Besserer, Eugénie (1868–1934)

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Besserer, Eugénie (1868–1934)

American character actress. Name variations: Eugenie Besserer. Born Dec 25, 1868, in Watertown, NY (some sources cite Marseille, France); died May 30, 1934, in Los Angeles, California; educated in a Canadian Convent.

Following stage career, made film debut in the silent version of The Wizard of Oz (1910), followed by The Profligate, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Rosary, The Crisis, The Garden of Allah, The Curse of Eve, A Hoosier Romance, Little Orphan Annie, Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, Penrod, Anna Christie (as Marthy, 1923), Flesh and the Devil, Lilac Time, Illusion, Madame X and The Bridge of San Luis Rey, among many others; best remembered as Al Jolson's mother in Hollywood's 1st talker The Jazz Singer (1927); also appeared in D.W. Griffith's Scarlet Days, The Greatest Question and Drums of Love.

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