Theda Bara

Theda Bara was the stage name of Theodosia Burr Goodman (July 29, 1885 - 7 April, 1955), a silent film actress. As her stage name is an anagram for "Arab Death" an urban legend claims that it was coined for that reason, but instead Theda is short for Theodosia, and Bara was the middle name of her maternal grandmother.

Related Topics:
July 29 - 1885 - 7 April - 1955 - Silent film - Actress - Anagram - Urban legend

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Bara was one of the most popular screen actresses of the time. She was nicknamed "The Vamp", short for vampire, slang for a sexy predatory woman at the time. Bara popularized the vamp persona in the early years of Hollywood silent film and was soon imitated by rival actresses such as Nita Naldi and Pola Negri.

Related Topics:
Vampire - Slang - Vamp - Nita Naldi - Pola Negri

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Named after the daughter of American politician Aaron Burr, Theodosia Burr Goodman was born in Avondale, Ohio, a wealthy suburb of Cincinnati, a daughter of a Swiss-Jewish mother and a Jewish father, and though she achieved fame as a raven-haired vamp, she was actually born blonde. She attended Walnut Hills High School in 1899-1903 and lived at 823 Hutchins Avenue. After attending the University of Cincinnati for two years, she worked in theater productions, moving to New York City in 1908.

Related Topics:
Aaron Burr - Avondale, Ohio - Cincinnati - Swiss - Jewish - Jew - Walnut Hills High School - University of Cincinnati - Theater - New York City - 1908

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Briefly known professionally as Theodosia de Coppett, Theda Bara made more than 40 feature films between 1914 and 1926 of which complete prints of only three still exist. She made her Broadway debut in "The Devil" (1908), and her film debut was a bit part in "The Stain" (1914), directed by Frank Powell for Pathé Frères. A large portion of her films are now lost, to the regret of later generations of fans.

Related Topics:
1914 - 1926 - Frank Powell - Pathé Frères

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Bara was a sex symbol of the era, and in a number of her films appeared in risqué transparent costumes that left little to the imagination. Such outfits were banned from Hollywood films after the Hays Code went into effect a few years later, which may have been a factor in declining interest in her films, which could no longer be commercially shown in the United States. At the height of her fame, however, her vamp image was notorious enough be refered to in various popular songs of the day. A line in "Red-Hot Hannah" said "I know things that Theda Bara's just startin' to learn - make my dresses from asbestos, I'm liable to burn...." "Rebecca Came Back From Mecca" contains the lyrics "She's as bold as Theda Bara; Theda's bare but Becky's bare-er".

Related Topics:
Sex symbol - Hollywood - Hays Code - United States

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In 1926, five years after marrying British-born American film director Charles Brabin (1883-1957), Bara retired. Theda never attempted a "comeback." She was quite happy to leave Hollywood and the movies behind her. She spent the remainder of her life as a prominent hostess in Hollywood and her native Cincinnati. She died of cancer in Los Angeles, California and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Related Topics:
Charles Brabin - Hollywood - Cancer - Los Angeles, California - Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery - Glendale, California

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Theda Bara has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1994, she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

Related Topics:
Hollywood Walk of Fame - United States postage stamp - Al Hirschfeld

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