Introduction
Doris Pawn (December 29, 1894 – March 30, 1988) was an American actress who appeared in films of the silent era.
Early life
Doris Alice Pahn was born and raised in Norfolk, Nebraska. She was the third Nebraskan woman, after Mrs. Sidney Drew and Alice Dovey, to make a name for herself as an actress. Growing up, she spent her vacations on the ranch of an uncle. There, she learned to ride horseback and rode Indian saddle as a teen. She entered a business college to prepare for life as a typist. She came to California with her mother and brother and stayed in San Diego, California while her family returned east.
Pawn eventually met director Wilfred Lucas. She was offered work as a fill in in the film Trey of Hearts (1914), while the company was on location in San Diego. The film featured Cleo Madison and George Larkin. So impressed were the filmmakers that she was offered additional work if she came along to Los Angeles, California. Pawn worked for a period of three months as an extra.
Career
Director Sydney Ayres coveted Pawn as a leading lady early in her screen career. In 1916 she appeared in her first Fox Film feature, Blue Blood and Red, directed by Raoul Walsh. Studios were impressed with her personal charm and ability to act naturally. She was especially gifted in the art of pantomime.
In addition to Fox, Pawn made movies with Universal, Goldwyn, and Paramount Pictures. She returned to Fox in 1921 for the making of Shame. She starred alongside John Gilbert and Anna May Wong. Her final films were two dramas, Fools and Riches and The Hero, along with a western, The Buster. Each of these productions was released in 1923.
Personal life
Pawn was first married to director Rex Ingram, but that union ended in divorce. She married secondly to Paul Reiners in 1928. Her last marriage was to Samuel William Dunaway in 1937; the couple remained married until his death in 1969. She had no children.
Death
Pawn died in La Jolla, California in 1988, aged 93.
Selected filmography
- The Trey o' Hearts (1914)
- The Penalty (1920)
- Li Ting Lang (1920)
- Out of the Storm (1920)
- Cheated Hearts (1921)
- Always the Woman (1922)