Annabelle Moore (born Annabella Whitford,Annabelle Moore: early film dancer July 6, 1878 – November 29, 1961), also known as Peerless Annabelle, was an American dancer and actress who appeared in numerous early silent films. She was the original Gibson Girl in the 1907 Ziegfeld Follies.Encyclopaedia of Early Cinema by Richard Abel
Life and career
Annabelle Whitford was born in Chicago. She made her debut at age 15 dancing at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.United Press International (December 1, 1961). 'Original Gibson Girl' dies at 83. Pittsburgh Press. She later moved to New York City, where she performed in several films for the Edison StudiosYumibe, Joshua (2012). Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism. Rutgers University Press, and appeared on Broadway.
Annabelle was quite popular in her youth. The sale of her films was further boosted in December 1896Paul McDonald (2000). The Star System: Hollywood and the Production of Popular Identities. when it was revealed that she had been approached to appear naked at a private dinner party at Sherry's Restaurant.Biography of Annabelle by Barry Anthony – American skirt dancer and stage beautyThe Mysterious Annabelle Whitford It was said she introduced eroticism in film.Serpentine Dance (1895)
She married Edward James Buchan in 1910. He died in 1958.
Although she was very popular before her marriage,André Gaudreault. American Cinema 1890–1909: Themes and Variations. Annabelle died penniless in Chicago in 1961.Staff report (December 2, 1961). PEERLESS ANNABELLE, 83; Former Dancer and Showgirl Dies Penniless in Chicago. The New York Times.Staff report (December 3, 1961). Obituary. Chicago Tribune.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes1894 Annabelle Butterfly DanceSelf (as Annabelle)Short film Annabelle Sun Dance Annabelle Serpentine Dance Self1895 Annabelle Serpentine Dance, no 2 Annabelle Serpentine DanceSelf (as Annabelle)1896 Butterfly Dance Annabelle in Flag DanceSelf Serpentine Dance by Annabelle Tambourine Dance by Annabelle1897 Butterfly Dance Serpentine Dance, Annabelle Sun Dance – Annabelle 1902 A Mermaid Dance Mermaid (as Annabelle) 1998 Glorious Technicolor Self – Dancer (as Annebelle) Archive Footage, posthumously release, TV movie 2003 Sex at 24 Frames Per SecondSelf Archive Footage, uncredited, posthumously release 2013 The Quiet Room: A Story of Cinema Archive Footage, posthumously release
Other work The Charity Girl (1912) The Happiest Night of His Life (1911) Ziegfeld Follies of 1909 (in scene with Grace La Rue, Nora Bayes and Lucy Weston) Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 The Belle of Mayfair (1906) A Venetian Romance (1904) The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast (1901) The Sprightly Romance of Marsac (1900)
References
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