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Bert Lytell

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For the boxer, see Bert Lytell (boxer).
Bert Lytell
Lytell, c. 1921
Born
Bertram Lyttel

February 24, 1885
New York City, US
DiedSeptember 28, 1954 (aged 69)
New York City, US
OccupationActor
Years active1917–1953
Spouse
Evelyn Vaughn
​
​
(m. 1910; div. 1924)​
​
​
(m. 1925; div. 1927)​
RelativesWilfred Lytell (brother)
5th President of the Actors' Equity Association
In office
1940–1946
Preceded byArthur Byron
Succeeded byClarence Derwent

Bertram Mortimer Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films.

Background

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Bert Lytell in 1924

Born in New York City,[1] Lytell was the son of Blanche Mortimer and actor, author, and producer William H. Lytell. His mother was an actress before she married, and her father and grandfather were actors. Lytell left Upper Canada College at age 16 to become an actor.[2]

Lytell's acting debut came with the Columbia Stock Company in Newark, New Jersey, when he was 17 years old. He went on to appear with stock theater companies in Boston, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Rochester, in addition to heading his own stock troupes in Albany, New York, and San Francisco.[1] He appeared with Marie Dressler in her 1914 Broadway play, A MIX-UP. He also performed in vaudeville in the 1920s with the one-act play The Valiant.[3]

In 1917, Lytell made his film debut starring as Michael Lanyard in The Lone Wolf. He subsequently made four Lone Wolf sequels, ending with The Last of the Lone Wolf (1930). He also starred as Boston Blackie in Boston Blackie's Little Pal (1918) and Blackie's Redemption (1919).[citation needed]

On old-time radio, Lytell had the title role in Alias Jimmy Valentine[4] – a role he had played in the 1920 film of the same name,[5] and was host of Bert Lytell Dramas[4]: 36  and Stage Door Canteen.[4]: 312 

His younger brother Wilfred Lytell (1891–1954) also became a stage and screen actor. Bert Lytell married a silent film actor, Evelyn Vaughn, in 1910, and they divorced in 1924.[6] He began dating Claire Windsor during the couple's long estrangement, according to the Cal York gossip column in Photoplay, and they married in 1925; they divorced in 1927.[7] Like many other silent screen stars, Lytell's career collapsed after the advent of talking pictures. He worked on NBC daytime shows in the early 1950s while he was Shepherd (President) of the actors club The Lambs from 1947 to 1952. Lytell was named an Immortal Lamb.[8]

In 1936 he directed the film Along Came Love.

Lytell died in New York City, aged 69. His brother Wilfred died 18 days before. He has a star at 6417 Hollywood Avenue in the Motion Picture section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[9]

Selected filmography

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Boston Blackie's Little Pal (1918)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bert Lytell's career on stage and screen". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. November 13, 1921. p. 60. Retrieved December 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Watts, Elizabeth (October 3, 1954). "When Bert Lytell Was a Boston Star". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. p. 16 A. Retrieved December 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ (18 May 1929). Bert Lytell's Old Act A Hit As Motion Picture, Vaudeville News
  4. ^ a b c Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  5. ^ "Publicity Still of Bert Lytell". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. ^ York, Cal (July 1924). "News and Gossip East and West". Photoplay. XXVI (2): 54 – via The Internet Archive, archive.org. Note that the article's "author," Cal York, is not a real person, but a pseudonym for the editors of Photoplay.
  7. ^ "Claire Windsor, actress, 74, dead". New York Times. October 25, 1972. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ The Lambs website
  9. ^ "Bert Lytell". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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