{{Short description|American actress (1906–1957)}} {{Infobox person | name = Helene Costello | image = Helene Costello 20s.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Costello in the 1920s | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1906|6|21|mf=yes}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1957|1|26|1906|6|21|mf=yes}} | death_place = San Bernardino, California, U.S. | resting_place = Calvary Cemetery | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1909–1942 | other_names = Helen Costello<br />Miss Helene | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|John W. Regan|1927|1929|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Lowell Sherman|1930|1932|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Arturo de Barrio|1933|1939|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|George Lee Le Blanc|1940|1946|reason=divorced}} }} | children = 1 | parents = Maurice Costello<br />Mae Costello | relatives = Dolores Costello (sister) }}
'''Helene Costello''' (June 21, 1906 – January 26, 1957) was an American stage and film actress, most notably of the silent era.
==Early life and career== [[File:Church-Across-the-Way-1912-5.jpg|thumb|left|Costello (''child'') with Mary Maurice, Earle Williams, and the "Vitagraph Dog" Jean in ''The Church Across the Way'', 1912]] Born in New York City, Costello was the youngest daughter of the prominent stage and pioneering film actor Maurice Costello and his actress wife Mae Costello (née Altschuk).<ref>{{cite news|title=Early Film Star Dies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19501030&id=n8MhAAAAIBAJ&pg=5477,5078944|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=October 30, 1950|page=14}}</ref> She had an older sister Dolores, who also became an actress and would go on to marry John Barrymore.<ref name=pittsburghpress>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello Weds Film Actor|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19300316&id=9EsbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6335,3710805|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=March 16, 1930|page=1}}</ref> Costello first appeared on screen, opposite her father, in the 1909 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables''.<ref name=latimes>{{cite web|title=Hollywood Star Walk: Helene Costello|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/helene-costello/|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> She would continue acting in films throughout the 1910s as a child actor and also worked in vaudeville and appeared in stage roles.<ref name=lowe>{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=Denise|title=An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895-1930|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=0-789-01843-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9790874369709_b7n2/page/132 132]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9790874369709_b7n2/page/132}}</ref> In 1924, she appeared with her sister Dolores in ''George White's Scandals''. Shortly thereafter, both sisters signed contracts with Warner Bros.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCaffrey|first=Donald W.|title=Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-30345-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/guidetosilentyea00mcca/page/89 89]|author2=Jacobs, Christopher P.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetosilentyea00mcca/page/89}}</ref> Costello reached her peak of public popularity in the mid-1920s and earned a reported $3,000 a week.<ref name=milwaukee>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello, Ex-Actress, Dies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19570129&id=yCMoAAAAIBAJ&pg=7307,3885994|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=January 29, 1957|page=1}} {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
Although she had been appearing on screen since her early childhood, Costello was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1927, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. In 1928, Costello co-starred in the first all-talking full-length feature film ''Lights of New York''. Later that same year, she was released from her contract with Warner Bros. after she refused to star as a leading lady opposite Rin Tin Tin once again; she had previously appeared alongside the canine star in the 1926 film ''While London Sleeps''.<ref name=lowe/> Costello's final substantial role was opposite her sister Dolores in the all-star Technicolor musical revue ''The Show of Shows'' (1929). Costello and her sister performed in the "Meet My Sister" musical number.
