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Edna Purviance

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Edna Purviance Famous memorial

Birth
Paradise Valley, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA
Death
13 Jan 1958 (aged 62)
Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Burial
Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA GPS-Latitude: 34.1716354, Longitude: -118.2820538
Plot
West Mausoleum, Columbarium Unit H, Niche 73 (just to the left of the main entrance)
Memorial ID
View Source
Silent Film Actress. Born Olga Edna Purviance to Louise and Madison Purviance, she would live at her birthplace until she was three years old, when her family moved to Lovelock, Nevada after purchasing a hotel. In late 1902, her parents divorced and her mother continued to manage the business. Her mother remarried in 1904 to German-born Robert Nurnburger. Her stepfather had a plumbing business while her mother continued with the hotel. Her stepfather died on February 7, 1911. After she finished her schooling in Lovelock in 1913, she and her mother left for San Francisco in July that year. While her mother returned to Lovelock, she stayed in San Francisco with her sister to attend business college from 1913 to 1914, and became a stenographer. After she received a message from Essany Studios in 1915, a meeting was arranged at the St. Francis Hotel for her to meet actor Charlie Chaplin. An associate of Charlie Chaplin's had seen her in a coffee shop and thought she was the perfect girl for Chaplin's next film. While Chaplin thought she was beautiful, he also thought she was too serious for comedies. Although she was not an actress, Chaplin decided to sign her anyway. He figured she would be "decorative" in his comedies. Her first film with Chaplin was "His Night Out." She made 12 films in 1915. She would star with him in over 34 silent films in eight years. She became not only his co-star on screen, but they also became very close off screen with thoughts of marriage until Chaplin suddenly married, on October 23, 1918, a 16-year-old actress Mildred Harris. She had a lead role in the 1923 film "A Woman of Paris," which was directed by Chaplin. The purpose of the film was to give her recognition in a film without Chaplin; the film was a box office failure. Chaplin reissued the edited film with a new musical score in 1975. She left the Hollywood spotlight afterwards but was kept on Chaplin's payroll with a small monthly stipend while she was single and later a widow. In 1938 she married an airline pilot, but he died in 1945. As a widow, she appeared in Chaplin's films in 1947 and 1952 in non-speaking, uncredited roles.
Silent Film Actress. Born Olga Edna Purviance to Louise and Madison Purviance, she would live at her birthplace until she was three years old, when her family moved to Lovelock, Nevada after purchasing a hotel. In late 1902, her parents divorced and her mother continued to manage the business. Her mother remarried in 1904 to German-born Robert Nurnburger. Her stepfather had a plumbing business while her mother continued with the hotel. Her stepfather died on February 7, 1911. After she finished her schooling in Lovelock in 1913, she and her mother left for San Francisco in July that year. While her mother returned to Lovelock, she stayed in San Francisco with her sister to attend business college from 1913 to 1914, and became a stenographer. After she received a message from Essany Studios in 1915, a meeting was arranged at the St. Francis Hotel for her to meet actor Charlie Chaplin. An associate of Charlie Chaplin's had seen her in a coffee shop and thought she was the perfect girl for Chaplin's next film. While Chaplin thought she was beautiful, he also thought she was too serious for comedies. Although she was not an actress, Chaplin decided to sign her anyway. He figured she would be "decorative" in his comedies. Her first film with Chaplin was "His Night Out." She made 12 films in 1915. She would star with him in over 34 silent films in eight years. She became not only his co-star on screen, but they also became very close off screen with thoughts of marriage until Chaplin suddenly married, on October 23, 1918, a 16-year-old actress Mildred Harris. She had a lead role in the 1923 film "A Woman of Paris," which was directed by Chaplin. The purpose of the film was to give her recognition in a film without Chaplin; the film was a box office failure. Chaplin reissued the edited film with a new musical score in 1975. She left the Hollywood spotlight afterwards but was kept on Chaplin's payroll with a small monthly stipend while she was single and later a widow. In 1938 she married an airline pilot, but he died in 1945. As a widow, she appeared in Chaplin's films in 1947 and 1952 in non-speaking, uncredited roles.

Bio by: Marta Monk



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Added: Jun 29, 1999
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5800/edna-purviance: accessed ), memorial page for Edna Purviance (21 Oct 1895–13 Jan 1958), Find a Grave Memorial ID 5800, citing Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory, Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.