Nydia Westman (1902 - 1970)

Actress. She appeared in 50 films and 30 television shows, as well as numerous stage productions. (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Spouse:  Robert S. Sparks (1901 – 1963)  Children:  Kate Williamson (1930 – 2013)* *Calculated relationship

Paula Wessely (1907 - 2000)

Actress. Wessely made her debut in “Maskerade” (1934). During the Second World War she played in nazi propaganda movies like “Heimkehr” (“Coming Home”, 1941). Wessely refused several invitations to go to Hollywood and therefore never really became famous outside the German speaking region. (bio by: MC)

Ilse Werner (1921 - 2005)

Actress. Born in Batavia (Jakarta/Indonesia). Daughter of O.E. Still and his wife Lilli. In 1931 she migrated to Frankfurt/Germany. Her first appearance on stage was in “Glück” at the Josephstadt-Theater in Vienna, 1937. Her debut movie role was in  “Die unruhigen Mädchen” (1938). In 1939 she had her first leading role in “Bel Ami.” She […]

Barbara Werle (1928 - 2013)

Actress. Born Barbara May Theresa Werle, she attended parochial school and following graduation, she received training in professional ballroom dancing. She achieved national attention when along with her partner John Mansell (under her married name Barbara Branca), they won the Harvest Moon Ball title in 1955. This success led to multiple appearances on the “Ed […]

Annemarie Wendl (1914 - 2006)

Actress. Born in Germany, she began her training as an actress in Berlin.  She starred in such  classic plays as “Faust”,  “Götz von Berlichingen”,  “A Streetcar Named Desire”,  and “Mother Courage” before entering films in 1961.  Wendl was seen in some 35 films and TV productions, notably director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Ich will doch nur, […]

Pat Welsh (1915 - 1995)

Voice Actress. She will forever be immortalized on screen, as the voice of the legendary alien in the 1982 Steven Spielberg classic blockbuter hit “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. Pat was born Patricia A. Carroll in San Francisco, California and in her early years she worked as a radio soap opera actress there. Movie Voice Designer Ben […]

Doris Wells (1941 - 1988)

Actress. Born Doris Marina Buonafina in Caripito, a little oil town of Monagas State, Venezuela, at 15 years of age, and coinciding with the migration of her family to Caracas, she became a student of the Juana Sujo’s School of Theater, graduating in 1960. Her debut in television was in the polemic Venezuelan TV series […]

Dorothy “Dottie” Coonan Wellman (1913 - 2009)

Actress and Dancer. She appeared in a number of films in the early 1930s, and was the fifth, and last, wife of director William Wellman. Raised in Los Angeles from early childhood, she quit school at 14 to persue her dream of becoming a dancer. After joining the troupe of choreographer Busby Berkeley, she danced […]

Meri Welles (1937 - 1973)

Actress. Born in Dallas, Texas, she was a character performer best remembered for role as Lorraine, in “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960). She also appeared in “The Ladies Man” (1961), “The Pink Panther”(1963), “Cleopatra” (1963) and “A House is Not a Home” (1964). For television her credits include, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “The Deputy”, “The […]

Elisabeth Welch (1904 - 2003)

American Singer and Actress. She developed her career in England. Her professional stage debut was in “Blackbirds” in 1928. She also appeared in “Nymph Errant” (1933), “Glamorous Night” (1935), “It’s In the Bag” (1937), “No Time for Comedy” (1941), and “Pippin” (1973). She play in a few films such as “Song of Freedom” (1936), “Fiddlers […]

Hilde Weissner (1909 - 1987)

Actress.  Leading lady and later character performer in German films.  Born in Stettin,  Germany (now Szczecin,  Poland),  she made her acting debut in 1929 at the Schiller-Theatre in Hamburg-Altona,  and entered films in 1934.  Weissner’s credits include “Pappi” (1936),  “The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes” (1937),  “The Rothschilds” (1940),  “Diesel” (1942),  “Tromba,  The Tiger Man” […]

Jane Weir (1916 - 1937)

Actress. She made only four films, all of them in 1937: “Souls at Sea”, “Artists and Models”, “The Singing Marine” and “Criminals in the Air”. She died after an appendectomy. (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)

Helene Weigel-Brecht (1900 - 1971)

Actress. She married Berthold Brecht in 1929. She influenced the female characters in Brechts plays. She joined the communist party in 1930. On Feruary 28, one day after the Reichstags fire Brecht and Weigel fled with their family and friends to Denmark. They later lived in Sweden, Finland and the United States. In 1948 she […]

Virginia Weidler (1927 - 1968)

Magnificent child actress, Virginia Weidler began acting at the age of three. Her performance (at the age of seven) in “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch” (her first credited play) was a hit. She played in “The Women” (1939), and “Babes on Broadway” (1941), but she is best remembered for her portrayal of ‘Dinah Lord,’ […]

Liva Weel (1897 - 1952)

