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Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not originally "Eleanor Hunt"; she had appeared in the film Good Sport (1931) with Hunt and this confusion in an early press article followed Compton throughout her career.) After graduating high school she spent two years studying at the University of Tulsa, studying dramatics, art, music and dancing. She won a personality and beauty contest and spent two months in a film studio as an extra.
Compton first made a name for herself when she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, alongside Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. Compton appeared in a long string of mostly B-movies from the 1920s through the 1950s. She was a comedy actress and protested at being stereotyped as a "dumb blonde".
Among her over two hundred films were Imitation of Life, Magnificent Obsession, The Awful Truth, Mildred Pierce, and The Best Years of Our Lives.
A devout Christian, on her gravestone, just beneath her dates of birth and death, is written "Christian Actress". She died from natural causes, aged 90, and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.
Known For
Mighty Joe Young
(1949)
Alice (uncredited)
Mildred Pierce
(1945)
Waitress (uncredited)
The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946)
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
The Awful Truth
(1937)
Dixie Belle Lee
Christmas in Connecticut
(1945)
Nurse Mary Lee
They Drive by Night
(1940)
Sue Carter (uncredited)
Sorry, Wrong Number
(1948)
Cotterell's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Miss Sawyer, Auditioning Showgirl (Uncredited)
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Marie - Waitress (uncredited)
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Young Woman at Party (uncredited)
Kid Galahad
(1937)
(uncredited)
Jet Pilot
(1957)
Mary Lou Simpson
The Toast of New York
(1937)
Mary Lou (uncredited)
Dark Alibi
(1946)
Emily Evans
Full Filmography
Acting
A Broadway Lady
(1925)
Phyllis Westbrook
What Fools Men
(1925)
Dorothy
Syncopating Sue
(1926)
Marge Adams
The Border Cavalier
(1927)
Madge Lawton
Ankles Preferred
(1927)
Virginia
Thunder Riders
(1928)
Madge Lawton
Soft Living
(1928)
Billie Wilson
The Wild Party
(1929)
Eva 'Evie' Tutt
Salute
(1929)
Marian Wilson
Dangerous Curves
(1929)
Jennie Silver
The Sky Hawk
(1929)
Peggy
High Society Blues
(1930)
Pearl Granger
Wild Company
(1930)
Anita Grayson
Lightnin'
(1930)
Betty - Larry's Wife
The Three Sisters
(1930)
Carlotta
Good Sport
(1931)
Fay
Three Rogues
(1931)
Ace's girl
Annabelle's Affairs
(1931)
Mabel
Up Pops the Devil
(1931)
Luella May Carroll
Women of All Nations
(1931)
Kiki
Three Girls Lost
(1931)
Edna Best
The Spider
(1931)
Butch's Girl Friend (uncredited)
Under Eighteen
(1932)
Sybil
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Marie - Waitress (uncredited)
Lena Rivers
(1932)
Caroline Nichols
A Parisian Romance
(1932)
Marcelle
Unholy Love
(1932)
Sheilla Bailey Gregory
Beauty Parlor
(1932)
Joan Perry
Madison Square Garden
(1932)
Joyce
False Faces
(1932)
Dottie Nation
Westward Passage
(1932)
Lillie, the Model (uncredited)
Lady and Gent
(1932)
Betty
Afraid to Talk
(1932)
Alice - Party Girl
Fighting for Justice
(1932)
Amy Tracy
Sing, Sinner, Sing
(1933)
Gwen
Caliente Love
(1933)
Betty
Dream Stuff
(1933)
Betty
Luxury Liner
(1933)
Girl Overboard (uncredited)
Only Yesterday
(1933)
Margot (Uncredited)
The Wrestler's Bride
(1933)
Mrs. Scissors Jackson
Roadhouse Queen
(1933)
Dorothy
The Plumber and the Lady
(1933)
Louise
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
(1934)
Maxine LaTour
The White Parade
(1934)
Una Mellon
Affairs of a Gentleman
(1934)
Foxey Dennison
Caravan
