Vera Reynolds

Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1899, Reynolds first worked in films at age 12.[1] She began as a dancer, worked as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, and became a leading lady in silent motion pictures. Among her film credits are starring roles in Sam Wood's Prodigal Daughters (1923), and Cecil B. DeMille's Feet of Clay (1924), The Golden Bed (1925), The Road to Yesterday (1925) and Dragnet Patrol (1931) with George "Gabby" Hayes.

Vera Reynolds in the 1920s

On August 28, 1927, police in Hollywood reported that Reynolds had taken poison. Later the same evening she clarified what had occurred. She explained that an excited telephone operator had phoned the police when her mother requested a doctor. The police arrived along with an ambulance. The actress was found unconscious on the floor of a bathroom in her Hollywood home. Police responded initially to moans from the actress's mother who was outside the bathroom. When the door was opened they found the younger woman writhing in pain. Reynolds' mother believed her daughter had taken the poison by mistake, believing it to be medicine. Despite the actress's protestations she was transported to the emergency room and given emergency treatment. The attending physician said that he failed to find any trace of poison. Instead he thought Reynolds may have suffered an attack brought on by acute indigestion or ptomaine poisoning. Police had discovered a half-filled bottle of poison in the bathroom which led to their initial conclusion. Vera, upon returning to her home, described the initial report as "ridiculous"; saying "I have too much to live for." She said, "Life is indeed very sweet and I am certainly not ready to end it yet."

She married twice:

• To comedian Earl Montgomery;[2] they divorced in 1926.
• To Robert Ellis du Reel (1892–1974). In March 1938, Reynolds brought a breach of promise suit against Reel was reported. She sued Reel for $150,000, and contended she lived with Reel for nine years before she learned that they were not married. The suit claimed he promised to marry her, but failed to do so. During a recess in the trial Hollywood film director Robert G. Vignola, who believed the case could be reconciled out of court, assumed the role of peacemaker. Reynolds claimed to have had a marriage ceremony with Reel in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1926. Reel denied there had been a wedding, and stated the two had lived together unmarried. He remarked they "had the edge" on their unhappy married friends.

Reynolds died in Hollywood on April 22, 1962, aged 62, at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.[3] She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood.

• Dunkirk Evening Observer, "Breach Of Promise Suit Of Vera Reynolds Is Near Settlement", Saturday, March 26, 1938, p. 3
• Los Angeles Times, "Screen Star Vera Reynolds Funeral Set", April 25, 1962, Page B1
• Newark Advocate and American Tribune (Ohio), "Vera Reynolds, Pretty Blue-eyed Brunet, Possesses the Unusual - Is Popular", Saturday, July 28, 1928, p. 7
• Oakland Tribune, "Vera Reynolds Not Poisoned", August 29, 1927, p. 1
• St. Johns, Ivan, "A Surf Board Flapper," Photoplay, September 1924, p. 65.
• Syracuse Herald, "Vera Reynolds Wearies Of Being Farmed Out", July 31, 1928, p. 9

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vera Reynolds.

• Vera Reynolds at IMDb
• Photographs and literature on Vera Reynolds