CONNECTION TO BUTLER COUNTY

Born in Butler County, Phyllis lived on several farms east and north of Douglass for the first eight years of her life.

By her own accounts, Phyllis was an adventurous child while living in Kansas, with a habit of wondering off.  At five years of age, she thought a tramp’s life to be romantic and set out one day to become one, walking out of town following the railroad track.

Another time, hearing of the wonderful Chautauqua events being held in Winfield, she stowed away on a train to attend.  Discovered by her Uncle Bert Shanks, she was sent home the following day.

Phyllis’ father, Jim, was a prominent farmer and stockman, like his father before him, farming east of Douglass.  In 1917 oil was discovered on the Haver family’s land holdings, becoming part of the Fox-Bush oil field.  Jim oversaw the production of oil on his father’s land.
 

LEAVING THE AREA

Just before Phyllis’ ninth birthday, her mother and grandmother sold their farm and moved to California, where she grew up.

Never forgetting her Kansas roots, Haver often returned for visits to family and friends in Butler County.  She once autographed a newspaper photo of herself “I am very proud to say that Kansas is my native state. I can only hope that the pictures I make will be good enough for the people of Kansas.”

ACHIEVEMENTS

Haver got her start as an actress with the Famous Players Film Company, what later became Paramount.  During a summer vacation from high school, a young man working as an extra invited her to visit the lot.  Taking a quick look at her, a director asked if she would like to do an occasional bit of acting.  After discussing it with her mother, she said yes; the salary of $7.50 per day being offered was more than she made working at a millinery shop.  She was only fifteen at the time.

Earlier, when Phyllis was about thirteen years old, she had appeared before the public as a pianist in a movie theater.  One day she and her mother had attended a movie where, for some reason, there was no music being played to accompany the silent film.  Haver went to the piano and began playing by ear.  She was hired immediately, holding the job until her repertoire soon gave out.  She only knew about twenty appropriate compositions.

While she picked up occasional work at Paramount, Haver’s friends Marie Prevost and Gloria Swanson were becoming famous working for Mack Sennett.  So in 1917, she went in search of a job.  She was to become one of Sennett’s most celebrated glorified bathing girls.

Several times William Randolph Hearst, a publisher who also produced movies, tried to hire Haver away from Sennett.  After talking the offers over with Mr. Sennett, she agreed that she needed more acting experience and chose to stay with him.  But Hearst’s persistence highlighted her career, leading her to become a much sought-after property.   Haver soon became leading lady to Ben Turpin, Sennett’s top actor.

After becoming associated with Christie Comedies, Haver later made movies for Fox-Pathe.  When this company split, Cecil D. DeMille moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), taking Haver with him.

Gaining wide recognition as a dramatic actress in Goldwyn’s 1923 production of The Christian, a critic for Film Daily wrote of Haver’s genuinely fine piece of dramatic portrayal as an unwed mother.  “Miss Haver registers a real ‘choke in the throat’”, he wrote.  Another reporter wrote, “Phyllis Haver earns for herself a permanent place among the sincere dramatic actresses of motion pictures.”

Perhaps one of the more flattering, sincere descriptions of Haver came from a studio electrician:  “She doesn’t get a swelled head . . .  She’s just as interested in the extras as she is the directors.  Remembers everyone’s names, and always has a good word for you.”  Coworkers gave her the title of “a good little trouper,” with a reputation for not being temperamental, as some actresses were, and getting along well with the entire film crew.

Among Haver’s most noted films is the first film version of Chicago, released in 1927, in which she played accused murderess Roxie Hart.  In this fictionalized account of a true crime, Haver put all sorts of unique touches on the role; her scenes during the murder trial were said to be wonderful gems of comic acting.  The film was an international success, making Haver recognizable throughout the world.

In this silent film version, the part of Roxie’s husband, played by Hungarian film star Victor Varconi, was much larger than in the 2002 film, while the roles of Billy Flynn and Mama Morton were greatly reduced, and the character of Velma Kelly was absent altogether.  But the impact of the story’s critique on modern media and the public’s responsibility in enabling the media to peddle trash seemed to have a much greater impact with the earlier film.

Other notable films Haver starred in were What Price Glory?, The Battle of the Sexes, and The Way of All Flesh, a film which co-star Emil Jennings handpicked her to star in.  She appeared in Sal of Singapore, which was nominated for a 1928 Oscar for achievement in writing, only the second year of Academy Awards.  In 1923, she starred with fellow Kansan Buster Keaton in Balloonatic.

The Internet Movie Database lists Haver as appearing in over 100 films, including several features in which she played herself.  One of these, 1918’s It’s a Cinch, was a fund-raising short feature for the United States Fourth Liberty Loan Drive during World War I.  She last appeared in a TV episode of This is Your Life, sharing remembrances about her friend, Mack Sennett.

Her films were popular overseas, judging by the many clippings in her scrapbook from German, Italian, and French magazines.  Among American magazine covers Haver appeared on were Screenland, Motion Pictures, Pathe Sun, Picture Play, and The Police Gazette.  Her face also graced the cover of sheet music, calendars, matchbook covers and postcards.

In a booklet compiled in 1928, How I Broke Into the Movies by 60 Screen Stars, Haver appeared with such notable stars as Greta Garbo, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lon Chaney.

At the time of Haver’s marriage, she was coming into a time of greater professional glory than previously known.  Having just signed a new four-year contract with MGM, she was reported to have invoked the “act of God” clause in the contract, cracking, “If marrying a millionaire ain’t an act of God, I don’t know what is”.

Haver’s final film was a talking picture called Thunder with Lon Chaney.  It was reported that when she retired, she was being paid $5,000 per week.

Former co-star Emil Jennings offered her any amount of money to come out of retirement to play the lead in another picture with him, believing her to be America’s finest actress.  When she refused, he chose Marlene Dietrich for the part that made Dietrich a star.

Phyllis Haver’s fame eventually faded away; today few people have even heard of her.  Yet one can’t help but wonder how her career might have gone had she not retired so early.