Temple Tuesday: Shirley & Seiter

Today’s post starts with Shirley and then goes off into some very interesting tangents, thanks to the generosity of one of my readers. Director William Seiter is credited with being at the helm of three Shirley Temple movies, starting with “Dimples” (1936). Costar Frank Morgan is on the left, and Seiter is on the right, watching the proceedings from the comfort of his chair.



In her autobiography Child Star, Shirley tells how Seiter prevented Morgan from taking the attention away from her during a sad ballad:

William Seiter posed me to sing over Morgan’s shoulder. Anchoring Morgan in a chair with the back of his head to the camera was the only way to thwart that wizard. He couldn’t wiggle his ears.

Still, the sight of Morgan’s thick white wavy hair does cause a bit of an odd distraction as Shirley emotes and sings “Picture Me Without You.”



The publicity caption for this “Dimples” shot reads:

SHIRLEY TEMPLE CONQUERS ANOTHER TASK MASTER — like all directors who have preceded him, William Seiter, assigned by Darryl F. Zanuck to direct “Dimples” and “Stowaway” for 20th Century-Fox, has fallen in love with “Shirley Temple the artist” and “Shirley Temple, the unspoiled seven year old kid who gets so much fun out of her work.”



Fun is right. This shot captures the little prankster putting cuffs around Seiter’s ankles while songwriter Ted Koehler pretends to nap. Seiter must have been a good sport.



Below, Seiter gives direction for a scene between Shirley and Helen Westley.



Seiter directed Shirley’s very next film, “Stowaway.”



Shirley gets ready for the shuffleboard scene:



Seiter is once again wearing his customary fedora.



When Walter Lang had to leave for a “medical furlough,” it was Seiter who took over directorial duties on “The Little Princess” (1939), but was uncredited for his troubles. From Shirley’s autobiography Child Star:

For several days cameraman Artie Miller complained in graphic detail about the pain he suffered from a cyst in his cheek.  “There must be a lot of trouble in the world,” I remarked to Mother. “Everyone else has problems. When do I get to have some?”



Seen from the back in this publicity still for “Susannah of the Mounties” (1939), Seiter turned out to be an unfortunate choice for this uninspiring movie that only served to speed up Shirley’s departure from Fox.



In a typical twist of serendipity, it turns out that one of my faithful Temple Tuesday readers has a Seiter connection. As Jackie M. informed me:

My cousin’s name was Jill Woodward, and she has a small entry on imdb.com. She was in a number of silent movies (imdb lists only 4, which is better than TCM, which only lists 2!) and married Bill Seiter in 1919.

From the imdb bio:

Jill Woodward was born on January 18, 1897 in Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for My Country First (1916), Lightning Bryce (1919) and The Kentucky Colonel (1920). She was previously married to Paul Lill and William A. Seiter. She died on June 17, 1985 in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

Jackie was kind enough to share some photos from the family scrapbook. Other than a few captions written on the back, these great photos don’t have a lot of corresponding information. Here’s Bill with a golf club, circa 1919. He was quite the dashing man in his younger days, beginning as a bit player for Mack Sennett, doubling a cowboy.



Here comes a bit of a mystery; according to Wikipedia (I know, I know…not always the most factual!), Seiter was married to Laura La Planted from 1926 to 1934 (ending in divorce). She is “credited” as being his first wife, followed by Marian Nixon from 1934 to 1964, when he died. According to Variety, March 1915, Jill was married to Paul Lill in 1915 with an annulment following only two days later. From the June 12, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World under the “Clip and Paste” column:

Jill Woodward, wife of Director Wiliam A. Seiter, of the National Film Corporation, will be assistant director to her husband in his next production for National.

That’s as much as I could find out about that relationship.

Here are Jill and Bill accompanied by the caption, “Cherokee Court, about 1918.” There is a Cherokee Avenue in Hollywood; whether this building still stands or not is another mystery.



A lovely shot of the two, captioned: “Jill and Bill, ‘Hollywood.’” If you noticed the common credit on these photos for the photographer, it reads C. Heighton Monroe. I assume he had a decent biz in Hollywood, as I found some photos online that he shot of contemporary movie stars of the day, such as Louise Fazenda, and studio head Sam Warner.



Below the couple pose with Douglas MacLean (1890-1967), a stage and film actor who later became a producer and screenwriter, working with W.C. Fields (“Tillie and Gus”) and Cary Grant (“Ladies Should Listen”).



