Aileen Pringle (born Aileen Bisbee; July 23, 1895 – December 16, 1989)The New York Times obituary notice 18 Dec. 1989 was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.
Biography
Early life Pringle was born into a prominent and wealthy San Francisco family and educated in Europe. She began her acting career shortly after her 1916 marriage to Charles McKenzie Pringle, the son of a wealthy titled British Jamaican landowner and a member of the Privy and Legislative Councils of Jamaica.De Witt Bodeen. Films in Review Vol. XXX No. 8, Oct. 1979, p. 468 ISSN 0015-1688
Career rise Many of Pringle's early roles were only modestly successful, and she continued to build her career until the early 1920s. One of Pringle's first high-profile roles was in the Rudolph Valentino film Stolen Moments (1920). She was selected by friend and romance novelist Elinor Glyn to star in the 1924 film adaptation of her novel Three Weeks with matinee idol Conrad Nagel.Elinor Glyn. Romantic Adventure. Ivor Nicholson and Watson Ltd., London 1936, p. 300 The role catapulted Pringle into leading-lady status and her career began to build momentum.De Witt Bodeen. Films in Review Vol. XXX No. 8, Oct. 1979, p. 468. ISSN 0015-1688
Later career
Pringle's acting career continued throughout the early 1920s; however, she allegedly was disliked by many of her co-workers due to haughty and dismissive behavior. She was prone to make witty, sometimes caustic, comments on Hollywood and her fellow actors. During a romantic scene in Three Weeks, in which actor Conrad Nagel carried her in his arms to the bedroom, lip readers saw her say: "If you drop me, you bastard, I'll break your neck".Richard Griffith and Arthur Mayer. The Movies. Simon and Schuster, 1970 Pringle's apparent disdain for her profession began to hurt her careerAileen Pringle Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and by the late 1920s her roles became fewer.
During the late silent and early period of talking pictures, Pringle co-starred in a series of light films with actor Lew Cody, including Adam and Evil (1927), Tea for Three (1927), Wickedness Preferred (1928), The Baby Cyclone (1928), Beau Broadway (1928), A Single Man (1929), and By Appointment Only (1933). Of Pringle's performance in Adam and Evil, Mourdant Hall in the August 9, 1927 edition of The New York Times wrote, “Evelyn Trevelyn, the Eve of this tale, is alluded to by Ralph Spence is (sic) one of the titles as a “spare rib.” She is impersonated by Aileen Pringle and therefore is an asset to the scenes.”
Although disliked by some Hollywood insiders, Aileen Pringle often was dubbed by the press as the "Darling of the Intelligentsia" because of her close friendship with such literary figures as Carl Van Vechten, Joseph Hergesheimer, Rupert Hughes, and H. L. Mencken who became a lifelong friend of the actress.Marion Elizabeth Rogers. Mencken: The American Iconoclast. Oxford University Press. 2005 She brokered the meeting of Mencken and Valentino,Allan R. Ellenberger. The Valentino Mystique: The Death and Afterlife of the Silent Film Idol, McFarlan & Co., North Carolina, 2005 of which Mencken wrote an account, some weeks after Valentino had died. Mencken does not name her but describes her as "discreet as she is charming." Ralph Barton, American artist, was also a devoted friend and used her as the model for Dorothy in his illustrations for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos.Anita Loos. A Girl Like I, New York: The Viking Press, 1966, pp. 120, 275 Another admirer was George Gershwin who met her in Hollywood and wrote much of the Second Rhapsody at her Santa Monica, California, home.Robert Kimball and Alfred Simon. The Gershwins, New York: Atheneum, 1973. pp. 133-135. Her wit, keen intellect and sparkling personality made her a sought-after companion.
After her 1926 divorce from Charles Pringle, Aileen Pringle further focused on her acting career, including Dream of Love (1928) with Joan Crawford and Wall Street (1929) co-starring Ralph Ince, brother of Thomas Ince. However, with the advent of sound film and the resulting influx of actors from the theater, the studios heavily began promoting a new crop of starlets and Pringle's career faded.
