Actress & William S. Hart Wife Winifred Westover 1978 Westwood Village Cemetery

Winifred Westover (November 9, 1899 – March 19, 1978) was a Hollywood actress of the 1910s and 1920s.

Early years

The daughter of Swedish parents, Westover was born in San Francisco, California. Her schooling came at the Dominican Convent of San Rafael.[1]

Career

On screen, Westover was the typical blushing ingenue and was almost always cast opposite robust leading men. Her career in film started with a small part in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance[1] in 1916.

In 1919 she starred in John Petticoats with William S. Hart, who proposed to her.[2] They married on December 7, 1921 and had a son, William S. Hart Jr., in September 1922.[3] 

They separated in 1922 after three months of marriage[4] and divorced in 1927.[5] Hart was known in the industry to be "prone to domestic violence." His behavior was parodied in the 1922 short The Frozen North by Buster Keaton.[6]

Westover retired to raise her son in 1923 but made a comeback in 1930 with the help of her ex-husband. The film, a melodrama called Lummox, was her last;[7] it was unsuccessful and she left her career in film.[2]

Death

On March 19, 1978, Westover died in Los Angeles. She was 78.[7] She was survived by her son.[8]

Winifred Westover is interred nearby her mother, Sophie Westover, and son, William S. Hart Jr. at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. 

Selected filmography

Intolerance (1916)

Microscope Mystery (1916)

The Matrimaniac (1916)
The Halfbreed (1916)
Jim Bludso (1917) - Kate Taggart
An Old-Fashioned Young Man (1917) - Mame Morton
Cheerful Givers (1917) - Estella
All the World to Nothing (1918)
Hobbs in a Hurry (1918)
All the World to Nothing (1918)

Love (1919)

John Petticoats (1919)
This Hero Stuff (1919)

Marked Men (1919)

The Village Sleuth (1920)
Old Lady 31 (1920) - Mary

The Fighter (1921)

Is Life Worth Living? (1921)

Anne of Little Smoky (1921) - Anne

Love's Masquerade (1922)

Lummox (1930)

References

1. "Given Chance After 8 Years." Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. January 5, 1930. p. Part Four - Page 1. 
2. "mtv.com"
3. Ogden, Tom (2015). Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 24. ISBN 9781493015788. 
4. "silentera.com"
5. Neibaur, James L.; Niemi, Terri (2013). Buster Keaton's Silent Shorts: 1920-1923. Scarecrow Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780810887411. 
6. "Progressive Silent Film List: The Frozen North." Silent Era. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
7. Katchmer, George A. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 394. ISBN 9780786446933. 
8. "Winifred Westover Hart." The New York Times. New York, New York City. United Press International. March 22, 1978.