Lina Basquette, born Lena Copeland Baskette (April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994), was an American actress noted for her 75-year career in entertainment, which began during the silent film era. Talented as a dancer, she was paid as a girl for performing and gained her first film contract at age nine. In her acting career, Basquette may have been best known for her role as Judith in The Godless Girl (1929) The film was based on the life of Queen Silver, known as a 20th-century child prodigy, and feminist and Socialist activist.Basquette also was noted for her several marriages, including her first, to the much older noted producer, Sam Warner, founder of Warner Bros. film studio. She had several marriages and a tumultuous personal life. When her film career declined, she returned for a period to dancing and stage performances. After she retired from the entertainment world, in 1947 Basquette moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she became a noted breeder of Great Danes; her dogs won numerous professional show prizes. She wrote several books on dog breeding as well. Later living in West Virginia, she also served as a judge for the American Kennel Club, and wrote a column.
April 19, 1907, San Mateo, California, United States
Died
September 30, 1994, Wheeling, West Virginia, United States
Place Of Birth
San Mateo, California, USA
Profession
Actress
Spouse
Warner Gilmore (m. 1947–1951)
Children
Lita Warner, Edward Alvin Hayes
Siblings
Marge Champion
Star Sign
Aries
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Quote
1
So many get reformed through religion. I got reformed through dogs.
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Fact
1
Her brother Billy was plagued by health problems and died in his sleep in 1918, aged 18 years.
2
Her 1931 marriage to 26-year-old actor Ray Hallam lasted only three months--he died of leukemia.
3
During a standstill in her career in America, she was invited to Germany to appear in films for the Third Reich. She turned down the offer.
4
A run down of her many marriages -- She married Husband No. 1, Warner Bros. co-founder Sam Warner, at age 18; the man dubbed "The Father of Talking Pictures" was 20 years older than his bride and died two years later of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 40. She had one daughter, Lita Warner (born in 1926), by this marriage. Husband No. 2 was cinematographer J. Peverell Marley and they divorced about a year later. She was also widowed by Husband No. 3, actor Ray Hallam (1905-1931), who married her in 1931 and died that same year at age 26. Husband No. 4 and 5 was Theodore Hayes, former boxing trainer to prizefighter Jack Dempsey. They married in December of 1931 but it was annulled when it was found he was a bigamist; they remarried in 1933 but divorced two years later after having one son, Edward Alvin Hayes (born in 1934). Marriages to Husband No. 6, British actor Henry Mollison, No. 7, Warner Gilmore, and No. 8, Frank Mancuso, ended in divorce.
5
Among the rich and famous who owned Lina Basquette Great Danes were Raymond Burr, Mike Nichols and the Crown Prince of Iraq.
6
She attempted suicide in 1930, following a custody battle with the brothers of her late husband, Sam Warner. In the litigation she lost custody of her daughter, Lita, to the Warner family. Lena did not see her daughter again for more than 30 years. The actress obtained $40,000 from a life insurance policy, a car, and $85 a week from one of Warner's trust funds.
$1 Million
