Florence Lawrence

AKA:

The Biograph Girl

Birth Name:

Florence Annie Bridgwood

Birth Date:

January 2, 1886

Birth Place:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Death Date:

December 28, 1938

Place of Death:

532 Westbourne Avenue, West Hollywood, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Suicide by poison (eating ant paste)

Cemetery Name:

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Associates:

Charlotte Bridgwood

Florence Lawrence was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was thought to be the first film actor to be named publicly until evidence published in 2019 indicated that the first named film star was French actor Max Linder. At the height of her fame in the 1910s, she was known as the "Biograph Girl" for work as one of the leading ladies in silent films from the Biograph Company. She appeared in almost 300 films for various motion picture companies throughout her career.

Fun Fact:

At on December 28, 1938, Lawrence phoned the offices of M-G-M where she worked claiming that she was sick (she had been ill with what was most likely myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disease, or agnogenic myeloid metaplasia, both of which were incurable at the time). Sometime later in the afternoon, Lawrence ingested ant poison and cough syrup at her home in West Hollywood. Accounts differ as to how Lawrence was discovered; some media reports stated her neighbor Marian Menzer heard her screams, while others say that Lawrence called Menzer stating that she poisoned herself. Menzer called an ambulance, and Lawrence was rushed to Beverly Hills Emergency Hospital. Doctors were unable to save Lawrence, who died at 2:45 p.m. Lawrence left a suicide note in her home addressed to her housemate Bob Brinlow stating:

Dear Bob,
Call Dr. Wilson. I am tired. Hope this works. Good bye, my darling. They can’t cure me, so let it go at that.
Lovingly, Florence – P.S. You’ve all been swell guys. Everything is yours.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

6000 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, California, 90038

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood California

Grave Location:

Section 2 West, Space 300

Grave Location Description

From the main entrance turn left and head east for about 800 feet. Park your car along the road at the first intersection on your right. Look to your left towards the property line and walk towards the property line and then turn right on the second to last row. Continue walking on the second to last row and Florence Lawrence’s grave will be the second to last stone in that row (right next to the little house and driveway).