Nance O'Neil

Known for

Acting

Born

October 6, 1874

Birthplace

Oakland, California, USA

Died

February 7, 1965 (aged 90)

Biography

Nance O'Neil, born Gertrude Lamson, was an American stage and screen actress. When she decided to become an actress, her religious father, George Lamson, an auctioneer, denounced his daughter in church for going on the stage and asked the congregation to pray for her. O'Neil's first performance in a professional production was in the role of a nun in Sarah at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco on October 16, 1893. At the height of her career, she was promoted on theatre bills and in period trade publications and newspapers as the "American Sarah Bernhardt".

Best known work

Filmography

1939
A Criminal at Large
as Lady Lebanon
1932
False Faces
as Mrs. Finn
1932
Westward Passage
as Mrs. von Stael (uncredited)
1931
Secret Service
as Mrs. Varney
1931
Their Mad Moment
as Grand Mere
1931
A Woman of Experience
as Countess Runyi
1931
Transgression
as Honora 'Nora' Maury
1931
The Good Bad Girl
as Mrs. Henderson
1931
Resurrection
as Princess Marya
1931
Cimarron
as Felice Venable
1931
The Royal Bed
as Martha, the Queen
1930
The Eyes of the World
as Myra Willard
1930
Call of the Flesh
as Mother Superior
1930
The Florodora Girl
as Mrs. Vibart
1930
The Lady of Scandal
as Lady Trench
1930
Ladies of Leisure
as Mrs. Strong
1930
The Rogue Song
as Princess Alexandra
1929
His Glorious Night
as Eugenie
1918
The Fall of the Romanoffs
as Czarina Alexandra
1917
Hedda Gabler
1917
Mrs. Balfame
as Mrs. Balfame
1917
The Seventh Sin
as Alma
1917
Seven Deadly Sins: Greed
1916
The Iron Woman
as Sarah Maitland
1916
The Toilers
as Jane Brett