Genevieve Dolores Gerber (April 3, 1894 – January 2, 1974) was an American silent film actress who appeared in more than 120 films between 1912 and 1930.
Early life and career She was born in Argenta, Illinois, to S. Nelson Gerber (1870–1902) and Juanetta Jean Pullman. Her parents separated when she was young and her mother moved her to Los Angeles, California. She was raised by nuns from the College of the Immaculate Heart. After the death of her father, Gerber's impoverished mother gave guardianship of her daughter to an attorney.
After her graduation from high school, Gerber became an actress and appeared in several one-reelers. Her film debut came in The Flower Girl's Romance (1912). Beginning in 1917, she starred in multiple serial films, and she is considered one of the top ten "serial queens" of the silent film period. She teamed with director and actor Ben F. Wilson in many of these productions, and starred in the first crude sound era serial, The Voice from the Sky, also directed by Wilson. However, her career stalled in 1930 after Wilson died from heart disease. Gerber retired from acting shortly thereafter.
Personal life and death Gerber's first marriage was to actor Arthur Nelson Millett on July 22, 1913. They separated the following year. In 1915, she became engaged to director William Desmond Taylor. Gerber and Taylor did not marry, because she was not yet divorced from Millett, and she and Taylor broke it off in 1919. (Taylor was subsequently murdered in 1922, a famous unsolved case). Gerber's divorce from Millett was eventually finalized in 1920. In 1923, Gerber married contractor Edward Dana Nolan, who died in 1926 of alcoholism. She went on to marry David Booth in 1934. After Booth's death, she married a fourth and final time, to contractor William Munchoff; he died in 1960.
On January 2, 1974, Gerber died of a cerebral thrombosis in Palm Springs, California. She was buried in a pauper's grave in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 1912 The Flower Girl's Romance Bessie Berkow Short film 1912 The Water Rights War Mabel Short film 1913 The Redemption Ogle - the Nursemaid Short film 1914 Mrs. Peyton's Pearls Eleanor Barton - the Daughter Short film 1914 The Judge's Wife Mrs. Livingston 1915 The Madonna Gertie Short film 1915 Little Chrysanthemum Little Chrysanthemum Short film 1916 The Impersonation Rhoda Lyons 1916 The Mansard Mystery Brina Short film 1917 The Voice on the Wire Polly Marion Film serial 1917 The Mystery Ship Betty Lee Film seriesLost film 1918 Hell Bent Bess Thurston Alternative title: The Three Bad Men 1918 Three Mounted Men Lola Masters Lost filmAlternative title: Three Wounded Men 1919 Roped Aileen Lost film 1919 A Fight for Love Kate McDougal Lost film 1919 The Trail of the Octopus Ruth Stanhope Film serial 1920 The Screaming Shadow Mary Landers Film serialLost film 1920 Bill's Wife Short filmWriter 1921 A Yankee Go Getter Lucia Robilant/Vera Robilant 1921 Dangerous Paths Ruth Hammond 1921 The Mysterious Pearl Ariel/The Pearl Film serial 1922 The Price of Youth Adela Monmouth 1922 Impulse Julia Merrifield 1923 In the West Florence Jackson 1923 The Santa Fe Trail Film serialLost film 1924 Sagebrush Gospel Lucy Sanderson 1924 Days of '49 Sierra Sutter Film serial 1925 The Power God Aileen Sturgess Film serial 1925 Vic Dyson Pays Neva 1925 Tonio, Son of the Sierras Evelyn Brower 1925 A Daughter of the Sioux Nanette 1926 Officer 444 Gloria Grey Film serial 1926 Fort Frayne Helen Farrar 1926 West of the Law Alice Armstrong 1927 The Range Riders Betty Grannan 1927 Hell Hounds of the Plains Esther Lawson 1928 The Old Code Lola 1928 The Lone Patrol Credited as Jean Dolores 1929 The Saddle King Felice Landreau 1929 Thundering Thompson Maria Valerian 1930 The Voice From the Sky Jean Lowell Credited as Jean Dolores 1930 A Woman's Justice Credited as Jean Dolores
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