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Gertrude Astor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gertrude Astor (9 November 1887 - 9 November 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone on a riverboat.
Astor was a prolific performer, between 1917 and 1962 she appeared in over one-hundred movies. She made her screen debut in 1914 as a contract player at Universal. A tall, angular woman, Astor frequently towered over the leading men of the era; thus, she was most frequently utilized in comedy roles as aristocrats, golddiggers and "heroine's best pal".
Her best known silent appearances were as the vamp who plants stolen money on Harry Langdon in 1926's The Strong Man, and as Laura LaPlante's wisecracking travelling companion in 1927's The Cat and the Canary.
Astor worked prolifically at Hal Roach studios with such headliners as Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, and especially Charley Chase. She was also kept busy at Columbia Pictures' short subjects unit.
She continued to play bits in feature films throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She was briefly glimpsed as the first murder victim in the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Scarlet Claw and was among the ranks of dress extras in 1956's Around the World in 80 Days. Her last appearance was in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
In her later years, Astor was a welcome guest at several Sons of the Desert gatherings, and became an honorary member of the Way Out West tent.
She died in Woodland Hills, California on her 90th birthday from a stroke.