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Donna Barrell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Donna Barrell
Born
Teresa Luisa Michelena

June 26, 1889
DiedApril 5, 1941 (aged 51)
Other namesMrs. Walter Hitchcock
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, actress
Spouses
RelativesBeatriz Michelena
Vera Michelena (half-sisters)

Donna Barrell (born Teresa Luisa Michelena, June 26, 1889 – April 5, 1941) was an American screenwriter and actress active primarily during the silent era.

Biography

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Donna was born in Detroit, Michigan, to opera singers Fernando Michelena[1] and Catherine Maddock;[2] her father was from Venezuela, and her mother was from England.[3] Her parents split when she was young, and her father had two daughters, actresses Vera Michelena and Beatriz Michelena, from his marriage to the soprano Francis Lenord (1867–1912).[4] She grew up primarily with her mother and stepfather.[5]

As a young woman, she developed an interest in acting, and she married fellow actor Walter Hitchcock; the two began working in the early motion picture industry on the East Coast before Hitchcock died of an illness in 1917.[6] She wrote films like The Love Master and A Certain Young Man during the 1920s under the name Donna Barrell; she also made uncredited appearances in a number of films. She died in Los Angeles in 1941; she had no children with Hitchcock or her second husband, Joseph Barrell.

Selected filmography

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As screenwriter:

As actress:

  • The Love Master (1924)
  • Life's Shop Window (1914)
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914)

References

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  1. ^ "8 Dec 1910, Page 7 - The San Francisco Call at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "14 Aug 1887, Page 10 - Detroit Free Press at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "26 May 1912, 8 - Buffalo Courier at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "16 Jan 1915, Page 68 - San Francisco Chronicle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "30 Jun 1901, Page 20 - Detroit Free Press at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "30 Jun 1917, 15 - Hartford Courant at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.