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IMDbPro

Bessie Love(1898-1986)

  • Actress
  • Script and Continuity Department
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Bessie Love
Three Reasons Criterion Trailer for Sunday Bloody Sunday
Play trailer1:33
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Bessie Love was born in Texas. Her cowboy father moved the family to Hollywood, where he became a chiropractor. As the family needed money, Bessie's mother sent her to Biograph Studios, hoping she would become an actress. D.W. Griffith saw she was pretty and had some acting talent, and put her in several of his films, also giving her a small part in Intolerance (1916). Bessie became popular with audiences and worked with Douglas Fairbanks in Reggie Mixes In (1916) and William S. Hart in The Aryan (1916). She then moved to Vitagraph and starred in a number of comedy-dramas. In the 1920s she began to act in more mature roles, such as Those Who Dance (1924), and also began working on the stage. She performed the first screen "Charleston" dance in The King on Main Street (1925), and gave one of her best performances in Dress Parade (1927). When sound movies came into vogue, she made a number of them and received an Academy Award nomination for The Broadway Melody (1929). By 1931, however, her career was over. She moved to England in 1935 and entertained the troops during World War II. By the 1950s she started playing small roles in movies such as No Highway in the Sky (1951). She played in a handful of low-budget films from the 1950s through the 1970s. In the 1980s she appeared in the big-budget Ragtime (1981) which starred James Cagney, and later that year in Reds (1981) which starred Warren Beatty.
BornSeptember 10, 1898
DiedApril 26, 1986(87)
BornSeptember 10, 1898
DiedApril 26, 1986(87)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 6 wins & 1 nomination total

Photos127

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+ 120
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Known for

Charles King, Bessie Love, and Anita Page in The Broadway Melody (1929)
The Broadway Melody
5.5
  • Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
  • 1929
Raymond Hackett and Bessie Love in The Girl in the Show (1929)
The Girl in the Show
5.6
  • Hattie Hartley
  • 1929
Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger (1983)
The Hunger
6.6
  • Lillybelle
  • 1983
The Lost World (1925)
The Lost World
7.0
  • Paula White(as Miss Bessie Love)
  • 1925

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger (1983)
    The Hunger
    6.6
    • Lillybelle
    • 1983
  • Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds (1981)
    Reds
    7.3
    • Mrs. Partlow
    • 1981
  • Ragtime (1981)
    Ragtime
    7.3
    • Old Lady - T.O.C.
    • 1981
  • Sylvia Kristel and Nicholas Clay in Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981)
    Lady Chatterley's Lover
    5.1
    • Flora
    • 1981
  • Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris in Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978)
    Edward & Mrs. Simpson
    7.5
    TV Mini Series
    • Lady Cunard
    • 1978
  • Richard Harris in Gulliver's Travels (1977)
    Gulliver's Travels
    5.5
    • (voice)
    • 1977
  • Katy
    5.2
    TV Series
    • Mrs. Finch
    • 1976
  • The Ritz (1976)
    The Ritz
    6.8
    • Maurine
    • 1976
  • Shades of Greene (1975)
    Shades of Greene
    7.8
    TV Series
    • St. Louis Woman
    • 1975
  • Vampyres (1974)
    Vampyres
    6.0
    • American Lady
    • 1974
  • Mousey (1974)
    Mousey
    6.0
    TV Movie
    • Mrs. Richardson
    • 1974
  • Pollyanna (1973)
    Pollyanna
    7.2
    TV Mini Series
    • Mrs Snow
    • 1973
  • Catlow (1971)
    Catlow
    5.6
    • Mrs. Frost
    • 1971
  • Alfred Burke in Public Eye (1965)
    Public Eye
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Chrissy Husack
    • 1971
  • Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
    Sunday Bloody Sunday
    6.9
    • Answering Service Lady
    • 1971

Script and Continuity Department



  • Patricia Roc, Françoise Rosay, and Tom Walls in Johnny Frenchman (1945)
    Johnny Frenchman
    6.3
    • assistant continuity: studios (uncredited)
    • 1945
  • San Demetrio London (1943)
    San Demetrio London
    6.7
    • assistant continuity (uncredited)
    • 1943

Writer



  • Bessie Love in A Yankee Princess (1919)
    A Yankee Princess
    • screenplay
    • 1919

Videos2

Trailer
Trailer 3:15
Trailer
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Trailer 1:33
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Trailer 1:33
Sunday Bloody Sunday

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Miss Bessie Love
  • Height
    • 5′ (1.52 m)
  • Born
    • September 10, 1898
    • Midland, Texas, USA
  • Died
    • April 26, 1986
    • London, England, UK(natural causes)
  • Spouse
    • William B. HawksDecember 27, 1929 - December 7, 1936 (divorced, 1 child)
  • Children
    • Patricia Hawks
  • Other works
    Stage play: West of Suez by John Osborne - playing Mrs Dekker at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England, with Ralph Richardson, Nigel Hawthorne, Jill Bennett, Penelope Wilton, Sheila Ballantine, Geoffrey Palmer, Stephen Moore, Willoughby Gray, and Nicholas Selby in the cast
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 23 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 4 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Worked for the Red Cross during World War II.
  • Nickname
    • Miss Bessie Love

FAQ13

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