Helen Chandler
Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) was an American film and theater actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film "Dracula". Career. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Chandler began her acting career in New York City at the age of eight and was on Broadway two years later in 1917. Her early performances include Arthur Hopkins' 1920 production of "Richard III", which starred John Barrymore, "Macbeth" in 1921 with Lionel Barrymore; Hedvig in Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" in 1925 and Ophelia in the 1925 modern dress version of "Hamlet" starring  Basil Sydney. By the time of her first film she had been in over twenty Broadway productions. She made her film debut in 1927 in the silent film "The Music Master" and in 1930 joined Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Beryl Mercer for "Outward Bound", the film version of the stage success. The unusual story told of a group of passengers on an ocean liner who gradually realize that they are all dead and will soon face the Last Judgment. Chandler, with her blonde hair and ethereal quality, was considered to be perfectly cast, and she received critical praise  for her performance. Chandler did not want to play the role for which she is probably best remembered, Mina in "Dracula" (1931); she wanted to play Alice in "Alice in Wonderland". Nevertheless, Chandler joined David Manners and Bela Lugosi in what became one of the most successful movies made at that time. Chandler appeared with Manners that same year in the Lost Generation celebration of alcohol in Paris, "The Last Flight", also starring Richard Barthelmess and John Mack Brown. She achieved more successes in "A House Divided" (1931) and "Christopher Strong" (1933), all the while dividing her time among films , radio work, and theater roles in Los Angeles, New York and London. She starred in British actor Will Hay's 1934 movie, "Radio Parade of 1935" and played a role on Lux Radio in "Alibi Ike" with Joe E. Brown (1937). Among her later stage successes were "Within The Gates" in 1934, "Pride and Prejudice" in 1935, "Lady Precious Stream" in 1936 with then-husband Bramwell Fletcher, a reprise of her film role in "Outward Bound" in 1938 and various productions of "Boy Meets Girl" and Noël Coward's "Tonight at 8.30" Personal life. On February 14, 1935, Chandler married  actor Bramwell Fletcher in Riverside Church in New York. She had previously been married to Cyril Hume, whom she divorced in 1934. By the late 1930s she was battling alcoholism and her acting career declined. She was hospitalized several times but was unable to gain control over her life. In 1950, Chandler was severely burned in an apartment fire, caused by her falling asleep while smoking. She survived but her body was badly disfigured. Her alcoholism continued unabated after the accident. Death. Helen Chandler died on April 30, 1965, from cardiac arrest during surgery for a stomach ulcer in Hollywood , California. Her remains were cremated in accordance with her wishes, and are interred at Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.