Barriscale, Bessie

Bessie Barriscale and her husband Howard Hickman, 1915

Elizabeth Barry Scale was born in Hoboken, New Jersey , into a family of Irish immigrants from Cork County . Her cousins ​​were actresses of Edith and Mabel Taliaferro .

In the first decade of the 20th century, Barriscale worked in the drama theater on Broadway and in the wandering theaters, since cinema was not yet popular among theater actors. She began her acting career in 1913, actively working in the film company New York Motion Picture Company, Triangle Film Corporation , as well as in other studios. Her career ended in the early 1930s, when sound cinema began to emerge.

In 1918, Barriscale signed a contract with producer J. L. Frothigman from BB Features and Roberson Cole to shoot in 16 films. Since BB Features was regulated by the Arizona corporation, the films had to be shot, completed and delivered before January 21, 1921. Miss Barriskale became so popular that her managers insured her life for a half million dollars from unforeseen circumstances. The total revenue from these films was above 1,000,000 US dollars, which at that time was a very large sum.

Barriskale was a big fan of William Shakespeare and really wanted to transfer something from his plays to the big screen. The actress was also a great swimmer. Before filming in the film "Married Woman of Michael" (1919), a film adaptation of the novel Annette Kellerman , where she played a major role, she hired a swimming and diving instructor. A large swimming pool was built at Brunton Studios, where all water scenes were filmed. The director of this film was Henry Kolker .

In 1919, she went on a world tour with her husband - actor, director and producer Howard Hickman , as well as with their little son. They planned to turn this journey into a movie poem, and so they took an operator with them.

In 1921, Barriskale went to the east coast to play a role in the play “Skirts” ( Eng. “The Skirt” ). The premiere took place in Washington, DC , then she went on tour in Philadelphia and Boston , and later the performance was in New York . In previous years, Bariskeil participated in performances in the Belasco theater, in particular Bird of Paradise ( English Bird of Paradise ), in which she played Princess Luana, written by Richard Walton Tulli . In the early years, when she was still starting a career in Bodeville, two, three or even four performances per day were not unusual for her.

Actor Jackie Coogan and his parents bought Bessie Barriskale's house on Pellicera Square in Los Angeles in February 1922. The residence was valued at $ 45,000.

Barriskale returned to the stage in the production of "Woman Forever" ( eng. "Women Go On Forever" ). By that time, she had been married for 21 years, and her son was 20. The performance was premiered at the Hollywood Music Box in March 1928. She played a “typical housewife,” and admitted that she came to the rehearsal in a cotton dress, borrowed from her own wardrobe. She also said that she had been living in her home in Santa Monica , California for many years, and that she had learned how to cook more recently, especially for this role.

Her career began to decline in the early 1930s, the last film with her participation was The Man Who Got Back On His Head in 1934. However, Barriskale did not get lost, and opened her own production company, Bessie Barriscale Productions.

For her contribution to the development of the film industry, Bessie Barriskale received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The star is located on Hollywood Boulevard , its number is 6652.

The actress died in Kentfield , California on June 30, 1965. She was buried next to her husband in the Mount Tamalpais Cemetery cemetery in nearby San Rafha .

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  Bessie Barriscale in 1916

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  Bessie Barriskale Photography in Moving Picture World , 1917

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  Poster of the film " Joceline 's Wife" (1919)

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  Cover of the film "Joceline's Wife" (1919)

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  Poster for the film The Married Woman by Michael (1919)

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  The cover of the film "Her Market Price" (1919)

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  Good Luck Geraldine Lair movie poster (1920)

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  Cover of the film A Woman Who Understands (1920)

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  Cover of the film "The Unknown Mrs. Sands" (1920)

• Bessie Barriskale (Eng.) Internet Broadway Database
• The free encyclopedia
• Filmography Bessie Barriscale
• Official Hollywood Walk of Fame Website
• Forgotten stars silent movies