Edith Hallor: Follies Girl Who Lost Her Boy

Edith Hallor (1896-1971), born today, was the oldest of three theatrical siblings, the younger ones being Ray Hallor and Ethel Hallor,whom we wrote about here. Originally from Washington, D.C., the family moved to New York for Edith’s career circa 1914, and the other two siblings followed suit shortly thereafter.

Edith broke into Broadway and silent films roughly simultaneously. Her first pictures were for Ramo Films, melodramas with  names like The Governor’s Ghost (1914) and The Claws of Greed (1914). She later went on to such major studios as Fox and Universal. Hallor made 16 films in the silent era,the last one being Human Hearts (1922) directed by King Baggot. During the same period she appeared in five Broadway shows: The Peasant Girl (1915), Dance and Grow Thin (1917), Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, Leave it to Jane (1917-18), and the Broadway Brevities of 1920.

During this period she also married and divorced one of Broadway’s top producers, L. Lawrence Weber. In 1922 there was a custody battle over their child Lawrence Weber, Jr. that went all the way to the supreme court. Things got ugly, Hallor, who had since married Hollywood actor and director Jack Dillon ,was accused of participating in orgies etc. In the end the powerful Weber won custody of the child.

In 1934 Dillon died, and Hallor returned to films as an extra and bit player. You can see her in movies like Wilson and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, both released in 1945. Her last was Having Wonderful Crime (also 1945).

At any rate, Edith was a Follies girl; we try to do them homage when we can.