"Exotic sensuous beauty, Renée Adorée, possessed penetrating eyes that made for a compelling presence on the black and white screen."Renée Adorée
Born Jeanne de La Fonte in Lille, Nord, France, to French parents, she was the daughter of circus artists and who, by age five, was performing in the circus with her parents. In her teen years she began acting in minor stage productions and toured Europe with her troupe. She was performing in Russia when World War I broke out and fled to London.
Career Rise
From London she went on to New York City where she continued to work in the theatre until the opportunity came to work in the motion picture business.
In 1920, given the exotic French name Renée Adorée (meaning "Reborn" for a female - very common French first name - and "Adored", yet again for a female) by the studio, she appeared in her first motion picture. While in New York City on New Year's Eve 1921 she met Tom Moore (1883-1955). Fifteen years her senior, Tom Moore and his brothers were very successful Hollywood actors. Six weeks after their meeting, Renée Adorée married Tom Moore on February 12, 1921 in his home in Beverly Hills, California. The marriage did not last, and in 1925 Ms. Adorée married a second time to Sherman Gill.
Despite her petite stature, Renée Adorée's sensuous beauty and penetrating eyes made for a compelling presence on the black and white screen. She is most famous for her role as "Melisande" in the melodramatic romance movie The Big Parade, that became one of MGM's biggest hits of all time and a film that historians rank as one of the best films made in the silent film era. Co-starring John Gilbert, The Big Parade is still shown on television today and is available on video.
Successful 'Talkies' Transition
With the advent of sound in film, Renée Adorée was one of the fortunate ones whose voice came over well enough to continue acting. She would star opposite Lon Chaney and her former brother-in-law Owen Moore, make three more films with John Gilbert, and star in four films with another leading Hollywood actor, the Latin star Ramon Novarro.
Tuberculosis and an Untimely Death
By the end of 1930, she had appeared in forty-five films, the last four of them talkies. That year she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was forced to retire from the film industry. Renee went against her physician's advice in completing her final film, Call of the Flesh, with Navarro. She was rushed to a sanitarium in Prescott, Arizona, where she lay flat on her back for two years in an effort to regain her physical health. In April 1933 she was discharged from the sanitarium. At this point it was thought she had recovered sufficiently to resume her screen career. However, she almost immediately grew weaker and her health declined day by day.
She was removed from her modest home in the Tajunga Hills to the Sunland health resort in September 1933. She died there, shortly after her 35th birthday, on October 5, 1933 in Tujunga, California. She is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.
Renee Adoree left an estate valued at $2,429. The only heir was Mrs. Victoria Adoree, mother of the actress, who lived in England. No will was found.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Renée Adorée has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street.
Renée Adorée Filmography
1939 The Movies March On
1930 Redemption
1930 Call of the Flesh
1929 The Pagan
1929 His Glorious Night
1929 Tide of Empire
1929 The Spieler
1928 Mating Call
1928 Cossacks
1928 The Michigan Kid
1928 Forbidden Hours
1928 Certain Young Man
1928 Show People
1927 Show
1927 Mr. Wu
1927 Heaven on Earth
1927 Back to God's Country
1927 On Ze Boulevard
1926 Flaming Forest
1926 La Boheme
1926 The Black Bird
1926 Tin Gods
1926 The Exquisite Sinner
1926 Blarney
1925 The Big Parade
1925 Man and Maid
1925 Excuse Me
1925 Parisian Nights
1925 Exchange of Wives
1924 Women Who Give
1924 Man's Mate
1924 Defying the Law
1924 Bandolero
1923 The Eternal Struggle
1923 Six-Fifty
1922 Honor First
1922 Monte Cristo
1922 Self-Made Man
1922 Mixed Facts
1922 Daydreams
1922 The Count of Monte Cristo
1922 West of Chicago
1921 Made in Heaven
1920 Strongest
Trivia
Screen actress and circus performer.
Interred at Hollywood Forever cemetery, Hollywood, California, USA, Abbey of the Psalms, #119.
Sister-in-law of Owen Moore and Matt Moore.
Sister-in-law of Joe Moore.
Spouse
William Sherman Gill (28 June 1927 - 2 February 1929) (divorced)
Tom Moore (1921 - 1924) (divorced)..
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