After the advent of sound, Costello's career declined reportedly because her voice did not record well.<ref name=lowe/> She was also beset with personal problems including illnesses, an addiction to drugs and alcohol, three divorces, a public custody battle with her third ex-husband and financial difficulties.<ref name=milwaukee/><ref name=lowe2>Lowe 2005 p.133</ref> From 1930 to 1934, Costello did not appear in a film. In September 1935, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and returned to the screen in a supporting role in ''Riffraff'' (1936).<ref>{{cite news|last=Percy|first=Eileen|title=Ginger Rogers' Next Retitled|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19350906&id=t49RAAAAIBAJ&pg=3867,96705|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=September 6, 1935|page=16}}</ref> Her final role was a bit part in the 1942 film ''The Black Swan''. Later in 1942, Costello filed for bankruptcy.<ref name=milwaukee/>
==Personal life== Costello was married four times, each marriage ending in divorce. Her first marriage was to football player John W. Regan in 1927. They divorced in June 1928.<ref>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello Divorces John Regan, Ex-Grid Star|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19280628&id=W4FRAAAAIBAJ&pg=3533,2847062|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=June 28, 1928|page=2}}</ref> Costello's second marriage was to actor/director Lowell Sherman, whom she married on March 15, 1930, in Beverly Hills.<ref name=pittsburghpress/> They separated in November 1931 and were divorced in May 1932.<ref>{{cite news|title=Accuses Actress In Divorce Suit|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19311202&id=TocsAAAAIBAJ&pg=2494,2941368|newspaper=Herald-Journal|date=December 2, 1931|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello Is Granted Divorce After Court Drama|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19320511&id=NJJRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4816,5686169|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=May 11, 1932|page=1}}</ref> Costello's third marriage was to Dr. Arturo de Barrio, a lawyer who came from a prominent Cuban family. They were married in Havana on January 6, 1933.<ref>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello Weds Havana Lawyer In Cuba|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19330111&id=VTVPAAAAIBAJ&pg=1893,5508578|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=January 11, 1933|page=2}}</ref> Their marriage was considered invalid because Costello's divorce from her second husband was not finalized. They married for a second time in June 1933 in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wed Second Time|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1787&dat=19330602&id=ix8hAAAAIBAJ&pg=4116,1392099|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|date=June 21, 1933|page=8}}</ref> They were divorced in 1939.
Her fourth and final marriage was to artist George Lee Le Blanc, whom Costello married in 1940. The couple had a daughter, Diedre, on February 18, 1941.<ref>{{cite news|title=Actress Is Unable To House Child|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19480420&id=xvlXAAAAIBAJ&pg=3381,1897485|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=April 20, 1948|page=12}}</ref> Costello filed for divorce on August 6, 1947.<ref>{{cite news|title=Helene Costello Files Divorce Suit|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19470807&id=IIYhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3283,3590976|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=August 7, 1947|page=28}}</ref> Shortly after Costello filed for divorce, Le Blanc joined the Merchant Marine. Before leaving, Le Blanc left Diedre in the care of Costello's sister Dolores claiming that Costello was unfit to care for Diedre because of her alcoholism.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dolores Costello Award Custody Of Her Niece|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1983&dat=19470913&id=0BwiAAAAIBAJ&pg=1049,1694032|newspaper=San Jose Evening News|date=September 13, 1947}}</ref> Costello denied Le Blanc's claim and attempted to regain sole custody in September 1947. During one custody hearing, Costello's father and Lionel Barrymore (Dolores Costello's ex brother-in-law) testified that Costello did not have a drinking problem.<ref>{{cite news|title=Old Troupers Testify In Custody Action|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19471230&id=aCNZAAAAIBAJ&pg=7428,5041726|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=December 30, 1947|page=13}}</ref> In April 1948, Costello was forced to drop her suit due to financial troubles and Le Blanc was awarded temporary custody of Diedre.<ref>{{cite news|title=Actress Is Unable to House Child|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19480420&id=xvlXAAAAIBAJ&pg=3381,1897485|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=April 20, 1948|page=12}}</ref> Costello and Le Blanc were divorced in June 1948.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-Actress Divorced|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19480604&id=3sUwAAAAIBAJ&pg=2539,5050027|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=June 4, 1948|page=28}}</ref>
==Death== On January 24, 1957, Costello was admitted to Patton State Hospital under the assumed name of Adrienne Costello for treatment for a drug and alcohol addiction. She died there two days later of pneumonia.<ref name=milwaukee/><ref name=lowe2/> Her sister, Dolores Costello Barrymore, was with her when she died.<ref>Associated Press, "Ex-Film Star Helene Costello Dies At Patton", ''Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 29 January 1957, Volume 63, Number 129, page 1.</ref> Her funeral was held on January 30, after which she was interred in an unmarked grave at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Few Attend Rites For Helene Costello|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19570131&id=h5IhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2863,5236776|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=January 31, 1957|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ellenberger|first=Allan R.|title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory|year=2001|publisher=McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub|isbn=0-786-40983-5|page=17}}</ref>
==Other==
For her contribution to the motion film industry, Helene Costello has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street in Hollywood.<ref name=latimes/>
Comedian Lou Costello, born Louis Cristillo, changed his name in honor of Helene Costello. Coincidentally, both of them were born in 1906.
