Nancy Nash (born Maude Miller;[1] 1897–?) was an American actress. She appeared in films from the 1920s into the early 1940s. She had several leading roles including in Upstream and Rich But Honest. She was promoted as one of the "Youth in Fox Pictures" during her early career.[2]
Nancy Nash | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nash in 1926 | |
| Born | Maude Miller 1897 Mercedes, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1926–1941 |
Career edit
Born to a family of ranchers near Mercedes, Texas,[3] Nash was interested in recreating high fashion shown in films and often took notes on the outfits actresses wore in order to copy them. In 1926, on a visit to Hollywood, she decided to audition for an acting role in The City alongside 60 other applicants, and won the part.[4] This conflicted with her plans to attend the University of Texas the following week, and she had to convince her parents that pursuing a film career was more important.[5]
She was announced as an actress by Winfield Sheehan, vice president of Fox Film, in September 1926 before confirming her first role in The City in October of that year.[6] She next had the lead role with Earle Foxe in the 1927 comedy feature Upstream,[7] which was considered lost media until the discovery of a copy in the New Zealand Film Archive in 2009.[8] The Times said that Nash's and Raymond Hitchcock's work gave the film "pathos and humor, thrills and suspense and characterization that is poignantly human".[9]
Nash then starred in the 1927 Vitaphone film Rich But Honest alongside Clifford Holland, based on a short story by Arthur Somers Roche,[10] in which Nash's character rode in a Willys-Knight sedan to represent her newfound wealth.[11] Nash left her acting career for several years when she married a newspaper reporter, but returned to film in 1931,[12] when she joined the Goldwyn Girls team led by Samuel Goldwyn and starred alongside 75 other women in the 1932 film The Kid from Spain.[13] In 1933, she signed a new contract with Jack L. Warner as a chorus girl for Warner Brothers films, first starring in Footlight Parade.[14]
Filmography edit
- The City (1926) as Cicely Rand[15]
- Upstream (1927) as Gertie Ryan[16]
- Rich But Honest (1927) as Florine Candless
- The Loves of Carmen (1927)[17] as Michaela[18]
- The Ballyhoo Buster (1928)[19] as Dorothy
- Palmy Days (1931)[20] as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
- The Kid from Spain (1932) as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)[21]
- 42nd Street (1933) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- Footlight Parade (1933) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- Dames (1934) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- Sis Hopkins (1941) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Personal life edit
Originally married to Los Angeles Examiner reporter Otto Winkler, they divorced in the early 1930s. Nash then married her second husband, attorney Jay Chotiner in 1933.[22] She was later married to film producer Ben Hershfield, a former husband of actress Rita La Roy.[23]
References edit
- ^ "Carole Lombard and Ex-Husband Of McAllen Girl Killed in Plane Crash". McAllen Daily Press. January 18, 1942. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Youth In Fox Pictures". The American Hebrew. Vol. 120, no. 1. American Hebrew. 1926. p. 8. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Nancy Nash". The Gosford Times and Wyong District Advocate. May 12, 1927. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nancy Nash Popular Almost Over Night". The South Bend Tribune. December 19, 1926. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gouldy, Mabel (September 26, 1926). "Visit Sends Mercedes Girl On Way To Movie Stardom". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nancy Nash Latest Find for Pictures". The Sacramento Union. October 10, 1926. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Comedy-Drama Of Theatrical Life Is Crescent Feature". The Ithaca Journal. April 16, 1927. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (June 7, 2010). "Trove of Long-Lost Silent Films Returns to America". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
- ^ "Amusements: At The Deluxe". The Times. April 12, 1927. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Comedy Heads Week's Offerings On Stage And Screen Of Lima". The Lima Morning Star and Republican-Gazette. August 21, 1927. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nancy Nash, Popular Screen Star, Chooses to Do Her Riding in This Aristocrat of the Motor World". Dayton Daily News. August 21, 1927. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thomas, Dan (November 8, 1932). "Amusements". The Whittier News. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "76 Chorus Girls Are Matched Like Pearls By Goldwyn". The Shreveport Journal. March 4, 1933. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnes, Eleanor (July 21, 1933). "Warner Signs 35 'Luckiest'". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nancy Nash, New Fox Star in "The City" at Lyceum". Bayonne Evening News. January 25, 1927. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Many Favorites In New Fox Production". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. January 9, 1928. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (September 29, 2015). Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965. Penguin Group. p. 411. ISBN 9780147516824.
- ^ Klepper, Robert K. (September 16, 2015). Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. McFarland & Company. p. 421. ISBN 9781476604848.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
- ^ Sabini, Lou. "Sex In the Cinema: The Pre-Code Years (1929–1934)". BearManor Media – via Google Books.
- ^ "With The Players In Shadow In Person – The Kid From Spain". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 8, 1933. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Winchell, Walter (January 10, 1933). "On Broadway". The Scranton Times-Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ex-Film Producer Denies Suing Wife Is Eighth". Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1955 – via Newspapers.com.