Singer, Actress. She was born and died in Copenhagen (Denmark). On stage, she became a leading lady of danish scene. In motion pictures, she appeared in Livets Karneval (1923), Odds 777 (1932), Cocktail (1937), Under Byens Tage (1938), Ta’Briller Pa (1942) and Smedestraede 4 (1950). She was married with actor Arne Weel. (bio by: José […]

Mimi Rogers Weddell (1915 - 2009)

Actress,  Model. She was remarkable for not having started her full-time career until after age 65. Weddell was the wife of a recording executive and art gallery salesman who spent most of her life concentrating on family obligations.  During the 1940s she had been an assistant to the “New York Times” fashion editor, and over […]

Janet Webb (1930 - 1983)

British actress, starred in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”(1966). (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Fay Webb (1907 - 1936)

Stage and silent screen actress. She was married during the 1930s to actor/singer Rudy Vallee. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Clarence E. Webb (1885 – 1973)  Myrtle Belle Miller Webb (1883 – 1936)

Carol Wayne (1942 - 1985)

Actress. She is best remembered for playing opposite Johnny Carson on the “Tonight Show” as the “Matinee Lady.” Sometimes credited as Nina Wayne (her sister), she and her sister skated with the “Ice Capades” as teenagers.  She then moved on to be a topless showgirl in the Las Vegas’ “Foiles Bergere”. She began her show […]

Lucile Watson (1879 - 1962)

Canadian-born actress. She was known as the “Queen of the Dowagers” because of her several roles as motherly types in film. In 1943 she was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role as Bette Davis’s mother in the film “Watch On The Rhine.” Her other film credits include “Every Woman […]

Toney Watkins (1947 - 1986)

Actress. She appeared in the film “Hair” (1979).

Tahira Wasti (1944 - 2012)

Tahira Wasti Actress. An aristocratic beauty, she shall be remembered for her long career on Pakistani television that frequently saw her cast in royal or upper-crust roles. Born at Sargodha in what was then British India, she originally intended to be a writer and published her first short story at 16. Tahira joined the Pakistan […]

Fredi Carolyn Washington (1903 - 1994)

Dancer,  Actress. From 1922 to 1926,  she toured in Sissle and Blake’s play “Shuffle Along”. Her film career includes performances in “Black and Tan Fantasy” (1929), “The Old Man and the Mountain”, “The Emperor Jones” (1933), and “Imitation of Life” (1934). (bio by: Terrance Crooms)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lawrence Olin Brown (1907 – 1988)* *Calculated […]

Alice Washburn (1860 - 1929)

Actress. Her film credits include “Snow White,” “Aunt Elsa’s Visit,” “It Wasn’t Poison After All,” “How a Horseshoe Upset a Happy Family,” and “Mr. Bumptious, Detective.”  (bio by: Laurie)

Dr Claire Frances MacIntyre Warhola (1920 - 1999)

Physician and founder of Our Daily Bread, an agency to feed the poor. Also played “Baby Claire” in the “Little Rascals” movies and other roles.  Family links:  Spouse:  Andrew John Warhola (1930 – 1976)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: cancer

Herta Ware (1917 - 2005)

Actress. Married to “The Walton’s” actor, Will Geer. She  helped him found The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum for Blacklisted actors in Topanga, California.  As an actress she is best known for her portrayal of Jack Gilford’s wife ‘Rosie Lefkowitz’ in the 1985 film “Cocoon.”  Herta was an actress that graced Stage, Film, and Television.  She […]

Evelyn Ward (1923 - 2012)

American Actress. Ward began her career as a Roxyette at New York’s famed Roxy Theatre in the early 1940s, then headed for Broadway where she understudied for Mary Martin in ‘Dancing in the Streets’ and made her Broadway debut in 1943 in the musical comedy ‘Early to Bed’. Her other Broadway credits in the 1940s […]

Carrie Clarke Ward (1862 - 1926)

Actress. She appeared in motion pictures of the silent era (1910s and 20s). Appeared with a young Joan Crawford in director Jack Conway’s 1925 drama, “The Only Thing.” Also in 1925, she appeared with Rudolph Valentino in the film “The Eagle.” Ironically, they both died the following year. Her crypt is located in an area […]

Polly Walters (1913 - 1994)

Actress. She trained as a dancer and made her way to Broadway, appearing in several productions during the late 1920s. Then came a stage stint as Eddie Cantor’s straight woman before Warner Bros. signed her to a contract in 1931. At Warner’s, she appeared in three James Cagney films — “Taxi,” “Smart Money” and “Blonde […]

Luana Walters (1912 - 1963)

Actress. Considerate by many one of the sexiest of the B-western heroine, Walters was the leading lady to more individual cowboy stars than any other B-western actress. She worked in more than 70 films over a period of 25 years and had scenes with Edward G. Robinson, Jean Harlow, Harold Lloyd, Charles Boyer and Loretta […]