Actress. Born Florence Russ in New York in 1888, she was adopted by Joseph and Amanda La Badie and raised as an only child. In 1908, she began a career on stage with a touring company, worked as an artist model and appeared on magazine covers. Introduced to D.W. Griffith by Mary Pickford in 1909, she appeared in several Biograph shorts in minor roles, including Bobby Harron's sister in "Enoch Arden" (1911). Feeling that she was not going to get featured parts at Biograph, she went to producer/director Edwin Thanhouser where she quickly became a popular star in such films as "The Last of the Mohicans" (1911) and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1912). She appeared in over 80 films during a two-year period with the company. Cashing in on the success of "The Perils of Pauline" (1914), Thanhouser starred her in the 1914 serial "The Million Dollar Mystery," a huge success for Thanhouser and La Badie. Starring roles continued, and her popularity grew. She was known for being willing to take risks and did many of her own stunts. She loved the wild rides at Coney Island, often rode a motorcycle to work, and learned to fly airplanes. After the completion of the war drama "The Man Without a Country" in August of 1917, she and friend Daniel Carson Goodman were driving outside of Ossining, New York, when her car's brakes failed while traveling down a hill. La Badie was seriously injured and spent the next two months in the hospital, but finally died on Oct. 13, 1917. A rumor persists that she had been murdered because of an alleged liaison that resulted in her being pregnant by a prominent politician of the time, but none of these allegations were ever proven. Florence La Badie has the dubious distinction of being the first female motion picture personality to die while at the height of popularity, and her death was cause for nationwide mourning by American moviegoers.
Actress. Born Florence Russ in New York in 1888, she was adopted by Joseph and Amanda La Badie and raised as an only child. In 1908, she began a career on stage with a touring company, worked as an artist model and appeared on magazine covers. Introduced to D.W. Griffith by Mary Pickford in 1909, she appeared in several Biograph shorts in minor roles, including Bobby Harron's sister in "Enoch Arden" (1911). Feeling that she was not going to get featured parts at Biograph, she went to producer/director Edwin Thanhouser where she quickly became a popular star in such films as "The Last of the Mohicans" (1911) and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1912). She appeared in over 80 films during a two-year period with the company. Cashing in on the success of "The Perils of Pauline" (1914), Thanhouser starred her in the 1914 serial "The Million Dollar Mystery," a huge success for Thanhouser and La Badie. Starring roles continued, and her popularity grew. She was known for being willing to take risks and did many of her own stunts. She loved the wild rides at Coney Island, often rode a motorcycle to work, and learned to fly airplanes. After the completion of the war drama "The Man Without a Country" in August of 1917, she and friend Daniel Carson Goodman were driving outside of Ossining, New York, when her car's brakes failed while traveling down a hill. La Badie was seriously injured and spent the next two months in the hospital, but finally died on Oct. 13, 1917. A rumor persists that she had been murdered because of an alleged liaison that resulted in her being pregnant by a prominent politician of the time, but none of these allegations were ever proven. Florence La Badie has the dubious distinction of being the first female motion picture personality to die while at the height of popularity, and her death was cause for nationwide mourning by American moviegoers.
Bio by: JCFHS'38
Inscription
"FEARLESS FLO"
SILENT FILM STAR
DEDICATED APRIL 27, 2014
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