American actress and showgirl (1910–1977)

Claudia Dell (born Claudia Dell Smith; January 10, 1910 – September 5, 1977) was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and movies.

Contents

• 1 Early years
• 2 Early career
• 3 Hollywood
• 4 B-movies
• 5 Radio
• 6 Personal life
• 7 Modeling instructor
• 8 Death
• 9 Partial filmography
• 10 References
• 11 Bibliography
• 12 External links

Early years

Dell was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 1910. She attended school in San Antonio and Mexico. Dell was blonde and blue-eyed, with a porcelain face. Her height was 5'5". In Bette Davis's 1962 autobiography The Lonely Life, she makes a p*ing reference to "Little Claudia Dell", an actress from the 1930s and early 1940s, "whose image," Bette remarks, "was used as Columbia Pictures' signature for years."

Early career

Dell's aunt Mary Dell was an actress in vaudeville. Claudia's first experience as an entertainer was playing her violin for soldiers at Kelly Field during World War I.

After completing her education at home, Dell went to New York City and became an understudy to Irene Delroy in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927. She studied acting in New York City at the Academy and singing at the Juilliard School. Soon she was sent to London to play the lead in the musical comedy Mary Mary. The play's run lasted one year. While in England, scouts from Warner Brothers asked her to come to Hollywood. She returned to New York City with her aunt following a tour of southern Europe. Claudia became homesick, rejected leads offered her in two stage productions, and moved to Los Angeles, where her family lived.

Hollywood

Dell was given a contract by Warner Bros. to star in a number of musical pictures. She played the *le role in the lavish musical film Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930). Her next role was with Al Jolson in Big Boy (1930). In 1930, the public had grown weary of musicals. Warner Brothers, however, had begun to film two other musicals (released in 1931) in which Dell was given a leading role. The first of these was another lavish production *led Fifty Million Frenchmen. In the second film, Sit Tight (1931), she played the love interest of Paul Gregory. Ironically, both pictures had their musical sequences cut before release. Warner Bros. dropped her option in 1931 (along with most of its other musical stars), and Claudia (having become *ociated with musicals) was relegated to Poverty Row productions.

B-movies

Dell bounced back at Universal Pictures in Destry Rides Again (1932), which starred cowboy actor Tom Mix. In 1935, she played the *e in the serial The Lost City. Other 1930s films in which she appeared included Algiers (1938) and We're in the Legion Now! (1936). By the close of the 1930s, she was reduced to playing minor roles, and the 1940s continued her career decline. She was cast in low-budget productions like Black Magic (1944), a Charlie Chan series movie. Also in 1944, she was in "Meeting at Midnight", another Charlie Chan movie. She had a part in Call of the Jungle (1944), a jungle adventure from Monogram Pictures that showcased stripper Ann Corio.

Radio

After her film career faltered, Dell was under contract for five years with RKO and did many Lux Radio Theater programs for Cecil B. DeMille and Orson Welles. She had her own television show in New York, *led Leave It to the Girls.

In the early 1970s, Dell had a syndicated radio program that aired in the Midwest *led The Claudia Dell Show. She wrote a syndicated column for eight years, and in 1973, completed a collaboration with English author Helga Moray. This was for a television script considered for the Theater of the Week program.

Personal life

Dell and Phillip G. Offin married when she was 17. She obtained a divorce from him two years later in 1930. On December 29, 1934, Dell married theatrical agent Edward Silton. She gave her age as 22. They later divorced. She married retired chewing gum manufacturer Daniel Emmett in 1947.

Modeling instructor

She worked as a receptionist in a beauty shop in Hollywood and made appearances in early television dramas. In 1973, she became the student director of the John Robert Powers School of Charm and Modeling in Sherman Oaks, California and Woodland Hills Promenade. Previously, she worked for 12 years as director of the John Robert Powers School in Beverly Hills, California. Dell said "There is no better work than being able to be *ociated with a school which helps mold young people for the future and one that gives a whole new dimension to a woman's life."

Death

Dell died in Los Angeles in 1977. Her remains are interred at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood.

Partial filmography

• Montana Moon (1930) - Froggy's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)
• Big Boy (1930) - Annabel
• 50 Million Frenchmen (1931) - Lu Lu Carroll
• Bachelor Apartment (1931) - Lita Andrews
• Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931) - Peggy
• Left Over Ladies (1931) - Patricia
• Scandal for Sale (1932) - Dorothy Pepper
• Destry Rides Again (1932) - Sally Dangerfield
• The Midnight Lady (1932) - Jean Austin
• Hearts of Humanity (1932) - Ruth Sneider
• Midnight Warning (1932) - Enid Van Buren
• The Woman Who Dared (1933) - Mickey Martin - Factory Owner
• Cleopatra (1934) - Octavia
• Trails End (1935) - Mrs. Janet Moorehead
• Midnight Phantom (1935) - Diana Sullivan
• Speed Limited (1935) - Marjorie
• The Lost City (1935, Serial) - Natcha Manyus (archive footage)
• Ghost Patrol (1936) - Natalie Brent
• Yellow Cargo (1936) - Fay Temple
• What Becomes of the Children? (1936) - Gayle Adams
• We're in the Legion Now! (1936) - Yvonne Cartier
• Boots of Destiny (1937) - Alice Wilson
• A Bride for Henry (1937) - Helen Van Orden
• Algiers (1938) - Marie
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
• Juarez and Maximilian (1939) - Agnes Salm (uncredited)
• The Mad Empress (1939) - Agnes Salm (uncredited)
• Sauce for the Gander (1940) - Mrs. Rogers
• Spotlight Serenade (1943) - Betty
• Call of the Jungle (1944) - Gracie
• Black Magic (1944) - Vera Starkey

References

Bibliography

• Port Arthur, Texas News, Texas Girl Is Latest Find, Sunday, September 21, 1930, Page Nine.
• Port Arthur News, Claudia Dell Weds Theatrical Agent, Sunday, December 30, 1934, Page 2.
• Van Nuys, California The News, Today's Personality Is...Claudia Dell, Thursday, November 15, 1973. Page 5-C.

External links

• Biography portal

• Claudia Dell at IMDb
• Claudia Dell at AllMovie
• Claudia Dell at the Internet Broadway Database
• Claudia Dell at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• Claudia Dell New York Public Library Digital Gallery photo
• Claudia Dell at Find a Grave