Betty Harte (1882–1965) was a leading lady during the heyday of the silent film era, starring in nine feature films and 108 short films. She is credited with writing four screenplays. She chose Betty Harte as her professional name in honor of her favorite author, Bret Harte.Rites for Betty Harte, Silent Film Star, Set. The Los Angeles Times. January 5, 1965, p. 8.
Acting career Harte appeared on stage with various stock entertainment companies in the eastern United States. While working as a secretary for a newspaper in Los Angeles, California, she was assigned to interview Selig Polyscope Company director Francis Boggs, who liked her appearance and demeanor and quickly signed her to an acting contract. She became the first leading lady of the Selig Polyscope Company's Los Angeles division and appeared in period dramas, swashbucklers, and Westerns.
She starred opposite the company's flamboyant leading man, Hobart Bosworth, in the films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908), In the Sultan's Power (1909), The Roman (1910) and Across the Plain's (1910). She later excelled at playing Western heroines and co-starred with Thomas Santschi in Pride of the Range (1910) and Through Fire and Smoke (1911). She also co-starred with the famous Western actor and fellow Pennsylvanian Tom Mix in Pride of the Range (1910) and A Romance of the Rio Grande (1911).
Harte was known for doing her own stunts. While filming an underwater scene in Bermuda for Victory Pictures in the film The Mystery of the Poison Pool (1914) she was bitten by an angel fish and narrowly escaped a serious injury.Betty Harte - Moving Picture Star Well-Known to Picturegoers. Brazil Daily Times. July 16, 1914, p. 5. She also appeared in The Viking, filmed by Victory Pictures in Bermuda back-to-back with The Mystery of the Poison Pool.
Two notable films she appeared in were In the Sultan's Power (1909) and The Coming of Columbus (1912). The short film In the Sultan's Power was the first film shot entirely on location in California.The Sultan's Power was also made in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times. October 10, 1909, p. 32. She co-starred with Marshall Stedman in the feature film The Coming of Columbus, a three-reel melodrama that was completely hand-tinted in Paris, France, and was an early all-color feature film.The Coming of Columbus. The Springfield News-Ledger. May 31, 1912, p. 7.
Personal life Harte was born Daisey Mae Light in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1882,Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 36, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0927; FHL microfilm: 1241477 to Theophilus Ozias Light and Agnes Mary Bohn.Betty Harte a Well Known Lebanon Girl. Lebanon Daily News. March 18, 1913, p. 11. She had seven siblings, although only three lived to adulthood. By 1900, she was living in Philadelphia, where she was attending private school.Here's Betty Harte – A Happy Movie Favorite. The Day Book. November 21, 1912, p. 12. She was the cousin of the American stage actress Margaret Illington.David Horsley Secures Stars. The Los Angeles Times. December 28, 1915, p. 24. On October 17, 1907, she married Frank Hardy in Pasadena, California; sometime before 1917 they divorced. On September 12, 1917, she married Ralph Lewis Kruger. The 1920 census record states Ralph and Betty were living in Los Angeles, California. Ralph either worked for or owned a motion picture theater, and Betty had no occupation listed, as she had retired from her film career four years earlier in 1916.
Throughout her life, she was a bird collector, studied ornithology and was a student of botany, especially favoring flowers. While under contract with the Selig Polyscope Company, she maintained a large bird enclosure on the grounds of their studio in Edendale, California, where she kept various species including mockingbirds and nightingales.
Harte said of her doctrine of success, "The more you travel, the more you see, the more you learn, the better your chance of interpreting even the smallest role correctly."Dame Industrious Aids Betty Harte in Life Work. The Day Book. February 3, 1916, p. 20. She described herself as "Hollywood's First Movie Queen."
She died on January 3, 1965, in Sunland, California, and is buried in Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California.Betty Harte, Actress, Rites Held. Citizen News. January 5, 1965, p. 13.
