Laura Sawyer

Laura Sawyer (February 3, 1885 – September 7, 1970) was an American film actress of the silent film era.

Laura Sawyer
The Theater of Science, 1913
Born(1885-02-03)February 3, 1885
Iron County, Missouri, USA
DiedSeptember 7, 1970(1970-09-07) (aged 85)
Matawan, New Jersey, USA
OccupationSilent film actress
Years active1908–1915
Spouse(s)Charles Frederick Wolff

Early life

Sawyer was born in Iron County, some 75 miles or so south of St. Louis, Missouri,[1] the daughter of Alvah Hayden and Laurette Sawyer.[2] Little is known here about the early life of Sawyer except that her father was a doctor and that by 1900 she was a boarder at the Ursuline Academy in St. Louis.[3]

Career

Sawyer began her career with the Otis Skinner theatrical company before joining Edison Studios while still in her early twenties. She almost immediately found stardom at Edison and remained with the studio until 1913. Her most memorable performance during the period was probably playing the title role in The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter (1912).[2] Over her tenure with his film studio Thomas Edison was said to have considered Sawyer as his favorite actress.[2] She later joined the Famous Players Film Company where she played Kate Kirby in the detective films Chelsea 7750, An Hour Before Dawn and The Port of Doom, all released in 1913, and was praised for her performance in The Daughter of the Hills, also produced in 1913.[4][5] In 1914, she starred with Betty Harte in A Woman's Triumph where they played roles as sisters of widely different temperament.[6] Sawyer’s last known film appearance was in The Daughter of the People, produced by the Dyreda Art Film Corporation in 1915. Afterwards Laura Sawyer disappeared from the public eye until her death in 1970. At some point she married Charles Frederick Wolff and spent time living in Florida and New Jersey.[2] Her daughter Hayden (1920–2014) grew up in Manhattan, New York and Bronxville, New York.[7]

Selected filmography
The Moving Picture World, 1913

References
  1. Missouri Birth Records (1851-1910)
  2. Corpus Christi Times (Corpus Christi, Texas) September 9, 1970
  3. 1900 US Census Records
  4. IMDb.com
  5. The Theatre of Science: 1914 By Robert Grau
  6. A Woman's Triumph. The Evening News. May 25, 1914, p. 9.
  7. Jurman, Hayden (May 6, 2014). Asbury Park Press. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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