Elsa Lorimer

Biography

Elsa Lorimer was a leading lady during the early silent era of films. Arriving in Hollywood at the age of 21 with her mother, the 5-foot-tall Lorimer, with blue eyes and light brown hair, quickly scored a film role in Reliance Film Company's "The Faith Healer" (1912) starring Irving Cummings. In January 1914 she signed on with Essanay Studios in Niles, Calif., appearing in "Broncho Billy's True Romance" among other short films. She remained with Essanay through March 1914. During the same year she was a contract player for Selig Polyscope Company in Edendale. She also worked under contract for Kinemacolor and Famous Players-Lasky. A direct descendant of the Mayflower pioneers and a member of the California chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Lorimer was educated at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated with a degree in English from Emerson College of Oratory in Boston. In California she was a member of the Enterprise Opera Reading Club and the Republican Club of Hollywood. With the advent of sound, Lorimer suffered a fate similar to many silent film actors as roles dried and a new generation of actors took on speaking parts.