Delphine Walsh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delphine Walsh (1907 - April 27, 1929) was a 22-year-old Hollywood dancer who died following an illegal operation, likely an abortion. She succumbed in a Glendale, California hospital two days after her surgery was performed on April 25, 1929.
Walsh was from Brewery Gulch in Bisbee, Arizona. Her father was a copper miner there. Walsh's given name was Delphine Dougherty. When she was six years of age she was taken into the home of Mrs. Mae Walsh. There she was raised because of her parents straitened circumstances. The girl was given dancing lessons from the time she came to live with Mae Walsh. When she came to Los Angeles, California she was immediately popular with booking agencies and began to establish herself in the theatrical world.
Her demise led to a manhunt for two Los Angeles physicians by the Los Angeles Police Department. On her deathbed Walsh implicated Dr. R.S. Lanterman and Dr. P.S. Traxler. The California State Medical Examiners presided over the Walsh investigation. The doctors were implicated in a prior manslaughter complaint and were free on $15,000 bond each.
Actresses Natalie Joyce and Mildred Harris were interviewed by authorities. Joyce offered valuable information but the nature of her disclosure was kept confidential by Glendale officials. Harris confided that Walsh was a member of a troupe in which Harris played a leading part. However Harris did not know Walsh closely. Film director Mickey Moran was a key informant during the inquest, and he was a state witness in the subsequent trial.
Authorities revealed that Walsh received a letter from a man from Vancouver, British Columbia approximately one week before she died. The letter contained a substantial sum of money which was believed to have been used to fund the operation.
The physicians were represented by attorney Jerry Giesler. Both contended that Walsh caused her own death by performing an operation on herself before requesting their assistance. Traxler's medical license was revoked by the California State Board of Medical Examiners on October 24, 1929. The medical board dismissed for lack of evidence the case against Lanterman. He was a former Los Angeles coroner.
[edit] References
- Los Angeles Times, Director To Be Quizzed Over Death, May 7, 1929, Page A12.
- Los Angeles Times, Dancer's Death Quiz Continues, May 8, 1929, Page A12.
- Los Angeles Times, Dancer Clews Lead Nowhere, May 10, 1929, Page A5.
- Los Angeles Times, Tragedy Halts Delphine Walsh's Rise From Obscurity, May 11, 1929, Page A3.
- Los Angeles Times, Director To Actor At Death Trial, June 6, 1929, Page A20.
- Los Angeles Times, Paul Traxler Loses License, October 25, 1929, Page 5.
