Priscilla Dean
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Priscilla Dean (November 25, 1896 - December 27, 1987) was an American actress popular in movies as well as in theatre.
[edit] Life and Career
Born in New York to an active theatrical family (her mother was popular stage actress Mary Preston Dean), Priscilla Dean made her stage debut at the age of four, appearing in plays starring her parents. From then on, she pursued her stage career at the same time as being educated at a convent school until the age of fourteen. Following her leave from school, Priscilla went to work on stage, then tried to get into the movies.
Priscilla made her film debut at the age of fourteen in one-reelers for Biograph and several other studios. She was finally signed on to Universal in 1911. She soon gained popularity as the female lead in the comedy series of Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran.
She was propelled to stardom after she appeared in The Gray Ghost in 1917. Following this film, she became very successful in her work. However, when the age of sound dawned, Priscilla's career was severely damaged. She continued to do several low-budget films for minor independent studios during the '30s, but never regained the popularity she had earned in silent films.
She married twice in her lifetime. She first married Leslie Arnold, who had made history in 1924 by flying around the world. She then married popular western film actor Wheeler Oakman, who played opposite Priscilla in several of her Universal pictures.
Priscilla Dean died in Leonia, New Jersey at the age of 91 in 1987 from injuries related to a fall she had suffered the previous September.
