Sally Eilers

Sally Eilers
Eilers in 1933
Born	Dorothea Sally Eilers (1908-12-11)December 11, 1908 New York City, U.S.
Died	January 5, 1978(1978-01-05) (aged 69) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1927–1950
Spouses	Hoot Gibson ​ ​ (m. 1930; div. 1933)​ Harry Joe Brown ​ ​ (m. 1933; div. 1943)​ Howard Barney ​ ​ (m. 1943; div. 1946)​ Hollingsworth Morse ​ ​ (m. 1949; div. 1958)​
Children	1

Dorothea Sally Eilers^[1] (December 11, 1908 – January 5, 1978) was an American actress.

Early life

Eilers was born in New York City to a Jewish-American mother, Paula (or Pauline) Schoenberger, and a German-American father, Hio Peter Eilers (an inventor).^[2] She had one sibling, a brother, Hio Peter Eilers Jr. When Eilers was young, she moved to Los Angeles with her parents, and in 1927 she graduated from Fairfax High School.^[3]

Career

She made her film debut in 1927 in The Red Mill,^[4] directed by Roscoe Arbuckle. After several minor roles as an extra, in 1927–1928 she found work with Mack Sennett as one of his "flaming youth" comedians^[1] in several comedy short subjects, along with Carole Lombard, who had been a school friend. In 1928, she was voted as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, a yearly list of young actresses selected by publicity people in the film business, with selection based on the actresses' having "shown the most promise during the past 12 months."^[5]

Eilers was a popular figure in early-1930s Hollywood, known for her high spirits and vivacity. Her films were mostly comedies and crime melodramas such as Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy and George Raft. By the end of the decade, her popularity had waned, and her subsequent film appearances were few. She made her final film appearance in Stage to Tucson (1950).^[6]

Personal life

Eilers and Hoot Gibson in 1951

She was married four times, beginning with Western actor Hoot Gibson.^[7] She and her second husband, Harry Joe Brown, had one child, a son, Harry Joe Brown Jr. (1934–2006).^[8] She lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California^[9] designed by architect Paul R. Williams.^[9] Eilers was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.^[10] Like her mother, Eilers adhered to Judaism.^[11]

Death

During her final years, Eilers suffered poor health, and died from a heart attack on January 5, 1978, in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 69. She was cremated and her remains were interred in a small niche in the Freedom Mausoleum, Columbarium of Understanding, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.^[12]

Partial filmography

• The Red Mill (1927) (uncredited)
• Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
• Paid to Love (1927)
• The Cradle Snatchers (1927)
• The Campus Vamp (1928) (short subject)
• Fazil (1928)
• The Good-Bye Kiss (1928)
• The Crowd (1928)
• Dry Martini (1928)
• Broadway Babies (1929)
• Weary River (1929)
• Sailor's Holiday (1929)
• The Long Long Trail (1929)
• The Show of Shows (1929)
• She Couldn't Say No (1930)
• Let Us Be Gay (1930)
• Doughboys (1930)
• Trigger Tricks (1930)
• Roaring Ranch (1930)
• Clearing the Range (1931)
• Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
• Quick Millions (1931)
• The Black Camel (1931)
• A Holy Terror (1931)
• Over the Hill (1931)
• Reducing (1931)
• Bad Girl (1931)
• Disorderly Conduct (1932)
• Hat Check Girl (1932)
• Hold Me Tight (1933)
• Made on Broadway (1933)
• Sailor's Luck (1933)
• Second Hand Wife (1933)
• Central Airport (1933)
• State Fair (1933)
• Walls of Gold (1933)
• She Made Her Bed (1934)
• Three on a Honeymoon (1934)
• I Spy (1934)
• Pursuit (1935)
• Alias Mary Dow (1935)
• Carnival (1935)
• Remember Last Night? (1935)
• Don't Get Personal (1936)
• Florida Special (1936)
• Talk of the Devil (1936) (British)
• Without Orders (1936)
• Strike Me Pink (1936)
• Danger Patrol (1937)
• We Have Our Moments (1937)
• Lady Behave! (1937)
• Tarnished Angel (1938)
• Condemned Women (1938)
• Everybody's Doing It (1938)
• The Nurse from Brooklyn (1938)
• Full Confession (1939)
• They Made Her a Spy (1939)
• I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island (1941)
• First Aid (1943) (short subject)
• A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944)
• Strange Illusion (1945)
• Coroner Creek (1948)
• Stage to Tucson (1950)

References

1. Walker, Brent E. (2013). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland. p. 501. ISBN 9780786477111. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
2. Parish, J.R.; Leonard, W.T. (1976). Hollywood Players: The Thirties. Arlington House. ISBN 9780870003653. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
3. "How They Broke Into the Movies: Sally Eilers". Ames Daily Tribune. Iowa, Ames. June 15, 1935. p. 5. Retrieved February 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Historiette". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. May 15, 1932. p. 64. Retrieved February 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "13 Lucky Girls Of Filmland Given Boost To Fame And Fortune". The Times-Herald. Michigan, Port Huron. January 27, 1928. p. 20. Retrieved February 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 217–218. ISBN 9781557835512. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
7. "Hoot Gibson Weds Miss Sally Eilers". Lebanon Daily News. Pennsylvania, Lebanon. Associated Press. June 28, 1930. p. 10. Retrieved January 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Martin, Douglas (May 29, 2015). "Harry Joe Brown Jr., 71, Innovative Developer, Dies - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015.
9. Victoria Talbot, 'Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission Splits 2 To 2 on Mountain Drive Landmark Vote', The Beverly Hills Courier, October 3, 2014, Vol. XXXXVIIII, No. 39, p. 4
10. Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
11. "Jewish Post 21 August 1936 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
12. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries

External links

• Sally Eilers at IMDb
• Photographs of Sally Eilers