logo

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

26

Gender

Female

Birthday

1892-05-01

Day of Death

1970-01-24 (78 years old)

Place of Birth

Langdon, North Dakota, USA

Also Known As

Betsy Ross Clark

Betty Ross Clark

Betty Ross

May Clarke

Betty Ross Clarke

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Betty Ross Clarke (born May Clarke, May 1, 1892 – January 24, 1970) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1920 and 1940, including silent and sound films, in both credited and uncredited roles. During the 1920s, Clarke appeared in 14 silent films, including 11 U.S. films, two British films and one German film. In the United States, she worked for film companies that included Famous Players-Lasky, Thomas H. Ince, and Vitagraph Studios. She played the female lead in the film If I Were King opposite William Farnum and had other starring roles in silent films. Clarke's first screen role in a "talkie" was as the character Dot Aldrich in The Age for Love. During the 1930s, she appeared in more than 20 sound films, including both feature films and short films. She typically played character roles, both credited and uncredited. Of note, she replaced the actress Sara Haden as Aunt Millie in two feature length Andy Hardy films. Betty Ross Clarke was occasionally billed in screen credits as "Betsy Ross Clarke" or "Betty Ross Clark," and her name appears as "Betty Ross-Clarke" in some databases, such as the Internet Broadway Database. Throughout her career, Clarke often performed on both the theater stage and in films during the same time period. A newspaper advertisement in 1922 noted that audience members could "see her on stage and screen at the same time," because she was performing in the play The Morning Him and also starring in the film At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern. Commenting on the difference between stage and film acting, Clarke remarked that the "silent drama affords an easier life to those who choose it, for one has the nights free, to do as one likes. On the boards an actor's or actresses's time is always taken up." Most of the silent films in which Clarke appeared have not survived. However, the films If I Were King and Mother o' Mine are preserved in the silent film archive of the Library of Congress. A print of Mother o' Mine is also housed in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The silent film Traveling Salesman, with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in the leading role, can be found in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York. Many of the later sound films in which she appeared are still available, including Murders in the Rue Morgue, A Bride for Henry, Love Finds Andy Hardy, Judge Hardy's Children, and Four Wives.

Known For

Acting

The Man from Downing Street

1922

The Man from Downing Street

as

Doris Burnham

Murders in the Rue Morgue

1932

Murders in the Rue Morgue

as

Mme. L'Espanaye

Love Finds Andy Hardy

1938

Love Finds Andy Hardy

as

Millie Forrest

The Fox

1921

The Fox

as

Annette Fraser

The Public Pays

1936

The Public Pays

as

Paige's Secretary (uncredited)

A Night at the Movies

1937

A Night at the Movies

as

Wife (uncredited)

A Bride for Henry

1937

A Bride for Henry

as

Mrs. Curtis

Judge Hardy's Children

1938

Judge Hardy's Children

as

Millie Forrest

Too Hot to Handle

1938

Too Hot to Handle

as

Mrs. Harding

The Age for Love

1931

The Age for Love

as

Dot Aldrich

Hold That Kiss

1938

Hold That Kiss

as

Wedding Guest at Piermont's

Traveling Salesman

1921

Traveling Salesman

as

Beth Elliott

Four Wives

1939

Four Wives

as

Nurse in Dr. Forrest's Office (uncredited)

Her Social Value

1921

Her Social Value

as

Bertha Harmon

Untamed

1940

Untamed

as

Mother (uncredited)

Straws in the Wind

1924

Straws in the Wind

as

The Wife

The Cost of Beauty

1924

The Cost of Beauty

as

Diana Faire

Headline Shooter

1933

Headline Shooter

as

Sue, Mike's Wife (uncredited)

The Chaser

1938

The Chaser

as

Secretary

Another Romance of Celluloid

1938

Another Romance of Celluloid

as

Self (uncredited)

Blossoms On Broadway

1937

Blossoms On Broadway

as

Mrs. Peagram (uncredited)

If I Were King

1920

If I Were King

as

Katherine de Vaucelles

Romance

1920

Romance

as

Production

Crew

Directing