{{Short description|British-American actress (1904–1991)}} {{Use American English|date=May 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Nancy Welford | image = Nancy Welford in 1923.jpg | caption = Welford in 1923 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|05|31|mf=yes}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1991|09|30|1904|05|31|mf=yes}} | death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1929–1933 | spouse = F. Heath Cobb<br>(m. 1924; div. 19?)<br/>{{marriage|Henry C. Morris<br>|1945}} | children = 5 }}
'''Nancy Welford''' (May 31, 1904 – September 30, 1991), also known as '''Christine Welford''', was a British-born American actress in the early sound film era.
==Early life== The daughter of actress Ada Loftus<ref name="ddn">{{cite news |title=Nancy Welford in Role as Ingenue in 'In Dutch' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21655065/nancy_welford/ |work=Dayton Daily News |date=October 9, 1924 |location=Ohio, Dayton |page=17|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> and actor Dallas Welford, she was born in London, England and came to the United States when she was six years old.<ref name="pp">{{cite news |title=Star at Nixon Comes of Family of Actors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21652430/nancy_welford/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=December 24, 1922 |location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh |page=31|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>
==Career== Welford's stage debut came as a member of the ensemble for ''Mimic World''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Theatre Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21653265/daily_news/ |work=Daily News |date=April 8, 1923 |location=New York, New York City |page=93|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> As early as 1921, she was active in vaudeville.<ref>{{cite news |title=Majestic Theatre advertisement |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21652070/the_houston_post/ |work=The Houston Post |date=November 19, 1921 |location=Texas, Houston |page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> In 1922, she appeared at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway in the musical ''Orange Blossoms'' by Victor Herbert. In 1923 she starred in the title role of the Broadway musical ''Cinders'' which used a score by Rudolf Friml.<ref>{{cite news|title=''Cinders'' The Newest of the Cinderellas|first=Burns|last= Mantle|work=New York Daily News|date= April 4, 1923| page= 20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-cinders-the-newest-of-the/198684281/}}</ref> That same year, a caption of a photograph in the ''New York Daily News'' described her as the prima donna of a musical comedy and noted, "She has come up from the chorus and come to stay."<ref>{{cite news |title=(photo caption) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21652942/nancy_welford/ |work=Daily News |date=April 1, 1923 |location=New York, New York City |page=28|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> She next joined the Gallagher and Shean duo in their performances.<ref name=":0" /> In 1926, Welford starred in ''Nancy'', a musical for which she was the inspiration.<ref>{{cite news |title='Nanette' Star in New One |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21656051/nancy_welford/ |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=May 23, 1926 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=61|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> This was followed by the role of Mary Wheeler in the hit 1928 musical ''Rain or Shine''.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRmGDwAAQBAJ&dq=Janet+Velie+%C2%A0%22Rain+or+Shine%22&pg=PA448|title=The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2019|isbn=9781538112823|chapter=Rain or Shine|pages=298–299, 447–448 }}</ref>
She acted in five films between 1929 and 1933. She is probably today mostly known for starring in the 1929 Warner Brothers musical ''Gold Diggers of Broadway''.
==Personal life== On October 24, 1924, Welford married film director F. Heath Cobb in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents learned of the marriage about a month later, prompting her father to say, "I don't believe it", and putting her mother under a doctor's care at her home.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Nancy Welford's Marriage Ends Career, Says Father |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21655454/nancy_welford/ |work=Daily News |date=November 27, 1924 |location=New York, New York City |page=3|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> She married, secondly, to Henry C. Morris, in 1945.
==Death== Welford died in San Francisco, California on September 30, 1991, aged 87.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schermerhorn|first=James|date=October 4, 1991|title=Ex-stage Star Nancy Welford Dies at 87|work=San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=58106934&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjQ2MjI1MjY1MCwiaWF0IjoxNjI0OTg0Njg3LCJleHAiOjE2MjUwNzEwODd9.yYP7W1hs_tHQyP86de8mLJFMswSvr41RKIDBwSkKkYo|access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | rowspan=2 | 1929 || ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' || Jerry Lamar|| '''Incomplete''' film, final two reels survive and Vitaphone soundtrack |- | ''The Phantom of the House'' || Dorothy Milburn || |- | 1930 || ''The Jazz Cinderella'' || Patricia Murray || |- | 1931 || ''A Safe Affair'' || Mary Bolton || |- | 1933 || ''Yours Sincerely'' || Betty Braley || |}
==References== {{Portal|Biography|Film|Theater}}
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==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|id=0919768|name=Nancy Welford}}
* {{IBDB name|id=64437}} * Michael G. Morris, [https://gershwin100.wordpress.com/2021/03/25/shes-just-a-baby/ "She's Just a Baby"] ''Gershwin 100'' (March 25, 2021), a blog post about Welford {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welford, Nancy}} Category:1904 births Category:1991 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century English actresses Category:Actresses from London Category:American film actresses Category:American silent film actresses Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:English film actresses Category:English silent film actresses Category:English stage actresses
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