Theda Bara

Silent film mega star Theda Bara as she appeared in the now lost film SALOME (1918). Born Theodosia Goodman on July 22, 1890, she moved to New York City at age 18 to pursue an acting career. Only marginally successful on the stage, she became an overnight sensation when director Frank Powell cast her as the star of "A Fool There Was" in 1915. As the sensuous, cruel seductress, Theda created the original "vamp." Over the next five years she starred in 40 films, almost always as a "vamp," an exotic woman luring men to ruin. Her films were considered scandalous, and at least one critic advocated censoring them. However, Theda was wildly popular with the public, who flocked to see her in such titles as "Siren of Hell" (1915), "The Serpent" (1916) and "The Vixen" (1916). The next year would prove to be another busy one, with the mega-hits "Cleopatra" (1917), "The Rose of Blood" (1917) and "Madame DuBarry" (1917). In 1918 Theda wrote the story and starred as the Priestess in "The Soul of Buddha" (1918) and appeared in the title role in "Salome" (1918). After seven films in 1919, ending with "Lure of Ambition" (1919), Theda's contract was terminated by Fox, and her career never recovered. In 1921 she married director Charles Brabin and retired. In 1926 Theda made one last film, "Madame Mystery" (1926), and promptly went back into retirement, permanently, at the age of 41. On April 7, 1955, Theda passed away of stomach cancer in Los Angeles, California. For her contributions to the film industry, she received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

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