MacLean lived in a bungalow in the Alvarado Court complex next to the famous movie director, William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner). On February 2, 1922, Taylor was found dead, murdered inside his bungalow. MacLean’s then wife, Faith, was a key witness in the still unsolved murder, as she had witnessed an unknown person leaving Taylor’s apartment the night of the murder. Below is Taylor’s crypt at Hollywood Forever Cemetery:



The caption for the photo below reads, “Jill at the Oxford Street home, L.A., 1922.”



Hollywood does indeed have an Oxford AVENUE. I sure would love to see this beautiful home if it still exists!



Below is an interior view of the property, labeled “Oxford Street. Jill & Bill Seiter rented furnished, 1922.”



You just never know where the topic of Shirley Temple will lead. If anyone has any additional info on the Jill Woodward/William Seiter relationship or the historic properties listed here, please let me know!

THANKS, JACKIE!!
 
UPDATE!

Thanks to Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and her newspapers.com subscription, a few questions about Jill and her husbands can be answered!

On the two-day marriage, the Oakland Tribune reported this on March 7, 1915:

One day of wedded bliss, following a whirlwind wooing of a brief two weeks, was the lot of Paul R. Lill, aged 20, son of a wealthy Pasadena family, who married Miss Verness Woodward, motion picture actress. Their shattered romance became known yesterday when Mrs. George H. Lill, mother of the youth, declared Paul was not legally married to Miss Woodward. So far as the public records go the couple are legally married, but Paul Lill says he falsified when he swore he was 22 years old. He added that he was led to give a wrong age because Miss Woodward wanted him to marry her and he thought they would be happy together. How the romance turned out is best explained by the youthful bridegroom in an interview he gave out last night at Santa Barbara, where he and his bride went on their honeymoon. He said: “We were married in Los Angeles February 18 by the Rev. James I. Myers of the Broadway Christian church. The following day we came to Santa Barbara and on the 20th my wife left me without giving any explanation. We have both come to the conclusion that it was best for us to part and remain apart forever. We are convinced our marriage was a most unwise move. I have heard from my folks and they are going to have our marriage annulled.” Lill then told of meeting his wife just two weeks before they were wed, and he asserted that it was she who proposed that they get married. “It’s true that I am not of age and that I gave a wrong age when securing a marriage license,” he continued. “We both regret it exceedingly. My wife never made the slightest explanation for leaving me. She simply disappeared. I ran across her later, but she would not say why she left me. Verness declared we had made a botch of our lives and said we’d better quit.” The young woman has not given the slightest inkling to any of her relatives here regarding the break that has come between her and young Lill. Her brother, Frank Woodward, of 1705 Burlington Street, had not heard of the separation. Mrs. Frank Woodward said yesterday. “We have had several messages from Verness since she went on her honeymoon. She said she had been engaged by a motion picture company at Santa Barbara and the manager had made her leading woman. So far as we know she and her husband were happy. We were greatly surprised to learn of the wedding. Verness brought her husband to our home the day they were married and she seemed very happy.” Mr. and Mrs. Lill, parents of the young bridegroom, live at 180 South Lake street, Pasadena. Mr. Lill has an office on Colorado street there. Before the interview was had with her son Mrs. Lill was positive in her statement that the marriage ceremony had not been performed. “I knew of the affair,” she said, “but after the license was taken out my son and the young woman decided they did not care for each other and that ended it. My son is only 20 years old, so he could not get married without our consent.” Rev. James I. Myers said last night he remembered marrying Lill and Miss Woodward. They came to his home in Rose Lawn drive with a young man to act as witness, he said, and he performed the ceremony.

Sounds like the two youngsters were hot and heavy for each other and the groom’s mother stepped in, attempting to whitewash the little affair. Want to see what Frank’s place on 1705 Burlington looks like today? Of course you do. Built in 1919, it still looks to be in great shape!



As for the Pasadena address, it appears that only a 180 South Lake Avenue exists, and a modern office building resides there. Moving onto wedding #2, the L.A. Times from June 12, 1924 reported this:

Bill and Jill Seiter are both in pictures now, which is by way of being a family quorum. Williams is the well-known director and Jill is his wife. Mrs. Seiter is playing the role of the Princess Sonia Zaiskine in “His Hour,” the production which King Vidor is directing, and Elinor Glyn is supervising for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mrs. Seiter is using the name Jill Reties, which is Seiter spelled backward, and indeed one name sounds just as reasonable as the other. Before marrying William Seiter Mrs. Seiter was known to picturedom as Jill Woodward, leading woman. She retired from professional life when she married, more than seven years ago, and is only just now returning to the screen.

Take that, Wikipedia! Yes, William and Jill were married. As for the Paul and Jill wedding, I’d believe the Reverend, not the mother-in-law! I am still hoping to find out more about Cherokee Court and the house on Oxford Street. Anyone?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.