Phyllis Haver

Phyllis Haver
Haver in 1925
Born
Phyllis Maude Haver

(1899-01-06)January 6, 1899
Douglass, Kansas, U.S.
DiedNovember 19, 1960(1960-11-19) (aged 61)
Sharon, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1915–1930
Spouse
William Seeman
​
​
(m. 1929; div. 1945)​

Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era.

Early life

Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas, on January 6, 1898, to James Hiram Haver and Minnie Shanks Malone. Her father was a farmer and an oilman. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. (Another source says that her parents separated when she was 8 years old, and she and her mother went to California. She grew up in her maternal grandmother's home in Los Angeles.) Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High. After graduating, she played piano to accompany the new silent films in local theaters.

Career

Picture Play, June 1928, Phyllis Haver on the cover

Haver auditioned for comedy producer Mack Sennett on a whim. Sennett hired her as one of his original Sennett Bathing Beauties. Within a few years, she appeared as a leading lady in two-reelers for Sennett Studios. In 1923, Buster Keaton cast her as the female lead in his short The Balloonatic.

Later, while signed with DeMille-Pathé, Haver played the part of murderer Roxie Hart in the first film adaptation of Chicago in 1927, opposite Hungarian film actor Victor Varconi. One reviewer called her performance "astoundingly fine," and added that Haver "makes this combination of tragedy and comedy a most entertaining piece of work."

She performed in the comedy film The Battle of the Sexes (1928), directed by D. W. Griffith, and appeared with Lon Chaney in his last silent film, Thunder (1929).

Haver retired from the industry in 1929 with two sound films to her credit.

Personal life

On April 24, 1929, Haver married millionaire William Seeman with a service performed by New York Mayor James J. Walker at the home of Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist. The couple divorced in 1945. Haver had no children.

Death

Haver retired in Sharon, Connecticut. She died at age 60 from what a medical examiner said appeared to be an overdose of barbiturates in 1960. Her body was found by a housekeeper on November 20, 1960.

Selected filmography

Haver as a "beach beauty", photographed by Mack Sennett in 1917

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wood, Dorothy (December 4, 1960). "Phyllis Haver Suicide? 'No!'". The Wichita Eagle. p. 76. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, mont-alto.com; retrieved May 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ Phyllis Haver, Actress, dies, The Pittsburgh Press, November 21, 1960.
  4. ↑ Movie Review: Chicago Hall, Mordaunt. The New York Times, 1927; retrieved August 28, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Ex-Actress Found Dead in Her Home: Phyllis Haver, Who Starred in Silent Films, Believed to Have Taken Her Life". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 21, 1960. p. 58. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Phyllis Haver Wed to William Seeman". The New York Times. April 25, 1929. p. 25. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  7. ↑ Death Comes to Silent Star, Phyllis Haver[link removed], The Milwaukee Journal, November 21, 1960.
  8. ↑ "Kansas Silent Film Star Phyllis Haver is Dead", Lawrence Journal-World, November 21, 1960.

Bibliography