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Short subject |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1909 | ''Les Misérables'' | Child | Part 1 |- | 1909 | ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' | Fairy | |- | 1911 | ''Consuming Love; or, St. Valentine's Day in Greenaway Land'' | | |- | 1911 | ''A Quaker Mother'' | The Harmon Daughter | |- | 1911 | ''Courage of Sorts'' | | |- | 1911 | ''The Geranium'' | | |- | 1911 | ''Captain Barnacle's Baby'' | The Baby | |- | 1911 | ''Her Crowning Glory'' | Helen, the Child | |- | 1911 | ''The Child Crusoes'' | | |- | 1911 | ''His Sister's Children'' | Boker aka Toodle | Credited as Helen Costello |- | 1911 | ''Regeneration'' | The Ross Child | |- | 1911 | ''Auld Lang Syne'' | The Child | |- | 1911 | ''A Reformed Santa Claus'' | The Widow's 2nd Child | |- | 1911 | ''The Old Doll'' | The Child | |- | 1912 | ''Captain Jenks' Dilemma'' | One of Widow Brown's Children | |- | 1912 | ''The Meeting of the Ways'' | One of Tom's Children | |- | 1912 | ''Tom Tilling's Baby'' | The Carter Baby | |- | 1912 | ''Captain Barnacle's Messmates'' | A Child | |- | 1912 | ''The First Violin'' | Helen - A Little Waif | |- | 1912 | ''The Five Senses'' | | |- | 1912 | ''At Scroggineses' Corner'' | Alice as a Child | Credited as Helen Costello |- | 1912 | ''The Greatest Thing in the World'' | A Lost Child | |- | 1912 | ''Lulu's Doctor'' | | |- | 1912 | ''The Days of Terror; or, in the Reign of Terror'' | | |- | 1912 | ''The Church Across the Way'' | Adele - The Child | Credited as Helen Costello |- | 1912 | ''The Troublesome Step-Daughters'' | | |- | 1912 | ''The Money Kings'' | | |- | 1912 | ''The Black Sheep'' | Clara Moreland as a Child | |- | 1912 | ''Wanted... a Grandmother'' |Phillip - Hale's Invalid Son | |- | 1912 | ''Rip Van Winkle'' | Steenie as a Child | |- | 1912 | ''Captain Barnacle's Legacy'' | The Little African Child | |- | 1912 | ''The Irony of Fate'' | Third Child | |- | 1912 | ''The Toymaker'' | Another Child | Unconfirmed |- | 1912 | ''In the Garden Fair'' | Mrs. Rose's Daughter, Helen | |- | 1912 | ''Six O'Clock'' | The Child | |- | 1912 | ''The Servant Problem; or, How Mr. Bullington Ran the House'' | One of the Third Cook's Three Children | |- | 1912 | ''The Night Before Christmas'' | Helen Corbin - The Child | |- | 1912 | ''Two Women and Two Men'' | Little Nellie Thornwell | |- | 1912 | ''Days of Terror'' | | |- | 1913 | ''Mr. Bolter's Niece'' | Pet - Mr. Bolter's Niece | |- | 1913 | ''Buttercups'' | Second Child | |- | 1913 | ''Just Show People'' | | |- | 1913 | ''Beau Brummel'' | Child | Uncredited <br /> '''Lost''' film |- | 1913 | ''Tim Grogan's Foundling'' | Pearl Ligard - The Foundling | Credited as Helen Costello |- | 1913 | ''The One Good Turn'' | | |- | 1913 | ''The Mystery of the Stolen Child'' | The Stolen Grandchild | |- | 1913 | ''The Hindoo Charm'' | Helen Tilbury - The Younger Child | |- | 1913 | ''Fortune's Turn'' | The Child | |- | 1913 | ''The Other Woman'' | John's Child | |- | 1913 | ''Heartbroken Shep'' | Runa | |- | 1913 | ''The Fruits of Vengeance'' | Pauline's Child | |- | 1913 | ''Matrimonial Manoeuvres'' | Little Nellie | |- | 1913 | ''The Doctor's Secret'' | Elsa, as a child | '''Lost''' film |- | 1913 | ''The Price of Thoughtlessness'' | Mabel | |- | 1913 | ''Fellow Voyagers'' | Little Helen Gray | |- | 1913 | ''A Christmas Story'' | Bessie's Child | |- | 1914 | ''Bunny's Mistake'' | Little Helene | |- | 1914 | ''Some Steamer