HOLLYWOOD — The first great silent movie star actor, Theda Bara, died in a Los Angeles hospital Thursday night of cancer. She was 65.
Although she was born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati, film publicists created an exotic background for her to match the sultry, tempestuous screen roles assigned to her by producer William Fox. They said she was born in the shadow of the pyramids, the descendant of kings of Egypt; that her last name was Arab, spelled backwards.
Her name was magic at the box office. She was the original “vamp” of silent films, an irresistible lure to her screen lovers, with her heavily mascaraed lids and deep eye shadow, her heaving bosom. Fox’s movie empire was founded on her appeal.
Miss Bara came to the movies from the musical comedy stage in 1914, and after a few minor roles Fox selected her to star in “A Fool There Was.” It was one of the big box office smashes of the generation. She followed with dozens of films in which she portrayed the seductive heartbreaker — “The Vixen,” “The Tiger Woman,” “The She-Devil,” “The Serpent of the Nile,” “The Siren’s Song,” “When a Woman Sins,” “Rose of Blood.” She was starred in “Carmen” in rivalry with another studio which starred Geraldine Ferrar in the same role.
She retired from the movies in 1921 and lived in seclusion. She underwent surgery for abdominal cancer several times in the past 18 months.
Current Obituaries in the Astoria South Fulton Argus