Alma Bennett ~ The Forgotten Vamp

Alma Bennett was a silent film actress whose career ended with the talkies

She was born Alma Long on April 9 1904 in Seattle, Washington. Her parents divorced and tragically her father died when she was fourteen. After her mother remarried the family moved to San francisco, California. Alma made her film debut in the 1919 short His Friend's Trip. She appeared in dozens of silent films including Her Boyfriend, Lilies Of The Field, A Fool And His Money, and The Thrill Hunter. The beautiful brunette was often cast as a vamp. On December 3, 1924 she married Frederick Bennett, a radio operator. Unfortunately he became abusive and she left him just ten months later. Alma was offered a five contract with Famous Players. She worked with Wallace Beery in The Lost World and with Harry Langdon in The Jolly Jilter.

In 1929 she married Harry Spingler, her manager. Like many silent screen actresses she had a difficult time making the transition to talkies. Her final film was the 1931 comedy The Great Pie Mystery. Alma would spend the rest of her life out of the spotlight. During the 1940s she got a job as an assembler at an electronics plant. As she grew older she developed serious drinking problem. Sadly her husband Harry died in 1953. The following year she married actor Blackie Whiteford On September 16, 1958 she died from lobar pneumonia and "severe fatty degeneration of the liver". She was only fifty-four years old. Alma was cremated and buried at the Chapel of the Pines crematory in Los Angeles, California.