10 Silent Movie & Classic Hollywood Actors You Didn't Know Were from Kansas

Louise Brooks (14 Nov 1906 - 8 Aug 1985) was born Mary Louise Brooks in Cherryvale, Kansas but was mainly raised in Wichita. She starred in seventeen silent movies and eight sound films, but is best known as the lead in 'Pandora's Box' (1929), 'Diary of a Lost Girl' (1929), and 'Prix de Beauté' (1930). At her most popular, her fashion sense and bobbed haircut were considered daring and influential. Sadly, by the early 30s she was no longer in demand. However, in the 1950s her movies were rediscovered, and by the 1970s, film historians sought her out for interviews. In the last years of her life she became a noted film writer. Louise Brooks died at 78 of a heart attack.

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (24 Mar 1887 – 29 Jun 1933) was born in Smith Center, Kansas, but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a baby. By eight, he was performing and would quickly become a silent film comedian, director, and screenwriter. At Keystone Studios he worked with Mabel Normand, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. In 1920, Arbuckle signed a contract with Paramount Pictures for US$1 million. However, on 5 September 1921 Virginia Rappe ran screaming from a party he was hosting and accused Arbuckle of raping her. She would later die of her injuries. After three trials, Arbuckle was acquitted but his career as a comedic actor was in tatters. He later found work directing and slowly rebuilt his position in the industry. On June 29, 1933 Warner Brothers signed him to a feature film contract, but he died in his sleep that very night. He was 46.

Hattie McDaniel (10 Jun 1895 – 26 Oct 1952) was born in Wichita, Kansas. She is best known for her role as Mammy in 'Gone with the Wind' (1939) for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first African American to win an Academy Award. She appeared in over 300 films, but received screen credits for around 80. McDaniel was also a professional singer-songwriter, comedian, stage actress, radio performer, and television star. She was also very active in community service during WWII. In 1975, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and in 2006 became the first black Oscar winner honored with a US postage stamp. Hattie McDaniel died at age 57 of breast cancer.

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (4 Oct 1895 – 1 Feb 1966) was born in Piqua, Kansas into a vaudeville family that was traveling in a show with Harry Houdini. He began performing as a toddler and would go on to become one of the world's greatest comedic actors making hundreds of films, many of which he wrote, directed, and also performed dangerous stunts. Several of Keaton's films, including 'The General' (1926), are considered film treasures. His career spanned from the silent era to the middle 1960s. One of his last movies was 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' (1966) in which Keaton did most of his own stunts, surprising his fellow actors and the crew. He died of lung cancer on February 1, 1966, aged 70 - he thought he was recovering from bronchitis. Note: Iola, Kansas holds a Buster Keaton Festival every year.

Phyllis Haver (3 Jan 1899 - 19 Nov 1960) was born in Douglass, Kansas but her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a child. On a whim she auditioned for comedy producer Mack Sennett, who hired her as one of his Sennett Bathing Beauties. Within a few years, Haver was playing lead roles. For DeMille-Pathé, Haver played the part of Roxie Hart in the first film adaptation of 'Chicago' in 1927, and appeared with Lon Chaney in his last silent film, 'Thunder' (1929). That same year she married millionaire William Seeman and retired from the film business. They divorced in 1945. Haver died from an overdose of barbiturates in 1960 in a suspected suicide. She was 61.

Charles "Buddy" Rogers (13 Aug 1904 - 21 Apr 1999) was born in Olathe, Kansas but by the middle 1920s was acting professionally in Hollywood films. He starred opposite Clara Bow in 'Wings' (1927), the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was also a talented musician, and performed with his own jazz band in movies and on radio. In 1937, Rogers married silent film legend Mary Pickford and moved into Pickfair, the famed mansion she and Douglas Fairbanks built together. Rogers and Pickford adopted two children—Roxanne and Ronald - but their family life was not a happy one, due mainly to Mary Pickford's alcoholism and increasing reclusiveness. They were married for 42 years until Pickford's death in 1979. Rogers was honored with The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 58th Academy Awards in 1986. He died at 94 of natural causes.