Scooping'' | Helen Reigel | |- | 1914 | ''Memories That Haunt'' | Little Annie | Credited as Helen Costello |- | 1914 | ''Etta of the Footlights'' | | |- | 1914 | ''The Mysterious Lodger'' | Brent's Child | |- | 1914 | ''The Barrel Organ'' | The Child | |- | 1914 | ''The Blood Ruby'' | Hugh's Child | |- | 1914 | ''Too Much Burlgar'' | | |- | 1914 | ''By the Governor's Order'' | Little Hope | |- | 1915 | ''The Evil Men Do'' | Beatrice - as a Little Girl | |- | 1915 | ''Lifting the Ban of Coventry'' | Helen Stuyvesant - their child | |- | 1915 | ''The Heart of Jim Brice'' | | |- | 1916 | ''Billie's Mother'' | Billie | |- |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Features |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1912 | ''Cleopatra'' | Nicola - a Child | |- | rowspan=3 | 1925 | ''Ranger of the Big Pines'' | Virginia Weatherford | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Man on the Box'' | Bob's Sister | |- | ''Bobbed Hair'' | | Uncredited |- | rowspan=6 | 1926 | ''The Love Toy'' | Princess Patricia | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Wet Paint'' | She | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Don Juan'' | Rena - Adriana's Maid | Uncredited |- | ''The Honeymoon Express'' | Margaret Lambert | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Millionaires'' | Ida | '''Lost''' film |- | ''While London Sleeps'' | Dale Burke | '''Lost''' film |- | rowspan=7 | 1927 | ''Finger Prints'' | Jacqueline Norton | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Fortune Hunter'' | Josie Lockwood | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Broncho Twister'' | Paulita Brady | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Heart of Maryland'' | Nancy | '''Incomplete''' film |- | ''Good Time Charley'' | Rosita Keene - Daughter | |- | ''In Old Kentucky'' | Nancy Holden | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Husbands for Rent'' | Molly Devoe | '''Lost''' film |- | rowspan=7 | 1928 | ''Burning Up Broadway'' | Floss | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Comrades'' | Helen Dixon | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Phantom of the Turf'' | Joan | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Lights of New York'' | Kitty Lewis | |- | ''The Midnight Taxi'' | Nan Parker | |- | ''The Circus Kid'' | Trixie | |- | ''Broken Barriers'' | Beryl Moore | '''Lost''' film |- | rowspan=4 | 1929 | ''When Dreams Come True'' | Caroline Swayne | '''Lost''' film |- | ''The Fatal Warning'' | Dorothy Rogers | '''Lost''' film |- | ''Innocents of Paris'' | Bit Role | Uncredited |- | ''The Show of Shows'' | Performer in "Meet My Sister" Number | |- | 1935 | ''Public Hero No. 1'' | Undetermined Role | Uncredited |- | 1935 | ''Honeymoon Limited'' | Mrs. Randall | |- | 1936 | ''Riffraff'' | Maizie | |- | 1942 | ''The Black Swan'' | Woman | Uncredited |}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|182557}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Helene}} Category:1906 births Category:1957 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from New York City Category:American child actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American silent film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American vaudeville performers Category:Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Category:Warner Bros. contract players Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:Alcohol-related deaths in California