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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)
Sorry, Wrong Number
(1948)
Cotterell's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)
The Awful Truth
(1937)
Dixie Belle Lee
Christmas in Connecticut
(1945)
Nurse Mary Lee
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Young Woman at Party (uncredited)
They Drive by Night
(1940)
Sue Carter (uncredited)
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Marie - Waitress (uncredited)
Going Places
(1938)
Joan
You and Me
(1938)
Curly Blonde
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Miss Sawyer, Auditioning Showgirl (Uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
A Broadway Lady
(1925)
Phyllis Westbrook
What Fools Men
(1925)
Dorothy
Syncopating Sue
(1926)
Marge Adams
Ankles Preferred
(1927)
Virginia
The Border Cavalier
(1927)
Madge Lawton
Soft Living
(1928)
Billie Wilson
Thunder Riders
(1928)
Madge Lawton
Dangerous Curves
(1929)
Jennie Silver
The Sky Hawk
(1929)
Peggy
Salute
(1929)
Marian Wilson
The Wild Party
(1929)
Eva 'Evie' Tutt
Wild Company
(1930)
Anita Grayson
Lightnin'
(1930)
Betty - Larry's Wife
High Society Blues
(1930)
Pearl Granger
The Three Sisters
(1930)
Carlotta
Three Rogues
(1931)
Ace's girl
Three Girls Lost
(1931)
Edna Best
Annabelle's Affairs
(1931)
Mabel
The Spider
(1931)
Butch's Girl Friend (uncredited)
Good Sport
(1931)
Fay
Women of All Nations
(1931)
Kiki
Up Pops the Devil
(1931)
Luella May Carroll
Under Eighteen
(1932)
Sybil
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Marie - Waitress (uncredited)
Madison Square Garden
(1932)
Joyce
Fighting for Justice
(1932)
Amy Tracy
Lena Rivers
(1932)
Caroline Nichols
Unholy Love
(1932)
Sheilla Bailey Gregory
Westward Passage
(1932)
Lillie, the Model (uncredited)
Afraid to Talk
(1932)
Alice - Party Girl
Beauty Parlor
(1932)
Joan Perry
A Parisian Romance
(1932)
Marcelle
False Faces
(1932)
Dottie Nation
Lady and Gent
(1932)
Betty
The Plumber and the Lady
(1933)
Louise
Dream Stuff
(1933)
Betty
Only Yesterday
(1933)
Margot (Uncredited)
Caliente Love
(1933)
Betty
Roadhouse Queen
(1933)
Dorothy
Sing, Sinner, Sing
(1933)
Gwen
The Wrestler's Bride
(1933)
Mrs. Scissors Jackson
Luxury Liner
(1933)
Girl Overboard (uncredited)
The White Parade
(1934)
Una Mellon
Everything's Ducky
(1934)
Jennie Taylor, Eddie's Wife
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Young Woman at Party (uncredited)
Affairs of a Gentleman
(1934)
Foxey Dennison
Million Dollar Ransom
(1934)
Millie, Hat Check Girl (Uncredited)
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
(1934)
Maxine LaTour
Caravan
(1934)
Party Girl at Beer Garden (Uncredited)
Suicide Squad
(1935)
Mary O'Connor
Life Hesitates at 40
(1935)
Joyce
Manhattan Monkey Business
(1935)
Joyce
Public Ghost # 1
(1935)
Miss Compton
Let 'em Have It
(1935)
Barbara
Rustlers of Red Dog
(1935)
Mary Lee
College Scandal
(1935)
Toby Carpenter
Go Into Your Dance
(1935)
Café Showgirl
Country Gentlemen
(1936)
Gertie
Ellis Island
(1936)
Adele
Murder with Pictures
(1936)
Hester Boone
Trapped by Television
(1936)
Mae Collins
Love Before Breakfast
(1936)
Mary Lee
Under Your Spell
(1936)
Secretary (uncredited)
Sitting on the Moon
(1936)
Blossom
The Harvester
(1936)
Thelma Biddle
Three Smart Girls
(1936)
Evans' Secretary
Star for a Night
(1936)
Ellen Romaine
Valley of the Lawless
(1936)
Joan Jenkins
The Toast of New York
(1937)
Mary Lou (uncredited)
We Have Our Moments
(1937)
Carrie
Small Town Boy
(1937)
Molly Summers
Sea Racketeers
(1937)
Blondie
Kid Galahad
(1937)
(uncredited)
Top of the Town
(1937)
Beulah
Rhythm in the Clouds
(1937)
Receptionist
Born Reckless
(1937)
Dora
Pick a Star
(1937)
Newlywed
The Awful Truth
(1937)
Dixie Belle Lee
China Passage
(1937)
Elaine Gentry
Wings Over Honolulu
(1937)
Caroline
Going Places
(1938)
Joan
Women Are Like That
(1938)
Miss Hall
Love on a Budget
(1938)
Millie Brown
Artists and Models Abroad
(1938)
Chickie
Spring Madness
(1938)
Sally
Trade Winds
(1938)
Mrs. Johnson
How to Watch Football
(1938)
Benchley's girlfriend
You and Me
(1938)
Curly Blonde
The Last Warning
(1938)
Dawn Day aka Minnie Schultz
Hollywood Hobbies
(1939)
Tourist
The Flying Irishman
(1939)
Sally
Reno
(1939)
Bonnie Newcomb
Hotel for Women
(1939)
Emeline Thomas
Balalaika
(1939)
Masha
Rose of Washington Square
(1939)
Peggy
Escape to Paradise
(1939)
Penelope Carter
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
(1940)
Cynthia Lou
I Take This Oath
(1940)
Betty Casey
Turnabout
(1940)
Irene Clare
Sky Murder
(1940)
Christine Cross / Her Twin Sister
The Villain Still Pursued Her
(1940)
Hazel Dalton
City for Conquest
(1940)
Lilly
They Drive by Night
(1940)
Sue Carter (uncredited)
Honeymoon Deferred
(1940)
Kitty Kerry
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Miss Sawyer, Auditioning Showgirl (Uncredited)
Blues in the Night
(1941)
Blonde
Moon Over Her Shoulder
(1941)
Cecilia
Scattergood Meets Broadway
(1941)
Diana Deane
Let's Make Music
(1941)
Betty
Bedtime Story
(1941)
Beulah
Manpower
(1941)
Scarlett
Thunder Birds
(1942)
Saleswoman
Too Many Women
(1942)
Barbara Cartwright
Let's Face It
(1943)
Wiggin's Girl (uncredited)
Swing Out the Blues
(1943)
Kitty Grogan
Silver Skates
(1943)
Lucille
Silver Spurs
(1943)
Millie Love
Pillow to Post
(1945)
Gertrude Wilson (uncredited)
Mildred Pierce
(1945)
Waitress (uncredited)
Danger Signal
(1945)
Kate
Christmas in Connecticut
(1945)
Nurse Mary Lee
Hitchhike to Happiness
(1945)
Joan Randall
Rendezvous with Annie
(1946)
Louise Grapa (uncredited)
Behind the Mask
(1946)
Lulu
The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946)
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Dark Alibi
(1946)
Emily Evans
Linda, Be Good
(1947)
Mrs. LaVitte
Exposed
(1947)
Emmy
Scared to Death
(1947)
Jane Cornell
Sorry, Wrong Number
(1948)
Cotterell's Blonde Girlfriend (uncredited)
A Southern Yankee
(1948)
Hortense Dobson
Incident
(1948)
Joan
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