Zasu Pitts (pronounced 'say-zoo') was born Eliza Susan Pitts (3 Jan 1894 - 7 Jun 1963) in Parsons, Kansas. Although she was cast in a small role in 'The Little Princess' (1917) starring Mary Pickford, Pitts enjoyed her greatest fame in the 1930s. She regularly starred in B movies and comedy short films, often teamed with Thelma Todd. Her stock persona - a fretful, flustered, worrisome spinster - made her instantly recognizable and was often imitated in cartoons and other films. Pitts was kept busy in Hal Roach short films and features. However, by the advent of sound, she was relegated to comedy roles. She switched to radio in the 1940s, and TV in the 1950s and 60s. Pitts appeared in 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,' but cancer forced her retirement from show business. She died at 69.

Hale Rice Hamilton (28 Feb 1880 – 19 May 1942) was born in Topeka, Kansas. He was an actor, writer and producer, and his partial filmography includes several dozen films, such as 'Johnny-on-the-Spot' (1919), 'The Greater Glory' (1926) and 'The Great Gatsby' (1926). By the 1930s he was mainly cast in supporting actor roles and worked across several studios, including Warner Bros. and MGM. His last known film was 'After Office Hours' (1935), which starred Clark Gable and Constance Bennett. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Hollywood at age 62.

Fay Tincher (17 Apr 1884 - 11 Oct 1983) was born in Topeka, Kansas. She began her acting career on the stage in 1908 and toured with one of the many small theatrical touring companies that performed across America and Canada. In 1913, she was approached by an agent who said she resembled Mabel Normand and gave her his card. She visited Biograph Studios the next day and director D.W. Griffiths cast her as a vamp in the next film. She found her niche in comedy roles and was often depicted as working class types, such as a laundry girl in 'Laundry Liz' (1916). In 1918, Tincher founded her own company, Fay Tincher Productions. She once won a bathing suit contest at Venice Beach, attended by 75,000 spectators. She died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 99.

Claire Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk (14 Apr 1892 - 24 Oct 1972) in Marvin, Kansas. After a short marriage a friend advised she try the movies as a way to support herself and young son. Ola Cronk, as she was known then, got a series of bit parts but was finally spotted by Paramount Picture's highly regarded producer/director Lois Weber. Her first feature film was 'To Please One Woman' (1920). In 1922, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers began their annual WAMPAS Baby Stars awards and named Cronk as one of the year's most promising starlets. She signed with Goldwyn Pictures and began using the name 'Claire Windsor.' She went on to make several films and also moved on to other studios, including MGM. Windsor made a few 'talkies' in the 30s but couldn't recapture her earlier success. She never married but had a well publicized affair with another Kansan, No. 6 on this list, Buddy Rogers. Claire Windsor died aged 80 of a heart attack.

Vivian Vance (26 Jul 1909 - 17 Aug 1979) was born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale, Kansas. Her family moved to Independence, Kansas where she showed an early love for performing but her mother's religious views forbade it. Vivian moved to Albuquerque where she changed her last name to Vance and became a founding member of the Albuquerque Little Theatre. The local theatre community helped fund her move to New York City so she could study under Eva Le Gallienne. Her most successful stage role was as Nancy Collister in the Cole Porter musical 'Let's Face It!' (1941), in which she starred with Danny Kaye and Eve Arden for over 500 performances. In the late 40s, Vance moved to Hollywood and made a handful of films. But her big break came in 1951 when she was cast as Ethel, playing opposite Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, in the new television series 'I Love Lucy.' Vance's final television appearance was 'Lucy Calls the President' in 1977. That same year she was diagnosed with cancer, and later suffered a stroke. Vivian Vance died aged 70 of bone cancer.