1. Cleo Madison is considered a pioneering female director with a number of shorts and two feature films, A Soul Enslaved and Her Bitter Cup, to her credit.
21 Facts About Cleo Madison
1. 2.
Cleo Madison made several efforts to set up a production company before leaving show business in 1924.
3.
Cleo Madison died from a heart attack in 1964 at the age of 80.
4.
Cleo Madison attended Illinois State Normal University in Normal, Illinois.
5.
Cleo Madison began her acting career on stage with the Santa Barbara Stock Company.
6.
Cleo Madison made her first professional appearances on the stages of the Burbank Theatre and the Belasco in 1911.
7.
Cleo Madison played the role of the mother in Captain Swift.
8.
In 1913, Cleo Madison signed with Universal Pictures and starred the following year in The Trey o' Hearts, a 15-episode film serial.
9.
Cleo Madison played three roles in the serial, portraying both the protagonist, Judith Trine, and her evil twin Rose, as well as the twins' mother.
10.
Cleo Madison's performances were based on an acting style she developed during her time as a vaudeville performer, relying on large gestures and melodramatic facial expressions.
11.
Cleo Madison did not avoid physical exertion in pursuit of convincing portrayal, as demonstrated in The Trey of Hearts in which her character endured a number of physical challenges such as being in a car crash, being shot at, and escaping a forest fire.
12.
Cleo Madison's acting style employed her total commitment and passion to each role, and her performances were often acclaimed as such.
13.
In 1915, Cleo Madison became one of the few women in Hollywood to begin directing her own short and feature films.
14.
Cleo Madison was among the unprecedented wave of female directors employed by Universal that included Grace Cunard, Jeanie MacPherson and Lois Weber.
15.
Cleo Madison, known for her progressive views, was eager to begin work and was confident in her own ability.
16.
Cleo Madison directed sixteen shorts and two feature-length films in a directorial career lasting only one year.
17.
Cleo Madison believed being female positively influenced her directing style, remarking once that each of her directed pieces had to have a certain "feminine touch".
18.
Cleo Madison was rumored to have suffered a nervous breakdown in 1922, attempted a career-comeback in 1923, and by 1924 had permanently withdrawn from the film industry.
19.
Cleo Madison purchased a 1915 auto manufactured by the Haynes Automobile Company in December 1914.
20.
Many accounts that go into detail about Cleo Madison's life do not note her November 1916 marriage to Don Peake of San Francisco, California.
21.
Cleo Madison was western sales manager of the Briscoe Motor Corporation.