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| Edna Purviance |
Despite being one of the smallest and least populated states in the union during the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, Nevada produced several actors and actresses who experienced some kind of noteworthy fame and success in their time.
Among the most prominent was probably actress Edna Purviance (born in Paradise Valley, Nevada in 1895), who was a co-star in a number of Charlie Chaplin’s early films. At the age of three, Purviance and her parents relocated to Lovelock, where they operated a hotel for a few years.
In 1913, Purviance moved to San Francisco to attend business school. Two years later, she was working as a stenographer when a talent agent suggested her to Chaplin, who was looking for a leading lady for a studio film he was making in Niles, California, which is 28 miles southeast of San Francisco.
After meeting with Chaplin, she was offered the part in the film, “A Night Out.” The pairing was a success and Purviance went on the appear in 33 of Chaplin’s works, including the iconic 1921 film, “The Kid,” and her last role, “A Woman of Paris,” in 1923.
Purviance and Chaplin were also romantically involved from about 1915 to 1917, when she broke off the relationship after learning he had gotten married.
After retiring from movie-making in 1924, Purviance spent the next 30 years living in a small bungalow outside of Hollywood. During those years, she received a small stipend from Chaplin, who was grateful for the role she played at the start of his career.
Purviance died from throat cancer in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California in January 1958.
Another Nevada-born thespian who had success on Broadway and in Hollywood was Hobart Cavanaugh. Born in Virginia City in 1886, Cavanaugh worked in vaudeville for a few years before appearing in several Broadway productions such as the 1919 musical “Irene.”
Cavanaugh’s first film was “San Francisco Nights” in 1928 and he later appeared in “I Cover the Waterfront” in 1933, “Mary Stevens, M.D.” that same year and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1935.
Typically, Cavanaugh was cast in comedic, supporting roles, often as a henpecked husband or a down-on-his-luck character. He eventually appeared in more than 180 films.
Cavanaugh died of stomach cancer in April 1950.
Another longtime actor with Nevada roots was Ben Alexander, who was born in Goldfield in 1911. Alexander started out as a child actor in silent movies, then, after briefly retiring, returned to the screen with “All Quiet on the Western Front” in 1930.
In the late 1940s, Alexander had considerable success as a radio announcer and acting in radio plays. In 1952, he was cast as Jack Webb’s new partner in the “Dragnet” radio show. He continued in the role in film and on television until 1959, when the show went off the air. From 1966 to 1969, he appeared on the television show “Felony Squad.”
Alexander died of a heart attack in July 1969.
The final member of the nearly-forgotten film stars with Nevada ties was actress Reno Browne (real name Josephine Ruth Clarke), who was born in Reno in April 1921. Browne, who also went by the stage name Reno Blair, was a trained pilot and active horsewoman and, in 1945, was crowned queen of the Reno Rodeo.
After taking acting lessons, she was signed to a contract by B-Movie company, Monogram Pictures. Because of her riding experience, Browne soon appeared in a series of Monogram westerns (14 in all), co-starring with popular screen cowboys such as Johnny Mack Brown, Whip Wilson and Jimmy Wakely.
In 1949, she was the lead in a 13-episode radio program titled, “Reno Rides Again.” Additionally, she was the star of her own four-issue comic book series (called, appropriately, “Reno Browne”) published by Atlas Comics.
In 1950, she retired from acting and returned to Reno. From 1962 to 1964, she was married to former western movie star Lash LaRue and the two operated a motel in Reno.
Browne died of cancer in 1991.
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