Lina Basquette facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lina Basquette
Photographed by John de Mirjian
Born	Lena Copeland Baskette (1907-04-19)April 19, 1907 San Mateo, California, U.S.
Died	September 30, 1994(1994-09-30) (aged 87) Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Other names	Lena Baskette Lena Basquette
Occupation	Actress dog trainer and breeder writer
Years active	1916–1991
Spouse(s)	Sam Warner ​ ​ (m. 1925; died 1927)​ Peverell Marley ​ ​ (m. 1929; div. 1930)​ Ray Hallam ​ ​ (m. 1931; died 1931)​ Theodore Hayes ​ ​ (m. 1931; div. 1932)​ ​ ​ (m. 1934; div. 1935)​ Henry Mollison ​ ​ (m. 1937; div. 1944)​ Warner Gilmore ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1950)​ Frank Mancuso ​ ​ (m. 1959; sep. 1959)​
Children	2
Relatives	Marge Champion (half-sister)

Lina Basquette (born Lena Copeland Baskette; April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994) was an American actress. She had a long career in entertainment, lasting 75 years. It started during the silent film era. Lina was a talented dancer. She earned money performing as a girl. She got her first film contract at age nine.

In her acting career, Basquette was best known for her role as Judith in The Godless Girl (1929). This film was based on the life of Queen Silver. Queen Silver was a child prodigy and activist. Lina was also known for her several marriages. Her first marriage was to Sam Warner, a founder of Warner Bros. film studio. When her film career slowed down, she returned to dancing. After retiring from entertainment, Basquette moved to Pennsylvania. There, she became a famous breeder of Great Danes. Her dogs won many awards. She also wrote several books about dog breeding. Later, she lived in West Virginia. She was a judge for the American Kennel Club and wrote a column.

Early Life and First Steps

Lina Basquette was born on April 19, 1907. Her birth name was Lena Copeland Baskette. Her parents were Frank E. Baskette and Gladys Lee. They lived in San Mateo, California. Lina started dancing when she was very young. A person from the Victor Talking Machine Company saw her dance. She was eight years old. They hired her to advertise Victrolas. This was at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Lina later began to study ballet.

At age nine, in 1916, Lina got her first film contract. It was with Universal Studios in Los Angeles. She starred in a silent film series called Lena Baskette Featurettes. Soon after, her father Frank Baskette died. Lina later felt her mother's desire for fame caused her father's death.

Within a year, her mother Gladys married Ernest Belcher. Their daughter, Marjorie Belcher, was born in 1919. Marjorie was Lina's half-sister. Marjorie also became a famous dancer.

Career Highlights

Early Success in Entertainment

In 1923, Lina and her mother traveled to New York City. Lina wanted to audition for John Murray Anderson. He told her to change her last name spelling. It went from "Baskette" to "Basquette." A producer named Charles Dillingham changed her first name. He changed "Lena" to "Lina." He said "Lena is a cook, Lina is an artiste."

Before she could sign with Anderson, Florenz Ziegfeld chose Lina. She was 16 years old. He cast her as a dancer in his Ziegfeld Follies. The Follies producers called her "America's Prima Ballerina." A famous Russian dancer, Anna Pavlova, noticed Lina. Pavlova wanted to teach her classical ballet. But Lina's mother, Gladys, said no. She thought a ballet career would not make enough money. Lina later said this decision broke her heart. She had dreamed of being in a ballet company.

Marriage and Family Life

By 1925, Lina was 18. She was performing in two Ziegfeld shows. Sam Warner saw her in one show. He was a film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros. studio. Warner fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. Lina did not want to marry him. He was twenty years older than her. But her mother insisted Lina accept. Her mother believed Warner was very rich.

Lina and Warner married in July 1925. After they married, Lina grew to love him. They had a daughter, Lita, in 1926. Sam Warner died suddenly on October 5, 1927. This was the day before The Jazz Singer opened. He had worked very hard on this film. Lina was very sad about his death. She spent years in legal battles with Warner's family. They fought over money and custody of their daughter.

Return to Films

Lina went back to work in 1928. She appeared in four films that year. She was also named one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars. The next year, she was in The Younger Generation. This film was directed by Frank Capra.

