Vivian Martin(1893-1987)
- Actress
On Broadway from 1901, vivacious, blonde Vivian Martin was one of the
first stars of the stage to be signed by the fledgling World Film Corporation
in 1914 (then under the auspices of Arthur Spiegel and
Lewis J. Selznick). Vivian's first
step to fame had come in 1911, when the impresario
George M. Cohan cast her as an ingénue
for "The Only Son". She then had several back-to-back hits in romantic
plays which brought her the attention of the film studios. Vivian
rapidly emerged as the youngest major star at Paramount-Artcraft, even
briefly regarded as a serious rival to the great
Mary Pickford and dubbed "the world's
sweetheart" (her other nickname was "The Dresden China Figurine"). She
acted opposite most of the popular leading men of the period, including
Harold Lockwood,
Harrison Ford (no relation to
THE Harrison Ford), Ralph Graves and
Niles Welch.
She was inevitably cast as emotive, engagingly sweet, or naive mademoiselles, waifs, models, country girls and débutantes. In 1920, Vivian set up her own production company. However, the public were unwilling to accept her in more emancipated roles and her films flopped, and mounting studio rentals and an expensive lawsuit further diminished what was left of her career. Between 1926 and 1929, Vivian enjoyed a brief resurgence in marital dramas on Broadway, but not enough to resuscitate her acting prospects. By 1935, she effectively disappeared from stage and screen, but remained in public view as a philanthropist, a noted benefactor to the New York Professional Children's School. Vivian was married to Arthur H. Samuels, a former editor for The New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar.
She was inevitably cast as emotive, engagingly sweet, or naive mademoiselles, waifs, models, country girls and débutantes. In 1920, Vivian set up her own production company. However, the public were unwilling to accept her in more emancipated roles and her films flopped, and mounting studio rentals and an expensive lawsuit further diminished what was left of her career. Between 1926 and 1929, Vivian enjoyed a brief resurgence in marital dramas on Broadway, but not enough to resuscitate her acting prospects. By 1935, she effectively disappeared from stage and screen, but remained in public view as a philanthropist, a noted benefactor to the New York Professional Children's School. Vivian was married to Arthur H. Samuels, a former editor for The New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar.
