Helene Costello (June 21, 1906 – January 26, 1957) was an American stage and film actress, most notably of the silent era.
Helene Costello | |
|---|---|
 Costello in the 1920s | |
| Born | June 21, 1906 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1957 (aged 50) |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery |
| Other names | Helen Costello Miss Helene |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1909–1942 |
| Spouses | John W. Regan
(m. 1927; div. 1929)Arturo de Barrio
(m. 1933; div. 1939)George Lee Le Blanc
(m. 1940; div. 1946) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Maurice Costello Mae Costello |
| Relatives | Dolores Costello (sister) |
Early life and career
edit
Born in New York City, Costello was the youngest daughter of the prominent stage and pioneering film actor Maurice Costello and his actress wife Mae Costello (née Altschuk).[1] She had an older sister Dolores, who also became an actress and would go on to marry John Barrymore.[2] Costello first appeared on screen, opposite her father, in the 1909 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables.[3] She would continue acting in films throughout the 1910s as a child actor and also worked in vaudeville and appeared in stage roles.[4] In 1924, she appeared with her sister Dolores in George White's Scandals. Shortly thereafter, both sisters signed contracts with Warner Bros.[5] Costello reached her peak of public popularity in the mid-1920s and earned a reported $3,000 a week.[6]
Although she had been appearing on screen since her early childhood, Costello was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1927, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. In 1928, Costello co-starred in the first all-talking full-length feature film Lights of New York. Later that same year, she was released from her contract with Warner Bros. after she refused to star as a leading lady opposite Rin Tin Tin once again; she had previously appeared alongside the canine star in the 1926 film While London Sleeps.[4] Costello's final substantial role was opposite her sister Dolores in the all-star Technicolor musical revue The Show of Shows (1929). Costello and her sister performed in the "Meet My Sister" musical number.
After the advent of sound, Costello's career declined reportedly because her voice did not record well.[4] She was also beset with personal problems including illnesses, an addiction to drugs and alcohol, three divorces, a public custody battle with her third ex-husband and financial difficulties.[6][7] From 1930 to 1934, Costello did not appear in a film. In September 1935, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and returned to the screen in a supporting role in Riffraff (1936).[8] Her final role was a bit part in the 1942 film The Black Swan. Later in 1942, Costello filed for bankruptcy.[6]
Personal life
editCostello was married four times, each marriage ending in divorce. Her first marriage was to football player John W. Regan in 1927. They divorced in June 1928.[9] Costello's second marriage was to actor/director Lowell Sherman, whom she married on March 15, 1930, in Beverly Hills.[2] They separated in November 1931 and were divorced in May 1932.[10][11] Costello's third marriage was to Dr. Arturo de Barrio, a lawyer who came from a prominent Cuban family. They were married in Havana on January 6, 1933.[12] Their marriage was considered invalid because Costello's divorce from her second husband was not finalized. They married for a second time in June 1933 in Los Angeles.[13] They were divorced in 1939.
Her fourth and final marriage was to artist George Lee Le Blanc, whom Costello married in 1940. The couple had a daughter, Diedre, on February 18, 1941.[14] Costello filed for divorce on August 6, 1947.[15] Shortly after Costello filed for divorce, Le Blanc joined the Merchant Marine. Before leaving, Le Blanc left Diedre in the care of Costello's sister Dolores claiming that Costello was unfit to care for Diedre because of her alcoholism.[16] Costello denied Le Blanc's claim and attempted to regain sole custody in September 1947. During one custody hearing, Costello's father and Lionel Barrymore (Dolores Costello's ex brother-in-law) testified that Costello did not have a drinking problem.[17] In April 1948, Costello was forced to drop her suit due to financial troubles and Le Blanc was awarded temporary custody of Diedre.[18] Costello and Le Blanc were divorced in June 1948.[19]
Death
editOn January 24, 1957, Costello was admitted to Patton State Hospital under the assumed name of Adrienne Costello for treatment for a drug and alcohol addiction. She died there two days later of pneumonia.[6][7] Her sister, Dolores Costello Barrymore, was with her when she died.[20] Her funeral was held on January 30, after which she was interred in an unmarked grave at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.[21][22]
Other
editFor her contribution to the motion film industry, Helene Costello has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street in Hollywood.[3]
Comedian Lou Costello, born Louis Cristillo, changed his name in honor of Helene Costello. Coincidentally, both of them were born in 1906.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Les Misérables | Child | Part 1 |
| 1909 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Fairy | |
| 1911 | Consuming Love; or, St. Valentine's Day in Greenaway Land | ||
| 1911 | A Quaker Mother | The Harmon Daughter | |
| 1911 | Courage of Sorts | ||
| 1911 | The Geranium | ||
| 1911 | Captain Barnacle's Baby | The Baby | |
| 1911 | Her Crowning Glory | Helen, the Child | |
| 1911 | The Child Crusoes | ||
| 1911 | His Sister's Children | Boker aka Toodle | Credited as Helen Costello |
| 1911 | Regeneration | The Ross Child | |
| 1911 | Auld Lang Syne | The Child | |
| 1911 | A Reformed Santa Claus | The Widow's 2nd Child | |
| 1911 | The Old Doll | The Child | |
| 1912 | Captain Jenks' Dilemma | One of Widow Brown's Children | |
| 1912 | The Meeting of the Ways | One of Tom's Children | |
| 1912 | Tom Tilling's Baby | The Carter Baby | |
| 1912 | Captain Barnacle's Messmates | A Child | |
| 1912 | The First Violin | Helen - A Little Waif | |
| 1912 | The Five Senses | ||
| 1912 | At Scroggineses' Corner | Alice as a Child | Credited as Helen Costello |
| 1912 | The Greatest Thing in the World | A Lost Child | |
| 1912 | Lulu's Doctor | ||
| 1912 | The Days of Terror; or, in the Reign of Terror | ||
| 1912 | The Church Across the Way | Adele - The Child | Credited as Helen Costello |
| 1912 | The Troublesome Step-Daughters | ||
| 1912 | The Money Kings | ||
| 1912 | The Black Sheep | Clara Moreland as a Child | |
| 1912 | Wanted... a Grandmother | Phillip - Hale's Invalid Son | |
| 1912 | Rip Van Winkle | Steenie as a Child | |
| 1912 | Captain Barnacle's Legacy | The Little African Child | |
| 1912 | The Irony of Fate | Third Child | |
| 1912 | The Toymaker | Another Child | Unconfirmed |
| 1912 | In the Garden Fair | Mrs. Rose's Daughter, Helen | |
| 1912 | Six O'Clock | The Child | |
| 1912 | The Servant Problem; or, How Mr. Bullington Ran the House | One of the Third Cook's Three Children | |
| 1912 | The Night Before Christmas | Helen Corbin - The Child | |
| 1912 | Two Women and Two Men | Little Nellie Thornwell | |
| 1912 | Days of Terror | ||
| 1913 | Mr. Bolter's Niece | Pet - Mr. Bolter's Niece | |
| 1913 | Buttercups | Second Child | |
| 1913 | Just Show People | ||
| 1913 | Beau Brummel | Child | Uncredited Lost film |
| 1913 | Tim Grogan's Foundling | Pearl Ligard - The Foundling | Credited as Helen Costello |
| 1913 | The One Good Turn | ||
| 1913 | The Mystery of the Stolen Child | The Stolen Grandchild | |
| 1913 | The Hindoo Charm | Helen Tilbury - The Younger Child | |
| 1913 | Fortune's Turn | The Child | |
| 1913 | The Other Woman | John's Child | |
| 1913 | Heartbroken Shep | Runa | |
| 1913 | The Fruits of Vengeance | Pauline's Child | |
| 1913 | Matrimonial Manoeuvres | Little Nellie | |
| 1913 | The Doctor's Secret | Elsa, as a child | Lost film |
| 1913 | The Price of Thoughtlessness | Mabel | |
| 1913 | Fellow Voyagers | Little Helen Gray | |
| 1913 | A Christmas Story | Bessie's Child | |
| 1914 | Bunny's Mistake | Little Helene | |
| 1914 | Some Steamer Scooping | Helen Reigel | |
| 1914 | Memories That Haunt | Little Annie | Credited as Helen Costello |
| 1914 | Etta of the Footlights | ||
| 1914 | The Mysterious Lodger | Brent's Child | |
| 1914 | The Barrel Organ | The Child | |