Filmography Work Format Year Role The Heritage of Hate Feature 1916 Myra (as Betty Hart) The Man from Bitter Roots Feature 1916 Undetermined The Bait Feature 1916 Margot The Buzzard's Shadow Feature 1915 Mrs. Sears (as Betty Hart) Nancy of Stony Isle short 1915 Nancy The Mystery of the Poison Pool Feature 1914 Dorothy The Oath of a Viking short 1914 Lydia - the King's Daughter The Next in Command Feature 1914 Zuleika (as Bettie Hart) A Woman's Triumph Feature 1914 Effie Deans The Pride of Jennico Feature 1914 The Gypsy Maid, Michel A Nest Unfeathered short 1914 The Foreman's Wife Hoodman Blind Feature 1913 Jess / Nance The Ironmaster short 1913 Betty I Was Meant for You short 1913 Susan Bill's Sweetheart short 1913 Little Maverick (as an adult) An Indian Nemesis short 1913 Hope (Col. West's daughter) (as Betty Hart) Where Shore and Water Meet short 1913 Mabel Newman - The Designer Side Tracked by Sister short 1913 Mother The Noisy Six short 1913 Unconfirmed The Good in the Worst of Us short 1913 Sergeant Williams' Wife An Innocent Informer short 1913 The Moonshiner's Daughter Master and Man short 1913 Ethel Pierce - Seymour's Fiancée (as Bettie Harte) A Pair of Boots short 1912 Unconfirmed The Girl of the Mountains short 1912 Tess Sutton - the Old Miner's Daughter The Vintage of Fate short 1912 Maria Kings of the Forest short 1912 Sona - Fritz's Wife Her Educator short 1912 The Kid His Wedding Eve short 1912 The Nurse The Fisherboy's Faith short 1912 Amanda's City Friend Getting Atmosphere short 1912 The Ingénue How the Cause Was Won short 1912 Mabel Moody An Assisted Elopement short 1912 Jeanette Wilson The Pirate's Daughter short 1912 Almita - the Pirate's Daughter The Substitute Model short 1912 Mary Carr - the Little Sister The Man from Dragon Land short 1912 Samantha - the Widow's Servant The Polo Substitute short 1912 Margaret Bush The Girl and the Cowboy short 1912 Nell Carter - The Belle of Three Pines The Vow of Ysobel short 1912 Ysobel The Vision Beautiful short 1912 The Serf A Reconstructed Rebel short 1912 Louise Yancey (as an adult) Brains and Brawn short 1912 Molly Jones Me an' Bill short 1912 Young Kitty The Junior Officer short 1912 Ethel's Maid The 'Epidemic' in Paradise Gulch short 1912 Miss Williams - the Schoolteacher The Girl of the Lighthouse short 1912 Jenna Jensen - the Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter Bounder short 1912 Ruby Blackwell The Ace of Spades short 1912 The Woman The Shrinking Rawhide short 1912 Mercedes The Danites short 1912 Nancy Williams Disillusioned short 1912 Marjorie Spofford The Little Stowaway short 1912 Dot - The Little Stowaway Diplomat Interrupted short 1912 Jessie Scott The Secret Wedding short 1912 Bessie Whalen The Mate of the Alden Bessie short 1912 Undetermined Secondary Role (unconfirmed) A Modern Rip short 1912 Rip's Daughter The Little Widow short 1911 Unconfirmed George Warrington's Escape short 1911 Fanny Mountain A Romance of the Rio Grande short 1911 Unconfirmed The Maid at the Helm short 1911 Elizabeth Barker A Frontier Girl's Courage short 1911 Mary Wilson An Evil Power short 1911 Alice Morgan Blackbeard short 1911 Senorita Lopez The Bootlegger short 1911 Mattie Fancher In the Days of Gold short 1911 Juanita Lopez Old Billy short 1911 Mrs. Dane The Coquette short 1911 Mabel - the Coquette Captain Brand's Wife short 1911 Ada Jackson - Captain Brand's Wife Making a Man of Him short 1911 Sallie Morgan - Bertie's Wife Out-Generaled short 1911 Bessie Darrow The Artist's Sons short 1911 Model No. 1 Shipwrecked short 1911 Annie Jackson A Cup of Cold Water short 1911 The Padre's Ward The Heart of John Barlow short 1911 Lucy Barlow How Algy Captured a Wild Man short 1911 Maud Lorimer Through Fire and Smoke short 1911 Betty St. Clair - the Factory Girl The Blacksmith's Love short 1911 Undetermined Secondary Role (unconfirmed, uncredited) The Regeneration of Apache Kid short 1911 Mary Worthington - the Colonel's Daughter Their Only Son short 1911 Unconfirmed Slick's Romance short 1911 Unconfirmed The Knight Errant short 1911 Yvette The Profligate short 1911 Mercedes - Pauline's Sister It Happened in the West short 1911 Unconfirmed The White Medicine Man short 1911 Mlle. Julie The New Faith short 1911 The Slave Girl A Sacrifice to Civilization short 1911 Unconfirmed Told in the Sierras short 1911 Sallie Winton - Jake's Wife Range Pals short 1911 Danny Where There's a Will, There's a Way short 1911 Miss Hay The Herders short 1911 Wana The Still Alarm short 1911 Cad Wilber The Haven of Refuge short 1911 Unconfirmed The Spy short 1911 Unconfirmed Pride of the Range short 1910 Unconfirmed Justinian and Theodora short 1910 Theodora A Tale of the Sea short 1910 Bill's Sweetheart / Tom's Wife The Schoolmaster of Mariposa short 1910 Miss Williams In the Great Northwest short 1910 Julie - the Factor's Daughter Davy Crockett short 1910 Unconfirmed The Common Enemy short 1910 Unconfirmed Across the Plains short 1910 Unconfirmed The Roman short 1910 Unconfirmed The Courtship of Miles Standish short 1910 Unconfirmed The Christian Martyrs short 1909 Unconfirmed Pine Ridge Feud short 1909 Unconfirmed On the Little Big Horn or Custer's Last Stand short 1909 Unconfirmed On the Border short 1909 Unconfirmed Up San Juan Hill short 1909 Unconfirmed The Stampede short 1909 Mabel - The Ranch Owner's Daughter The Leopard Queen short 1909 Jessie Ownes - the Captain's Daughter In the Sultan's Power short 1909 Unconfirmed In the Badlands short 1909 Isabel Walton - the Colonel's Daughter Boots and Saddles short 1909 Unconfirmed The Tenderfoot short 1909 Unconfirmed The Spirit of '76 short 1908 Unconfirmed Damon and Pythias short 1908 Unconfirmed Rip Van Winkle short 1908 Unconfirmed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde short 1908 Unconfirmed
Screenplays The Bridge of Sighs (1915) – scenario The Little Stowaway (1912) – short, scenario Their Only Son (1911) – short The Spy (1911) – short
A scenario is a sketch or outline of a story, which gives the reader an idea of events without including all the details.
Picture gallery
References
External links
Betty Harte at the American Film Institute Catalog Progressive Silent Film List Media History Digital Library