(1934)
Party Girl at Beer Garden (Uncredited)
Everything's Ducky
(1934)
Jennie Taylor, Eddie's Wife
Million Dollar Ransom
(1934)
Millie, Hat Check Girl (Uncredited)
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Young Woman at Party (uncredited)
Suicide Squad
(1935)
Mary O'Connor
College Scandal
(1935)
Toby Carpenter
Let 'em Have It
(1935)
Barbara
Rustlers of Red Dog
(1935)
Mary Lee
Public Ghost # 1
(1935)
Miss Compton
Go Into Your Dance
(1935)
Café Showgirl
Life Hesitates at 40
(1935)
Joyce
Manhattan Monkey Business
(1935)
Joyce
Trapped by Television
(1936)
Mae Collins
Murder with Pictures
(1936)
Hester Boone
Ellis Island
(1936)
Adele
Country Gentlemen
(1936)
Gertie
The Harvester
(1936)
Thelma Biddle
Three Smart Girls
(1936)
Evans' Secretary
Sitting on the Moon
(1936)
Blossom
Valley of the Lawless
(1936)
Joan Jenkins
Star for a Night
(1936)
Ellen Romaine
Love Before Breakfast
(1936)
Mary Lee
Under Your Spell
(1936)
Secretary (uncredited)
The Awful Truth
(1937)
Dixie Belle Lee
Pick a Star
(1937)
Newlywed
Rhythm in the Clouds
(1937)
Receptionist
Sea Racketeers
(1937)
Blondie
Small Town Boy
(1937)
Molly Summers
We Have Our Moments
(1937)
Carrie
Wings Over Honolulu
(1937)
Caroline
Top of the Town
(1937)
Beulah
Born Reckless
(1937)
Dora
China Passage
(1937)
Elaine Gentry
Kid Galahad
(1937)
(uncredited)
The Toast of New York
(1937)
Mary Lou (uncredited)
Trade Winds
(1938)
Mrs. Johnson
Love on a Budget
(1938)
Millie Brown
Artists and Models Abroad
(1938)
Chickie
Women Are Like That
(1938)
Miss Hall
Going Places
(1938)
Joan
Spring Madness
(1938)
Sally
The Last Warning
(1938)
Dawn Day aka Minnie Schultz
How to Watch Football
(1938)
Benchley's girlfriend
You and Me
(1938)
Curly Blonde
Rose of Washington Square
(1939)
Peggy
Balalaika
(1939)
Masha
Hotel for Women
(1939)
Emeline Thomas
Reno
(1939)
Bonnie Newcomb
The Flying Irishman
(1939)
Sally
Hollywood Hobbies
(1939)
Tourist
Escape to Paradise
(1939)
Penelope Carter
City for Conquest
(1940)
Lilly
Sky Murder
(1940)
Christine Cross / Her Twin Sister
The Villain Still Pursued Her
(1940)
Hazel Dalton
Turnabout
(1940)
Irene Clare
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
(1940)
Cynthia Lou
I Take This Oath
(1940)
Betty Casey
They Drive by Night
(1940)
Sue Carter (uncredited)
Honeymoon Deferred
(1940)
Kitty Kerry
Manpower
(1941)
Scarlett
Bedtime Story
(1941)
Beulah
Let's Make Music
(1941)
Betty
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Miss Sawyer, Auditioning Showgirl (Uncredited)
Scattergood Meets Broadway
(1941)
Diana Deane
Blues in the Night
(1941)
Blonde
Moon Over Her Shoulder
(1941)
Cecilia
Too Many Women
(1942)
Barbara Cartwright
Thunder Birds
(1942)
Saleswoman
Silver Spurs
(1943)
Millie Love
Silver Skates
(1943)
Lucille
Swing Out the Blues
(1943)
Kitty Grogan
Let's Face It
(1943)
Wiggin's Girl (uncredited)
Christmas in Connecticut
(1945)
Nurse Mary Lee
Danger Signal
(1945)
Kate
Mildred Pierce
(1945)
Waitress (uncredited)
Pillow to Post
(1945)
Gertrude Wilson (uncredited)
Hitchhike to Happiness
(1945)
Joan Randall
Dark Alibi
(1946)
Emily Evans
Behind the Mask
(1946)
Lulu
Rendezvous with Annie
(1946)
Louise Grapa (uncredited)
The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946)
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Scared to Death
(1947)
Jane Cornell
Exposed
(1947)
Emmy
Linda, Be Good
(1947)
Mrs. LaVitte
Incident
(1948)
Joan
A Southern Yankee
(1948)
Hortense Dobson
Sorry, Wrong Number
(1948)
Cotterell's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)
Mighty Joe Young
(1949)
Alice (uncredited)
Grand Canyon
(1949)
Mabel
I Was a Burlesque Queen
(1953)
Mrs. Nunnally LaVitte
Jet Pilot
(1957)
Mary Lou Simpson
The Persuader
(1957)
Julie
Girl in the Woods
(1958)
Aunt Martha