Harriet Hammond(1899-1991)
- Actress
She was one of Mack Sennett's famous
Bathing Beauties. Blonde, blue-eyed Harriet Hammond graced the screen
for little more than a decade, having abandoned earlier designs of
becoming a concert pianist. She entered films in 1918 and made her name
as an athletic knockabout comedienne in two-reel shorts. Harriet
appeared with most of the great Sennett comics, including
Charles Murray,
Chester Conklin,
Ford Sterling,
Ben Turpin and
Billy Bevan. She left Sennett (and slapstick
comedy) in 1921 and free-lanced for several years. Commanding leads and
second leads in crime films and melodramas, she was now paid a handsome
salary (by any standards) of $1000 a week. Sometime prior to 1923, she
was injured when dynamite exploded too close to her. Out of work for
more than a year, she sued the studio. In the end, neither her career,
nor (presumably) her looks quite recovered from the mishap. