Child Actress. Born Theo-Alice Jeanne and known as Taji, she was discovered playing in her parents' front yard by a talent scout. At the age of three, her first acting role was with Mary Pickford in the silent film, "Daddy Long Legs," leading to a publicity tour around the United States. By the 1920's, she acted in a series of films, including "Helen's Babies", "The Sign of the Rose," "Through the Back Door, " and "A Man From Nowhere." She continued to have occasional roles as an adult, but retired in the late 1940's from films. She married her first husband, Robert Drysdale in 1947 and had one son Don. Marrying Robert Grimes in 1949 and moving to Oxnard, that marriage produced four daughters Gloria, Victoria, Angela and Mimi. They remained married until her death. She continued to work in community theatre, including a 1964 production of "Gypsy" at the Plaza Players which featured all five children. Throughout her seventy-four year career, she appeared in over thirty films. She was also the sister of actor Fred Carpenter. After her death from emphysema, her husband purchased a brass plaque on seat number 5E in the Civic Arts Plaza Auditorium in Thousand Oaks that bears her name as a tribute to his late wife and in remembrance of her career.
Child Actress. Born Theo-Alice Jeanne and known as Taji, she was discovered playing in her parents' front yard by a talent scout. At the age of three, her first acting role was with Mary Pickford in the silent film, "Daddy Long Legs," leading to a publicity tour around the United States. By the 1920's, she acted in a series of films, including "Helen's Babies", "The Sign of the Rose," "Through the Back Door, " and "A Man From Nowhere." She continued to have occasional roles as an adult, but retired in the late 1940's from films. She married her first husband, Robert Drysdale in 1947 and had one son Don. Marrying Robert Grimes in 1949 and moving to Oxnard, that marriage produced four daughters Gloria, Victoria, Angela and Mimi. They remained married until her death. She continued to work in community theatre, including a 1964 production of "Gypsy" at the Plaza Players which featured all five children. Throughout her seventy-four year career, she appeared in over thirty films. She was also the sister of actor Fred Carpenter. After her death from emphysema, her husband purchased a brass plaque on seat number 5E in the Civic Arts Plaza Auditorium in Thousand Oaks that bears her name as a tribute to his late wife and in remembrance of her career.
Bio by: Maggie Mac
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