Nita Naldi

Nita Naldi

From Wikipedia Nita Naldi (November 13, 1894 – February 17, 1961), born Mary Dooley, was an American silent film actress. She was usually cast in the role of the femme fatale/vamp, a persona first popularized by actress Theda Bara. After first entering vaudeville, Naldi debuted on Broadway in 1918 as a chorus girl at the Winter Garden in The Passing Show of 1918. Her appearance in that production led to more stage jobs. Soon she found herself in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 and 1919. At this time she adopted the name Nita Naldi, which was an homage to a childhood friend named Florence Rinaldi. She continued working on Broadway, and after a well received performance in The Bonehead, she was offered a stint with well-known producer William A. Brady. Brady cast her in his play Opportunity in 1920. Naldi was asked to perform in a short film with Scottish comedian Johnny Dooley (no relation). She quit the film after realizing that Dooley had romantic intentions with another woman. She was then offered a role in A Divorce of Convenience with Owen Moore. After those two films, she had small roles in several independent films before being selected for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) with John Barrymore. The role in the film would give Naldi much prestige. During the production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Barrymore and Naldi became friends, and remained friends for many years, with Barrymore lovingly calling her the Dumb Duse. Naldi was selected by Spanish author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez for the role of Dona Sol in the film version of his novel Blood and Sand (1922). Naldi was signed by Famous Players-Lasky for the role, and it became her first pairing with screen idol Rudolph Valentino. The film was a major success, for it gave Naldi the image of a vamp, which would follow her for the rest of her life. Naldi and Valentino were never romantic, and she would be one of the few to befriend his wife Natacha Rambova, though that friendship would sour when the Valentinos divorced. Thanks to the financial reverses caused by her retirement from films, as well as the Depression, Naldi filed bankruptcy in 1932. She went back to the stage with Queer People and The Firebird in 1933. The press had been critical of her weight since 1924, but reviews to her appearances in both plays were especially harsh this time around—so harsh in fact that Naldi filed suit against one paper in 1934 for $500,000. The suit was dismissed in 1938. In 1942, Naldi was considered for For Whom the Bell Tolls but did not receive the part. She never made another film. That same year she began appearing in a revue in New York with Mae Murray reciting the 1897 poem "A Fool There Was" in full kitsch. In 1952, she had a notable role in the play In Any Language, co-starring the legendary stage actress Uta Hagen. In 1955, she coached Carol Channing how to vamp, for Channing's new musical The Vamp. Channing would be nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for that role. Naldi spent her final years in New York City, where she died of a heart attack in her apartment at the age of 66. She was buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. For her contribution to the film industry, Nita Naldi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6316 Hollywood Blvd.

  • Title : Nita Naldi
  • Popularity : 2.128
  • Known For : Acting
  • Birthday : 1894-11-12
  • Place of Birth : New York City, New York, USA
  • Homepage :
  • Also Known As : Mary Nonna Dooley, Mary Dooley, Donna Dooley
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Nita Naldi Movies

  • 1920
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    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    6.8 1920 HD

    A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.

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  • 1923
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    The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments

    6.6 1923 HD

    The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden...

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  • 1920
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    The Common Sin

    The Common Sin

    1 1920 HD

    Wall Street financier Frederick Searles goes bankrupt, prompting his mercenary wife to marry their eldest daughter Needa to the wealthy, disreputable...

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  • 1922
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    Channing of the Northwest

    Channing of the Northwest

    1 1922 HD

    A foppish Londoner joins the Royal Canadian Mounties and tries to break a smuggling ring.

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  • 1921
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    A Divorce of Convenience

    A Divorce of Convenience

    1 1921 HD

    Spanish coquette Tula Moliana finds herself encumbered with two husbands, and to get a divorce from the first, Senator Wakefield, she engages Jim...

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  • 1961
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    The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

    The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

    1 1961 HD

    A documentary of Hollywood's first great Latin Lover, the contradictions in his personal life, and his premature death.

