1851" but the primary source for that information is not known.
  4. Browne, Walter; Koch, E. De Roy (1908). Who's Who on the Stage ... W. Browne & F. A. Austin. pp. 336–337. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  5. Fisher, James; Londré, Felicia Hardison (November 22, 2017). Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 502. ISBN 978-1-5381-0786-7. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  6. "Elita Proctor Otis at the Columbia". The Brooklyn Citizen. February 15, 1903. p. 16. Retrieved June 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Theatres This Week". The Baltimore Sun. April 27, 1902. p. 8. Retrieved June 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Elita Proctor Otis". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. "Mrs. Thorne wins in $100,000 suit". The New York Times. June 13, 1926. p. 26. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  10. "William C. Camp". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 8, 1935. p. N 11. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  11. "Ella Proctor Otis Rites". The New York Times. August 18, 1927. p. 21. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
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