Florence Gilbert(1904-1991)
- Actress
Born and mostly raised in Chicago. Mother took her and brother Eddie to
Los Angeles when she was 14 (c. 1918) but reportedly looked a few years
older, and got her into movies. Worked for Christy and Fox Studios.
Around 1926, married entrepreneur Ashton Dearholt and bore him two children,
son Lee and daughter Caryl Lee, and left show business permanently to
tend home and family. Divorced Dearholt after he returned from a
business trip to Guatemala with would-be starlet Ula Holt in tow and
insisted on Holt living in the Dearholt home. Married Dearholt-family
friend Edgar Rice Burroughs, 28 years her senior, who had admired her from afar, had
recently also separated from his wife. Left this marriage allegedly
because, after a period of happiness, during which they moved to
Hawaii, Burroughs began drinking, treated her coldly, and was verbally
hostile towards her son, while lavishing affection on her daughter.
Florence Gilbert's third husband was Albert S. Chase who legally
adopted both her children. She remained socially connected to the film
community through her professional friendships and marriages. Daughter
Caryl Lee eventually became an animal trainer in Hollywood, using the
name Cindy Cullen.