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  • 1922
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    Blood and Sand

    Blood and Sand

    5.6 1922 HD

    Juan is the son of a poor widow in Seville. Against his mother's wishes he pursues a career as toreador. He rapidly gains national prominence, and...

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  • 1923
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    Hollywood

    Hollywood

    7 1923 HD

    Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her...

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  • 1923
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    Lawful Larceny

    Lawful Larceny

    1 1923 HD

    During his wife's absence, Andrew Dorsey is snared by Vivian Hepburn, owner of a crooked gambling house, and her silent partner, Guy Tarlow. Dorsey...

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  • 1922
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    A Trip to Paramountown

    A Trip to Paramountown

    6 1922 HD

    Documentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, featuring dozens of stars captured candidly and at...

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  • 1926
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    The Model From Montmartre

    The Model From Montmartre

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1926
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    Clothes Make the Pirate

    Clothes Make the Pirate

    1 1926 HD

    A disgruntled 18th century Bostonian who while wishing that he was a pirate, dons the clothes and play-acts the part. He is mistaken for the real...

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  • 1928
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    What Price Beauty?

    What Price Beauty?

    1 1928 HD

    Wholesome country girl Mary works at the House of Magic beauty salon and pines for the owner Clay. Unfortunately Clay has also been targeted by...

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  • 1925
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    Cobra

    Cobra

    5.9 1925 HD

    Rodrigo, an impoverished Italian nobleman takes a job with a New York antique dealer he met overseas. Swearing off women, Rodrigo focuses on his job....

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  • 1922
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    Anna Ascends

    Anna Ascends

    1 1922 HD

    While working in Siad Coury’s coffeehouse in a Syrian neighborhood of New York City, Syrian immigrant Anna Ayyob falls in love with reporter,...

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  • 1924
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    Don't Call It Love

    Don't Call It Love

    1 1924 HD

    Don't Call It Love (1923)

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  • 1924
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    A Sainted Devil

    A Sainted Devil

    1 1924 HD

    A nobleman seeks to rescue his bride, who has been kidnapped by his former lover and a bandit.

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  • 1921
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    The Last Door

    The Last Door

    1 1921 HD

    The Last Door (1921)

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  • 1927
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    Die Pratermizzi

    Die Pratermizzi

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1922
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    The Man from Beyond

    The Man from Beyond

    5 1922 HD

    The Arctic, 1922. After being buried under the ice for a hundred years, Howard Hillary is thawed and revived. When he meets Felice Strange, he...

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  • 1923
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    You Can't Fool Your Wife

    You Can't Fool Your Wife

    1 1923 HD

    Edith sets out to prove that a wife can never be fooled by her husband - but will she succeed?

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  • 1925
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    The Lady Who Lied

    The Lady Who Lied

    1 1925 HD

    During a carnival in Venice, Horace Pierpont, a wealthy American (Lewis Stone), falls in love with Fay Kennion (Virginia Valli). Their romance is...

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  • 1923
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    The Glimpses of the Moon

    The Glimpses of the Moon

    1 1923 HD

    The film is based upon the 1922 Edith Wharton novel The Glimpses of the Moon.

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  • 1926
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    The Mountain Eagle

    The Mountain Eagle

    2.8 1926 HD

    In the Kentucky hills a store keeper tries to win the love of an innocent schoolteacher. She runs away and seeks refuge with a hermit.

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  • 1924
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    The Breaking Point

    The Breaking Point

    1 1924 HD

    Assuming that he has killed the husband of the woman he also loves, Judson Clark flees through a blizzard to a lonely cabin, where he nearly dies....

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  • 1921
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    Experience

    Experience

    1 1921 HD

    Youth meets Ambition and leaves Love, his mother, and his small-town roots for the big city. There, in his search for Experience, he meets Pleasure...

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  • 1957
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    Tonight Starring Jack Paar

    Tonight Starring Jack Paar

    6.5 1957 HD

    Tonight Starring Jack Paar is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under The Tonight Show franchise from 1957 to 1962. It originally aired...

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