# Alice Howell > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alice_Howell > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alice_Howell.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Howell > Source revision: 1303223909 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American film actress (1886–1961) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Alice Howell Howell in 1920 Born Alice Florence Clark (1886-05-20)May 20, 1886 New York City, U.S. Died April 12, 1961(1961-04-12) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Occupation Actress Years active 1914–1933 Spouses Richard Smith ​ ​ (m. 1922; died 1937)​ Benjamin Vincent Shevlin ​ ​ (divorced)​ Children Yvonne Howell **Alice Howell** (born **Alice Florence Clark**; May 20, 1886 – April 12, 1961)[1] was a [silent film](/source/Silent_film) comedy actress from [New York City](/source/New_York_City). She was the mother of actress [Yvonne Howell](/source/Yvonne_Howell). ## Biography Early reviews of her movies describe her as *"the scream of the screen".* One reviewer likened her to a "sort of [Charlie Chaplin](/source/Charlie_Chaplin), [Douglas Fairbanks Sr.](/source/Douglas_Fairbanks), and [Max Linder](/source/Max_Linder)." All this was compressed into "one more or less diminutive package of femininity". Sometimes called "the girl Charlie Chaplin", she worked for [Mack Sennett](/source/Mack_Sennett) and later [L-KO Kompany](/source/L-KO_Kompany). Her early comedies were often produced by [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures). ## Career Alice Howell in 1920 At Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company, Howell quickly worked her way up from crowd scenes to featured parts in shorts such as Charlie Chaplin's [*Laughing Gas* (1914 film)](/source/Laughing_Gas_(1914_film)), and starred in at least one, *Shot in the Excitement* (1914). Hired away by Sennett's former second-in-command, [Henry Lehrman](/source/Henry_Lehrman), when he set up the [L-KO Kompany](/source/L-KO_Kompany), Howell was cast to support [Billie Ritchie](/source/Billie_Ritchie) and became popular in her own one-reelers. By 1917, she was such an audience favorite that Julius and Abe Stern formed Century Comedies to showcase her talents, making her, along with [Mabel Normand](/source/Mabel_Normand) and [Marie Dressler](/source/Marie_Dressler), the third comedienne to have her own exclusive production unit. After Howell and Century parted ways in 1919, the company continued turning out comedy shorts and was renamed [Stern Brothers](/source/Stern_Brothers) Comedies in 1926. In 1919, Howell moved to the independent Emerald Company, which became part of the Reelcraft Corporation and released her still extant film, *[Distilled Love](/source/Distilled_Love)* (1920). Howell's last starring series was a group of 1924–25 domestic comedies for [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures) featuring a married couple and their goofy butler. When this series ended, she appeared in one last short, *Madame Dynamite* (1926), for [Fox Film Corporation](/source/Fox_Film_Corporation).[2] Ad for the American comedy short film *Her Lucky Day* (1920) with Alice Howell, on page 4275 of the May 22, 1920 *Motion Picture News*. Among more than 100 screen credits, Howell made such motion pictures as *[Caught in a Cabaret](/source/Caught_in_a_Cabaret)* (1914), *[Mabel and Fatty's Married Life](/source/Mabel_and_Fatty's_Married_Life)* (1915), *[Neptune's Naughty Daughter](/source/Neptune's_Naughty_Daughter)* (1917), *[Green Trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_Trees&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1924), and *[Madame Dynamite](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madame_Dynamite&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1926). *[Her Bareback Career](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Her_Bareback_Career&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1917) was the first of 12 two-reel comedies for a new corporation which was formed to manufacture and distribute Alice Howell comedies. Howell's film career continued into the sound-movie era with a role as a mute servant of the master murderer in the motion picture *The Black Ace* (1933). ## Death Howell died in [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California), in 1961, aged 74. ## Partial filmography - *[Tillie's Punctured Romance](/source/Tillie's_Punctured_Romance_(1914_film))* ([1914](/source/1914_in_film)) as Guest (uncredited) - *[Bombs and Bangs](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bombs_and_Bangs&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1914) - *[Lover's Luck](/source/Lover's_Luck)* (1914) - *[Laughing Gas](/source/Laughing_Gas_(1914_film))* (1914) - *[Caught in the Rain](/source/Caught_in_the_Rain_(film))* (1914) - *[Shot in the Excitement](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shot_in_the_Excitement&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1914) - Advertisement promoting the comedy films of Alice Howell, on page 19 of the April 24, 1920 *Exhibitors Herald*. *[Caught in a Cabaret](/source/Caught_in_a_Cabaret)* (1914) - *[Mabel and Fatty's Married Life](/source/Mabel_and_Fatty's_Married_Life)* ([1915](/source/1915_in_film)) - *[Father was a Loafer](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Father_was_a_Loafer&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1915) - *[Under new Management](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Under_new_Management&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1915) - *[How Stars are Made](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=How_Stars_are_Made&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1916) - *[Her Bareback Career](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Her_Bareback_Career&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1917) - *[Neptune's Naughty Daughter](/source/Neptune's_Naughty_Daughter)* (1917) - *[In Dutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_Dutch_(1918_film)&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1918) - *[Distilled Love](/source/Distilled_Love)* ([1920](/source/1920_in_film)) - *[His Wooden Legacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=His_Wooden_Legacy&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1920) - *[Her Lucky Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Her_Lucky_Day&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1920) - *[Cinderella Slippers](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cinderella_Slippers&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1920) - *[A Convict's Happy Bride](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Convict%27s_Happy_Bride&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1920) - *[Love Is an Awful Thing](/source/Love_Is_an_Awful_Thing)* (1922) - *[Wandering Daughters](/source/Wandering_Daughters)* (1923) - *[Green Trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_Trees&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1924) - *[The Pride of the Force](/source/The_Pride_of_the_Force_(1925_film))* (1925) - *[Under a Spell](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Under_a_Spell&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1925) - *[Madame Dynamite](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madame_Dynamite&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1926) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Slide, Anthony. *Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses.* Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2002. p. 185. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Massa, Steve. ["Alice Howell - Women Film Pioneers Project"](https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-alice-howell/). *Women Film Pioneers Project*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191010191932/https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-alice-howell/) from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020. ## Further reading - [Cedar Rapids, Iowa](/source/Cedar_Rapids%2C_Iowa) Republican, *At The Theaters*, October 8, 1926, Page 3. - [Elyria, Ohio](/source/Elyria%2C_Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, *Public Will Always Love Laughmakers*, July 6, 1978, Page 24. - [Janesville, Wisconsin](/source/Janesville%2C_Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, *News Notes From Movieland*, August 31, 1917, Page 6. - [Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times), *Book Alice Howell Comedies-Superba*, September 23, 1917, Page III17. - Los Angeles Times, *Actress Gets Half Job*, March 24, 1933, Page 7. - Slide, Anthony: She Could Be Chaplin!: The Comedic Brilliance of Alice Howell. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2016. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Alice Howell](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alice_Howell). - [Alice Howell](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397922/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Alice Howell](https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-alice-howell/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190818234605/https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-alice-howell/) August 18, 2019, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) at Women Film Pioneers Project - [Alice Howell](http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/1537/alice-howell) at Virtual History - [Alice Howell DVD Project](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/silentfilm/the-alice-howell-dvd-project-6-rare-silent-comedie) at Kickstarter Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States France BnF data Spain Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alice Howell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Howell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Howell?action=history)). 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