Volume III: Biographies

 

SHEPARD, Pearl *

Actress (1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Pearl Shepard was voted as the most beautiful girl at the Screen Club and Exhibitors Ball, held in New York City in 1916, and was scheduled to appear in Thanhouser films with Doris Grey (who had joined the Thanhouser organization after winning a beauty contest at a ball in Boston in December 1915).

Biographical Notes: An article in The Moving Picture World, March 18, 1916, told of her activities: "There is one happy girl in New York today who will never forget the big ball at Madison Square Garden. She is little Pearl Shepard, who was chosen as the most beautiful girl at the ball, and with the honor an opportunity to sparkle among the motion picture stars through Thanhouser films. When the contestants were called out for judging, the jury realized what a difficult task it would be. There were over a hundred entries, each one more beautiful than the other, but Florence LaBadie, as chief judge, was equal to the occasion. The process of elimination left little Pearl Shepard alone at last, and when she was escorted by the police to the Thanhouser box the tumult of the thousands who looked on testified approval of the judge's work.

"The winner is auburn-haired and 17 years old. She lives with her parents at 969 Simpson Avenue in the Bronx and is a graduate of a public school in New York. Her good fortune comes to her in doubly good effect, because she has within the past year sought an opening at the various film studios, but has only been accorded the usual scant attention given novices. It is announced by the Thanhouser Company that Pearl Shepard will most likely be seen in a picture in which she will work with Doris Grey, who got a place in the New Rochelle organization by winning a beauty contest at the recent motion picture ball in Boston. The element of beauty in the Thanhouser cast promises to be a prominent feature."

While Miss Shepard never received recognition as a Thanhouser player, she achieved a modicum of success elsewhere. In The New York Star, April 21, 1920, Frank P. Donovan stated that he had directed her in 15 pictures, and "her work cannot be beaten." In addition, she was seen in at least two Selznick films, The Echo of Youth (released by Graphic Film, February 1919) and Break the News to Mother (released by Select, June 1919), neither one of which scored a success. Frank P. Donovan gave his opinion that her director was incompetent and that he overdirected and forced Miss Shepard to overact. Donovan told his readers that Miss Shepard had great potential as a star, but that the system of selecting actresses left much to be desired, and often talent was not recognized.

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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.