Known For
Acting
Born
Nov 09, 1887
Died
Nov 09, 1977
Place of Birth
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
Credits
225 titles
Gertrude Astor
Biography
Gertrude Astor (Born Gertrude Eyster November 9, 1887 – November 9, 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone on a riverboat. Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Astor at the age of 12 ran off and joined a woman's band as a trombone player and toured the states. In New York she left the band to obtain film work and got a job as an extra before her career took off. Astor was a prolific performer, between 1915 and 1962 she appeared in over 250 movies. Her first known credit is in a Biograph short in 1915. She then became a contract player at Universal. A tall, angular and beautiful woman, Astor frequently towered over the leading men of the era; thus, she was most frequently utilized in comedy roles as aristocrats, golddiggers and "heroine's best pal". Her best-known silent appearances were as the visiting stage star in Stage Struck (1925) with Gloria Swanson, as the vamp who plants stolen money on Harry Langdon in The Strong Man (1926), and as Laura LaPlante's wisecracking travelling companion in The Cat and the Canary (1927). Astor worked prolifically at Hal Roach studios with such headliners as Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, and especially Charley Chase. She was also kept busy at Columbia Pictures' short subjects unit. She continued to play bits in feature films throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She was briefly glimpsed as the first murder victim in the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Scarlet Claw and was among the ranks of dress extras in 1956's Around the World in Eighty Days. Her last appearance was in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In her later years, Astor was a welcome guest at several Sons of the Desert gatherings, and became an honorary member of the Way Out West tent. She died in Woodland Hills, California from a stroke. She is interred in the Abbey of Psalms in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
Known For
Filmography
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Townswoman
My Mother the Car
The Sound of Music
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Denver Party Guest (uncredited)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Townswoman (uncredited)
The Devil's Hand
The Elderly Cultist
Two Rode Together
Mrs. Wringle (uncredited)
All in a Night's Work
Customer (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Best of Everything
Leading Woman in Play (uncredited)
The Tingler
Member of Silent Movie Audience (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
Townswoman (uncredited)
The Female Animal
Actress on Movie Set (uncredited)
My Man Godfrey
Party Guest (uncredited)
Around the World in 80 Days
Extra (uncredited)
The Virgin Queen
Lady-in-Waiting - 2nd Group
Wichita
Saloon Madam (uncredited)
Daddy Long Legs
Art Gallery Patron (uncredited)
Deep in My Heart
Dorothy's Nurse (uncredited)
A Star Is Born
Racetrack Spectator (uncredited)
Scared Stiff
Man with Spaghetti's Wife (uncredited)
Angel Face
Matron (uncredited)
The Old West
Townswoman (uncredited)
The Merry Widow
Reception Guest (uncredited)
Paula
Mrs. Brown (uncredited)
Fort Osage
Townswoman (uncredited)
Scandal Sheet
Neighbor (uncredited)
Thunder on the Hill
Village Woman (uncredited)
I Love Lucy
Showgirl #4
When Worlds Collide
Traveler (uncredited)
A Place in the Sun
Bit Part (uncredited)
Apache Drums
Townswoman (uncredited)
All About Eve
Sarah Siddons Awards Guest (uncredited)
Again Pioneers
Mrs. Jans
Bunco Squad
Club Patron (uncredited)
Sunset Boulevard
Courtier (uncredited)
Caged
Inmate (uncredited)
Montana
Townswoman (uncredited)
Woman in Hiding
Woman in Drugstore (uncredited)
The File on Thelma Jordon
Juror (uncredited)
The Doolins of Oklahoma
Saloon Girl (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
Saloon Girl (uncredited)
My Dear Secretary
Miss Gee (uncredited)
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
Mrs. Howard
Music Man
Mrs. Larkin
Here Comes Trouble
Woman with Dog (uncredited)
Sitting Pretty
Townswoman (uncredited)
Monsieur Verdoux
Garden Party Guest (uncredited)
Fun on a Weekend
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Best Years of Our Lives
Wedding Guest (uncredited)