During the sound era, she continued to take small parts in major films and even uncredited roles. In 1944 Pringle married the author James M. Cain, but the union lasted only two years and ended in divorce.The Voice of James M. Cain: A Biography by David Madden, published by Globe Pequot 2020, By the late 1940s, Pringle retired from the screen and lived a wealthy retirement in New York City, where she died in 1989 at the age of 94."Films In Review", March 1990, Vol. XLI, No. 3. Article on Aileen Pringle by Stuart Oderman. ISSN 0015-1688
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Aileen Pringle was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6723 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, California.walkoffame.com
Filmography Year Film Role Notes1920 The Cost Olivia as Aileen Savage Lost film The Sport of Kings as Aileen Savage Lost film Earthbound as Aileen Savage Stolen Moments Inez Salles as Aileen SavageShort film1922 Oath-Bound Alice Lost film The Strangers' Banquet Mrs. Schuyler-Peabody Lost film My American Wife Hortensia deVereta Lost film1923 The Christian Lady Robert Ure The Tiger's Claw Chameli Brentwood Lost film Souls for Sale Lady Jane Don't Marry for Money Edith Martin Lost film In the Palace of the King Princess Eboli Lost film1924 Name the Man Isabelle Three Weeks The Queen True As Steel Mrs. Eva Boutelle Incomplete film His Hour Tamara Loraine The Wife of the Centaur Inez Martin Lost film1925 A Thief in Paradise Rosa Carmino Lost film One Year to Live Elsa Duchanier Lost film A Kiss in the Dark Janet Livingstone Incomplete film, two reels survive Wildfire Claire Barrington The Mystic Zara Soul Mates Velma 1926 Camille Estelle Short film Lost film The Wilderness Woman Juneau MacLean Lost film The Great Deception Lois Lost film Tin Gods Janet Stone Lost film1927 Adam and Evil Evelyn Trevelyan Lost film Body and Soul Hilda Tea for Three Doris Langford Lost film1928 Wickedness Preferred Kitty Dare Lost film Beau Broadway Yvonne Lost film The Baby Cyclone Lydia Lost film Show People Herself Cameo appearance Dream of Love The Duchess Lost film1929 A Single Man Mary Hazeltine Lost film Night Parade Paula Vernoff Incomplete (Library of Congress) Wall Street Ann Tabor1930 Puttin' On the Ritz Mrs. Teddy Von Rennsler Prince of Diamonds Eve Marley Soldiers and Women Brenda Ritchie1931 Subway Express Dale Tracy Murder at Midnight Esme Kennedy Convicted Claire Norville1932 Police Court Diana McCormick The Age of Consent Barbara The Phantom of Crestwood Mrs. Herbert Walcott 1933 By Appointment Only Diane Manners1934 Love Past Thirty Caroline Burt Jane Eyre Lady Blanche Ingram Once to Every Bachelor Judy Bryant Sons of Steel Enid Chadburne 1935 Vanessa: Her Love Story Herries Servant Uncredited1936 Wife vs. Secretary Mrs. Anne Barker Uncredited The Unguarded Hour Diana Roggers Piccadilly Jim Paducah Pomeroy Wanted! Jane Turner Norris' Secretary Uncredited1937 Criminal Lawyer Mrs. Manning Uncredited The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Maria John Meade's Woman Mrs. Melton Thanks for Listening Lulu, Blackmailer Leader She's No Lady Mrs. Douglas Nothing Sacred Mrs. Bullock Uncredited1938 Man-Proof Second Gossipy Woman Uncredited Too Hot to Handle Mrs. Arthur MacArthur Uncredited1939 The Hardys Ride High Miss Booth, Dress Saleslady Calling Dr. Kildare Mrs. Thatcher Uncredited Should a Girl Marry? Mrs. White The Women Miss Carter (saleslady) Uncredited The Night of Nights Dress Saleslady Uncredited1941 Appointment for Love Nurse Gibbons Uncredited They Died with Their Boots On Mrs. Sharp Uncredited 1942 Between Us Girls Guest Uncredited1943 The Youngest Profession Miss Farwood Uncredited Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Chaperon Uncredited Happy Land Mrs. Prentiss Uncredited1944 Since You Went Away Woman at Cocktail Lounge Uncredited A Wave, a WAC and a Marine Newswoman Laura Woman Uncredited
References Notes
Bibliography Kenneth Anger, Hollywood Babylon, San Francisco California: Straight Arrow Books, 1975. "Films In Review", October 1979, Vol.XXX No.8. Article on Aileen Pringle by De Witt Bodeen. ISSN 0015-1688. "Films In Review", March 1990, Vol.XLI No.3. Article on Aileen Pringle by Stuart Oderman. ISSN 0015-1688 Rodgers, Marion Elizabeth (2005) Mencken: The American Iconoclast. Oxford University Press. Bruce Kellner. The Last Dandy: Ralph Barton, American Artist, 1891-1931. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1991.
External links
Aileen Pringle at Silent Ladies & Gents Aileen Pringle Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Aileen Pringle at Virtual History