| Winona Winter | |
|---|---|
 Winona Winter as "Constance" in He Came from Milwaukee, from a 1911 publication. | |
| Born | 1889 Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | April 27, 1940 (aged 50–51) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
Winona Winter (1889 — April 27, 1940) was an American vaudeville performer and silent-film actress.
Early life
Winona Winter was the daughter of minstrel songwriter William Banks Winter and Clara Demming Newman Winter. She had two younger brothers. Winter acted as a child, in The Little Tycoon (1895) in Detroit. In 1901, her skull was examined by phrenologists in a published case study, which found her to be gifted, especially in humor and memory.
Career
In vaudeville Winter was best known for "soubrette" parts, as a singing comedian, and as a ventriloquist. She performed with Will Rogers in Rochester in 1908, in New York in 1910, and in Chicago in 1912, and was associated with Harry Lauder's company in 1922. She was still performing on vaudeville in 1928, with an act she called "Broadway-o-grams", a selection of short character sketches and celebrity impersonations.
Winter appeared in four Broadway musical productions: The Little Cherub (1906-1907), He Came from Milwaukee (1910), The Fascinating Widow (1911), and The Broadway Whirl (also called The Century Midnight Whirl) (1921).
She played "Sally" in the silent film The Man from Mexico (1914).
Personal life
Winter married Norman L. Sper, a sports announcer. They had a son, Norman L. Sper Jr., born in 1925.
In 1940, Winter died in Los Angeles, California. Winter was 51. Winter is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in California.
References
- ^ "Mrs. Banks Winter, Called Most Beautiful Woman of Alabama, Dies". Battle Creek Enquirer (October 13, 1922).
- "Child Culture: Winona Winter" Phrenological Journal and Phrenological Magazine (July 1901): 16-20.
- ^ Will Rogers, Steven K. Gragert, M. Jane Johansson, eds., The Papers of Will Rogers: From vaudeville to Broadway : September 1908-August 1915 (University of Oklahoma Press 2001): 459-460. ISBN 9780806133157
- "Long Tack Sam, White Hussars, Winona Winter, Others at Palace" Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette (January 24, 1917): 10. via Newspapers.com
- M. B. H. "Scolding Winona Winter" New York Star (December 5, 1908): 26.
- "Winona Winter is Pantages Artist" Minneapolis Star (April 7, 1928): 32. via Newspapers.com
- "Bernard Back, Adds Gayety to Life" New York Times (September 22, 1910): 9. via ProQuest
- "Julian Eltinge in 'Fascinating Widow'" New York Times (August 29, 1911): 7. via ProQuest
- "N. Y. Roof Show is Coming to Majestic" Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette (May 8, 1921): 8B. via Newspapers.com
- "Mrs. Winona Winter Sper" New York Times (April 28, 1940): 40. via ProQuest