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Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 - April 17, 1962) was an American film actor, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films.

Contents 1 Indiana Native 2 Early Film Comedian 3 Marriage and Death 4 Philanthropist 5 References 6 Notable Films 7 External Link

She was born in Lafayette, Indiana. Her father, Joseph Fazenda, was a mercahndise broker. After moving west Louise attended Los Angeles High School and St. Mary's Convent. Before trying motion pictures, she worked for a dentist, a candy store owner, and a tax collector.

Fazenda got her start in comedy shorts as early as 1913 with Joker Studios, frequently appearing with Max Asher and Bobby Vernon. She was soon recruited for Mack Sennett's troupe at Keystone Studios.

As with many Keystone actors, Fazenda's star soon grew larger than Sennett was willing to pay for, and she left Sennett in the early 1920s for better roles and more money. She took a break from making motion pictures in 1921-1922 in order to try vaudeville. Fazenda appeared in a variety of shorts and feature-length films throughout the decade. By the advent of sound pictures, Fazenda was a highly paid actress, making movies for nearly all of the big studious. Fazenda continued through the 1930s, appearing mostly in musicals and comedies. Her skill was in performing character roles. She played such diverse parts as a fussy old maid and a lady blacksmith.

In 1927 Fazenda married noted Warner Brothers' producer Hal B. Wallis, a union which lasted until her death. They had one son, Brent, who became a psychologist in Florida.

Fazenda's last screen appearance came in 1939. She spent the remainder of her years enjoying life as an art collector until her death in 1962. Louise died at her Holmby Hills reseidence after having a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 67. Hal Wallis was in Hawaii making a film and left immediately for home. She was interred at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. Louise Fazenda has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.

Louise Fazenda's philanthropic assistance became news after her burial. In 1954 the actress read about a woman who died in a car accident. She paid the entire hospital bill of her daughter, who was injured in the wreck. She subsidized the studies of a law student who was contemplating leaving school when his wife became pregnant. Often she came to UCLA Medical Center. There she fed young children, before she rocked and sang them to sleep. Mrs. Irving Asher, known as Laura LaPlante in silent films, witnessed Louise's charitable efforts. Asher described Fazenda helping the children and poor residents find homes wherever she went, London, Hong Kong, etc. Some of the children she cared for never recovered, specifically one who was sick with leukemia. Once Louise encountered a little boy who refused to eat. The actress went back and forth to the hospital from her home, trying various dishes, until she was successful, and the youth regained his health.

• Los Angeles Times, Death Takes Louise Fazenda of Silent Films, April 18, 1962, Page A1.
• Los Angeles Times, Louise Fazenda's Good Deeds Live After Her, April 21, 1962, Page 10.

• Fatty's Tintype Tangle (short) (1915)
• The Bat (1926)
• Noah's Ark (1928)
• The Show of Shows (1929)
• No, No, Nanette (1930)
• High Society Blues (1930)
• Once in a Lifetime (1932)
• Alice in Wonderland (1933)
• Wonder Bar (1934)
• Broadway Gondolier (1935)
• The Casino Murder Case (1935)
• Ever Since Eve (1937)
• Swing Your Lady (1938)
• The Old Maid (1939)

• Louise Fazenda at IMDB