# Nancy Welford > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nancy_Welford > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nancy_Welford.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Welford > Source revision: 1357155415 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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](/source/London), [England](/source/England) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1991|09|30|1904|05|31|mf=yes}} | death_place = [San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco%2C_California), U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1929–1933 | spouse = F. Heath Cobb
(m. 1924; div. 19?)
{{marriage|Henry C. Morris
|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{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} and actor Dallas Welford, she was born in [London](/source/London), England and came to the United States when she was six years old.{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} ==Career== Welford's stage debut came as a member of the ensemble for ''Mimic World''.{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} As early as 1921, she was active in vaudeville.{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} In 1922, she appeared at the [Fulton Theatre](/source/Fulton_Theatre) on Broadway in the musical ''[Orange Blossoms](/source/Orange_Blossoms_(musical))'' by [Victor Herbert](/source/Victor_Herbert). In 1923 she starred in the title role of the Broadway musical ''[Cinders](/source/Cinders_(musical))'' which used a score by [Rudolf Friml](/source/Rudolf_Friml).{{cite news|title=''Cinders'' The Newest of the Cinderellas|first=Burns|last= Mantle|work=[New York Daily News](/source/New_York_Daily_News)|date= April 4, 1923| page= 20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-cinders-the-newest-of-the/198684281/}} That same year, a caption of a photograph in the ''[New York Daily News](/source/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."{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} She next joined the [Gallagher and Shean](/source/Gallagher_and_Shean) duo in their performances. In 1926, Welford starred in ''Nancy'', a musical for which she was the inspiration.{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} This was followed by the role of Mary Wheeler in the hit 1928 musical ''[Rain or Shine](/source/Rain_or_Shine_(musical))''.{{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](/source/Rowman_%26_Littlefield_Publishers)|year=2019|isbn=9781538112823|chapter=Rain or Shine|pages=298–299, 447–448 }} She acted in five films between 1929 and 1933. She is probably today mostly known for starring in the 1929 [Warner Brothers](/source/Warner_Brothers) musical ''[Gold Diggers of Broadway](/source/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.{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2018}} {{Open access}} She married, secondly, to Henry C. Morris, in 1945. ==Death== Welford died in [San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco%2C_California) on September 30, 1991, aged 87.{{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}} ==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | rowspan=2 | 1929 || ''[Gold Diggers of Broadway](/source/Gold_Diggers_of_Broadway)'' || Jerry Lamar|| '''Incomplete''' film, final two reels survive and [Vitaphone](/source/Vitaphone) soundtrack |- | ''[The Phantom of the House](/source/The_Phantom_of_the_House)'' || Dorothy Milburn || |- | 1930 || ''[The Jazz Cinderella](/source/The_Jazz_Cinderella)'' || Patricia Murray || |- | 1931 || ''[A Safe Affair](/source/A_Safe_Affair)'' || Mary Bolton || |- | 1933 || ''[Yours Sincerely](/source/Yours_Sincerely_(film))'' || Betty Braley || |} ==References== {{Portal|Biography|Film|Theater}} {{reflist}} ==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 {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub}} {{US-theat-actor-1900s-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nancy Welford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Welford) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Welford?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.