In 1929, she starred in The Godless Girl. This film had some sound. Cecil B. DeMille directed it. This is her most famous role. Lina played Judith, the main character. Judith was based on Queen Silver. Queen Silver was a child who spoke out as an activist. In the film, Judith leads a high school group.

During filming, DeMille wanted the scenes to look real. In one scene, a building was on fire. Lina's eyelashes and eyebrows were burned. The Godless Girl was not popular in the United States. But it did well in Austria and Germany.

Career Changes

After The Godless Girl, Lina's popularity went down. She was offered fewer film roles. She was unofficially blacklisted in Hollywood. This was because of her legal fights with the Warner family. They wanted to raise her daughter Lita in the Jewish faith. They also challenged Sam Warner's will. Lina successfully moved to sound films. She appeared in some Western movies in the 1930s.

In January 1937, Lina was offered a film contract in Germany. This was after the Nazi Party took power. She met Adolf Hitler and other leaders there. Lina later said she left Germany the next day.

As her film career continued to decline, Lina returned to dancing. She performed in nightclubs. She also performed on the vaudeville circuit. In 1939, Lina and her fifth husband, Henry Mollison, acted together. They were in a play called Idiot's Delight. They toured the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. After her 1943 film A Night for Crime, Lina stopped making movies.

Later Years and New Passions

In 1947, Lina used money from a trust fund. This fund was left by her first husband, Sam Warner. She bought a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1950, she and her sixth husband, Warner Gilmore, opened Honey Hollow Kennels. They started breeding and showing Great Danes. Lina became very successful. She won many prizes for her Great Danes. She was known as a famous dog breeder. She also wrote several books about breeding dogs.

She stopped handling dogs in 1983. Lina moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, after retiring. She continued to judge dog shows for the American Kennel Club. She also wrote a monthly column for Kennel Review magazine.

People became interested in Lina's films again in 1989. This happened after a story about her was published. Her films were shown in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.

Lina published her autobiography in 1991. It was called Lina: DeMille's Godless Girl. That same year, she acted in a film again. It was her first film in 48 years. The movie was called Paradise Park. She played a grandmother. It was her last film role.

Personal Life

Marriages and Children

Basquette with her first husband, Sam Warner, around the time their daughter was born

Lina Basquette was married eight times. Her first marriage was to Sam Warner. He was a film producer and co-founder of Warner Bros. studio. They married on July 4, 1925. Warner's family did not approve. Lina was Catholic, and Sam was Jewish. They had a daughter, Lita, in October 1926. Sam Warner died on October 5, 1927.

In January 1929, Lina married cinematographer Peverell Marley. Soon after, Sam Warner's older brother, Harry Warner, asked Lina to give up custody of Lita. He wanted Lita to be raised in the Jewish faith. Lina said she and Sam had agreed to raise girls as Catholic and boys as Jewish. Harry Warner offered Lina a lot of money. She refused at first. She finally agreed when Harry promised Lita a large trust fund. On March 30, 1930, Harry Warner and his wife got legal custody of Lita. Lina quickly regretted this. She tried to get her daughter back.

In August 1930, Lina left Marley. She was trying to get Lita back. Marley and Lina divorced in September 1930.

Lina was never financially stable enough to get Lita back. The Warner family also filed lawsuits against her. They wanted Sam Warner's share of Warner Bros. studio. For the next 20 years, Lina saw Lita only twice. They reconnected in 1977.

Lina's third marriage was to actor Ray Hallam in 1931. He died of leukemia three weeks later. On October 31, 1931, she married Theodore Hayes. He was a boxing trainer. Lina got a divorce in Mexico in September 1932.

She and Hayes later got back together and remarried in 1934. They had a son, Edward Alvin Hayes, in April 1934. They divorced again in December 1935.

In April 1937, Lina married British actor Henry Mollison in London. They separated in 1940. They divorced in October 1944.

In 1947, she married Warner Gilmore. He was a hotel manager. They divorced in 1951. Lina's last marriage was to artist Frank Mancuso. They married in 1959. They separated that same year but never divorced.

Death and Recognition

Lina Basquette died on September 30, 1994. She was 87 years old. She died from lymphoma at her home in Wheeling, West Virginia.

For her work in films, Lina Basquette has a star. It is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 1529 Vine Street.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Lina Basquette para niños