
Vintage German postcard. Loew-Metro-Goldwyn. Ross Verlag, Berlin, 1306/1.
Claire Windsor (1897-1972) was an American film actress. Throughout the 1920s, Windsor was cast as the classy lady, princess, or socialite. She was also noticed by her fashion-conscious and trendsetting clothes.
Born Clara Viola Cronk in Marvin, Kansas, Windsor, in 1914 she married at a young age with Willis Bowes and had a son with him before she divorced on September 14, 1920. After having lived in Seattle, Windsor moved to Hollywood, where she at first she got bit parts but was soon noticed by Lois Weber, a high-quality director, and producer of Paramount Pictures, who gave her a role in her film The Blot (1921), starring Louis Calhern. Windsor's debut was in 1920 when she had he lead in Weber's To Please One Woman. The film was only a minor success, yet Paramount Pictures was determined to turn Windsor in a star, so they often let her pose for photos together with - the newly divorced - Charlie Chaplin. She got even more publicity when, in addition to Bessie Love, Lila Lee, Mary Philbin, and Colleen Moore, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1922. In the same year Windsor was contracted with Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and would appear in Broken Chains (Alan Holubar, 1922), starring Colleen Moore and Malcolm McGregor. The former 'Ola Cronk' became Claire Windsor.
Throughout the 1920s, Windsor was cast as the classy lady, princess, or socialite. She was also noticed by her fashion-conscious and trendsetting clothes. Between 1924 and 1927 she was top-drawing for MGM. While during this period she occasionally stepped out to other companies such as Tiffany Pictures, where Souls for Sables (1925), was a box-office hit for Windsor, in 1928-1929 Windsor would do a whole string of late silent films at Tiffany. In the press Windsor was often linked to her male co-stars. She had a much-publicised affair with Charles "Buddy" Rogers and she married matinee idol Bert Lytell in 1925. However, the marriage ended in 1927. She never married again, but she came several times in the newspapers for her affairs or scandals. At the end of the 1920s, Windsor had trouble with the transition to sound film. While her last silent film was the s-f drama Midstream (James Flood, 1929) with Ricardo Cortez, it would take until 1932 before she performed in a sound film. She made several sound films in the 1930s, but never became as popular as she was in the time of the silent movie. Her role in the famous movie Topper, for example, was very small. She quickly retired and became a painter. Windsor died of a heart attack in 1972.
Sources: Dutch, Italian and English Wikipedia, IMDB.