| 1914 | The Blood Ruby | Hugh's Child | |
| 1914 | Too Much Burlgar | ||
| 1914 | By the Governor's Order | Little Hope | |
| 1915 | The Evil Men Do | Beatrice - as a Little Girl | |
| 1915 | Lifting the Ban of Coventry | Helen Stuyvesant - their child | |
| 1915 | The Heart of Jim Brice | ||
| 1916 | Billie's Mother | Billie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Cleopatra | Nicola - a Child | |
| 1925 | Ranger of the Big Pines | Virginia Weatherford | Lost film |
| The Man on the Box | Bob's Sister | ||
| Bobbed Hair | Uncredited | ||
| 1926 | The Love Toy | Princess Patricia | Lost film |
| Wet Paint | She | Lost film | |
| Don Juan | Rena - Adriana's Maid | Uncredited | |
| The Honeymoon Express | Margaret Lambert | Lost film | |
| Millionaires | Ida | Lost film | |
| While London Sleeps | Dale Burke | Lost film | |
| 1927 | Finger Prints | Jacqueline Norton | Lost film |
| The Fortune Hunter | Josie Lockwood | Lost film | |
| The Broncho Twister | Paulita Brady | Lost film | |
| The Heart of Maryland | Nancy | Incomplete film | |
| Good Time Charley | Rosita Keene - Daughter | ||
| In Old Kentucky | Nancy Holden | Lost film | |
| Husbands for Rent | Molly Devoe | Lost film | |
| 1928 | Burning Up Broadway | Floss | Lost film |
| Comrades | Helen Dixon | Lost film | |
| The Phantom of the Turf | Joan | Lost film | |
| Lights of New York | Kitty Lewis | ||
| The Midnight Taxi | Nan Parker | ||
| The Circus Kid | Trixie | ||
| Broken Barriers | Beryl Moore | Lost film | |
| 1929 | When Dreams Come True | Caroline Swayne | Lost film |
| The Fatal Warning | Dorothy Rogers | Lost film | |
| Innocents of Paris | Bit Role | Uncredited | |
| The Show of Shows | Performer in "Meet My Sister" Number | ||
| 1935 | Public Hero No. 1 | Undetermined Role | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Honeymoon Limited | Mrs. Randall | |
| 1936 | Riffraff | Maizie | |
| 1942 | The Black Swan | Woman | Uncredited |
References
edit- ^ "Early Film Star Dies". Reading Eagle. October 30, 1950. p. 14.
- ^ a b "Helene Costello Weds Film Actor". The Pittsburgh Press. March 16, 1930. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Hollywood Star Walk: Helene Costello". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c Lowe, Denise (2005). An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895-1930. Psychology Press. p. 132. ISBN 0-789-01843-8.
- ^ McCaffrey, Donald W.; Jacobs, Christopher P. (1999). Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 89. ISBN 0-313-30345-2.
- ^ a b c d "Helene Costello, Ex-Actress, Dies". The Milwaukee Journal. January 29, 1957. p. 1. [dead link]
- ^ a b Lowe 2005 p.133
- ^ Percy, Eileen (September 6, 1935). "Ginger Rogers' Next Retitled". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
- ^ "Helene Costello Divorces John Regan, Ex-Grid Star". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 28, 1928. p. 2.
- ^ "Accuses Actress In Divorce Suit". Herald-Journal. December 2, 1931. p. 1.
- ^ "Helene Costello Is Granted Divorce After Court Drama". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 11, 1932. p. 1.
- ^ "Helene Costello Weds Havana Lawyer In Cuba". St. Petersburg Times. January 11, 1933. p. 2.
- ^ "Wed Second Time". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 21, 1933. p. 8.
- ^ "Actress Is Unable To House Child". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 20, 1948. p. 12.
- ^ "Helene Costello Files Divorce Suit". Reading Eagle. August 7, 1947. p. 28.
- ^ "Dolores Costello Award Custody Of Her Niece". San Jose Evening News. September 13, 1947.
- ^ "Old Troupers Testify In Custody Action". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 30, 1947. p. 13.
- ^ "Actress Is Unable to House Child". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 20, 1948. p. 12.
- ^ "Ex-Actress Divorced". Toledo Blade. June 4, 1948. p. 28.
- ^ Associated Press, "Ex-Film Star Helene Costello Dies At Patton", Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 29 January 1957, Volume 63, Number 129, page 1.
- ^ "Few Attend Rites For Helene Costello". Reading Eagle. January 31, 1957. p. 8.
- ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 17. ISBN 0-786-40983-5.
External links
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