Fritzi Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961),"California Death Index, 1940–1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPZF-J1H : November 26, 2014), Fredrick B Simm, March 28, 1961; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. sometimes credited as Fritzie Ridgeway, was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Although she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films.
Born Fredricka Berneice Hawkes, a native of Montana, Ridgeway worked as both a vaudeville performer and a professional trick rider before making her film debut in 1916. She appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1934, with prominent roles in Western films populating much of her early career. Other notable roles include supporting parts in Tod Browning's drama The Unpainted Woman (1919) and The Enemy (1927).
Ridgeway officially retired from acting in 1934, making her final screen appearance in Rouben Mamoulian's We Live Again. She spent the latter half of her life managing the Hotel del Tahquitz in Palm Springs, California, a hotel she built in 1928. She remained the proprietor of the Hotel del Tahquitz until her death in 1961. She was married to Russian composer Constantin Bakaleinikoff. In L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels, historian Paul Young noted Ridgeway as an "iconoclastic silent film star".
Early life Ridgeway was born Fredricka Berneice Hawkes on April 8, 1898 in Missoula, Montana,While Robert Emmet Sherwood in The Best Moving Pictures of 1922–23, Also Who's who in the Movies and the Yearbook of the American Screen (1923) writes that Ridgeway was born in Butte, published sources list Ridgeway's birthdate as April 8, 1898 in Missoula, Montana. See: Rainey (1992), and Vazzana (2001). later moving with her family to Butte, where she attended primary school. Prior to establishing herself as a film actress, Ridgeway worked as both a vaudeville performer and as a trick rider. As a teenager, Ridgeway traveled with her family between Montana and California, and attended Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. She was also educated in Chicago.
Career Early films She made her film debut in the short The Bridesmaid's Secret (1916), and appeared later that year in the title role of the feature film The Little Girl Next Door. The following year brought her first feature film role in a Western, The Hero of the Hour (1917). Ridgeway would appear in several silent Western shorts after, including The Wrong Man (1917) and The Soul Herder (1917). Her appearances in Westerns earned her the name of the "cowgirl star" early in her career. She appeared as Evelyn Hastings in the 1917 picture The Learnin' of Jim Benton opposite Roy Stewart, and was noted in a review for her "delightful" performance in the film.
In 1919, Ridgeway appeared in Victor Schertzinger's comedy When Doctors Disagree, followed by a supporting part in Tod Browning's drama The Unpainted Woman (1919) for Universal Pictures. She would continue to play in silent pictures into the late 1920s, including roles in the drama The Old Homestead (1922), the Western Ruggles of Red Gap (1923), and the drama The Enemy (1927), opposite Lillian Gish.
Later work and retirement In 1932, she appeared in the pre-Code film Ladies of the Big House, starring Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond, which received positive critical acclaim with a review in The New York Times that noted that the movie "manages to convey this terror with a fair measure of success". In 1934, she appeared in a supporting part in the horror film House of Mystery (1934) opposite Verna Hillie and John Sheehan. Ridgeway made her final screen appearance in a minor uncredited role in We Live Again (1934), an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection, before retiring from acting.
Ridgeway spent her remaining years managing the Hotel del Tahquitz, a 100-room hotel which she had built in Palm Springs, California in 1928.
Personal life On November 23, 1916, Ridgeway married John Charles Webb Dill of Hollywood. Ridgeway married Russian composer Constantin Bakaleinikoff in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 23, 1925. In March 1928, Ridgeway commissioned architect Anthony Miller to design a home for her, which was built in Los Angeles, California. She would later marry Walter D. Simm, with whom she remained married until her death of a heart attack in 1961, aged 62.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1916 The Bridesmaid's Secret Hazel Field Short film 1916 The Little Girl Next Door title role Short film1917Where Glory WaitsScylla Short film 1917 The Hero of the Hour Mildred Nebeker 1917 A Blissful Calamity Annie Smith Short film; as Fritzie Ridgeway 1917 The Wrong Man Anice Malone Short film1917 High Speed Susan 1917 The Soul Herder Jane Short film 1917 The Calendar Girl Mazie As Fritzie Ridgeway1917 Up or Down? Esther Hollister 1917 The Learnin' of Jim Benton Evelyn Hastings 1918 The Law's Outlaw Rose Davison 1918 Real Folks Joyce Clifton 1918 Faith Endurin' Helen Dryer 1918 The Danger Zone Marie Fitzmaurice As Fritzie Ridgeway 1918 The Fire Flingers Ellen As Fritzie Ridgeway 1919 When Doctors Disagree Violet Henny 1919 The Unpainted Woman Edna As Fritzie Ridgeway 1919 The Petal on the Current Cora Kinealy As Fritzie Ridgeway 1919 Winning a Bride Mary Pendleton 1920 Judy of Rogue's Harbor Olive Ketchel 1921 Bring Him In Mary Mackay 1921 The Fatal 30 1922 The Hate Trail Mary Munger 1922 Boomerang Justice Ruth Randolph 1922 The Old Homestead Ann 1923 Trifling with Honor Ida Hunt 1923 The Cricket on the Heart Bertha Plummer 1923 Ruggles of Red Gap Emily Judson 1927 Nobody's Widow Mademoiselle Renée 1927 Man Bait Gloria 1927 Getting Gertie's Garter Barbara Felton 1927 Girl in the Rain 1927 Lonesome Ladies Dorothy 1927 Face Value Muriel Stanley 1927 The Enemy Mitzi Winkelmann 1928 Flying Romeos Minnie 1928 Son of the Golden West Rita 1928 Red Hot Speed Slavey 1929 This Is Heaven Mamie Chase 1930 Hell's Heroes Mother 1930 Prince of Diamonds Lolah 1931 The Mad Parade Prudence Graham 1931 Ladies of the Big House Reno Maggie 1932 Frisco Jenny Miss Jessie Uncredited 1934 House of Mystery Stella Walker 1934 Little Man, What Now? Party Guest Uncredited 1934 No Ransom Miss Price 1934 We Live Again Redhead Uncredited
References
Works cited
Further reading
External links
Fritzi Ridgeway at the American Film Institute Catalog Fritzi Ridgeway at the British Film Institute
Fritzi Ridgeway library search at WorldCat