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Edna Purviance
Purviance in 1923
Born	Olga Edna Purviance (1895-10-21)October 21, 1895 Paradise Valley, Nevada, United States
Died	January 13, 1958(1958-01-13) (aged 62) Hollywood, California, United States
Cause of death	Throat cancer
Resting place	Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Years active	1915–1927
Spouse	John P. Squire ​ ​(m. 1938; died 1945)​

Edna Purviance (/ˈɛdnə pərˈvaɪəns/; October 21, 1895 – January 13, 1958) was an American actress during the silent movie era. She was the leading lady in many of Charlie Chaplin's early films and in a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with him.

Early life

Olga Edna Purviance was born in Paradise Valley, Nevada, to English immigrant Louisa Wright Davey and American vintner to the western mining camps Madison (Matt) Gates Purviance. When she was three, the family moved to Lovelock, Nevada, where they assumed ownership of a hotel. Her parents divorced in 1902, and her mother later married Robert Nurnberger, a German plumber. Growing up, Purviance was a talented pianist.

She left Lovelock in 1913, and moved in with her married sister Bessie while attending business college in San Francisco.

Career

In 1915, Purviance was working as a secretary in San Francisco when actor and director Charlie Chaplin was working on his second film with Essanay Studios, working out of Niles, California, 45 km southeast of San Francisco, in Southern Alameda County. He was looking for a leading lady for A Night Out. One of his associates noticed Purviance at a Tate's Café in San Francisco and thought she should be cast in the role. Chaplin arranged a meeting with her and, although he was concerned that she might be too serious for comedic roles, she won the job.

Chaplin and Purviance were romantically involved during the making of his Essanay, Mutual, and First National films of 1915 to 1917. Purviance appeared in 33 of Chaplin's productions, including the 1921 classic The Kid. Her last film with him, A Woman of Paris, was also her first lead role. The film was not a success and effectively ended Purviance's career. She went on to appear in two more films: The Sea Gull, also known as A Woman of the Sea (which Chaplin never released) and Éducation de Prince, a French film released in 1927, just before she retired from acting.

Personal life

Although she was romantically involved with Charlie Chaplin for several years, Purviance eventually married John Squire, a Pan-American Airlines pilot, in 1938. They remained married until his death in 1945.

Death

On January 13, 1958, Purviance died from throat cancer at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Hollywood. Her remains are interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

In popular culture

She was portrayed by Penelope Ann Miller in the film Chaplin (1992) and by Katie Maguire in the film Madcap Mabel (2010).

Filmography

References

1. http://www.ednapurviance.org/amadison/amadison.html
2. Toll, David W. (2002). The Complete Nevada Traveler: The Affectionate and Intimately Detailed Guidebook to the Most Interesting State in America. University of Nevada Press. p. 12. ISBN 0-940936-12-7.
3. Monush, Barry, ed. (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965, Volume 1. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 612. ISBN 1-55783-551-9.
4. This is not the way Purviance met Chaplin, according to Gerith von Ulm's Charlie Chaplin – King of Tragedy, pp. 90–91.
5. "Edna Purviance". The Montreal Gazette. January 16, 1958. p. 35. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
6. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 104. ISBN 0-7864-0983-5.

External links

• Edna Purviance at IMDb
• Edna Purviance—tribute and research site
• Edna Purviance at Then & Now

• Edna Purviance at Find a Grave

• 1895 births
• 1958 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• Actresses from Nevada
• American film actresses
• American people of English descent
• American silent film actresses
• Burials in California
• Deaths from cancer in California
• Deaths from throat cancer
• People from Humboldt County, Nevada
• Silent film comedians
• 20th-century American comedians
• People from Lovelock, Nevada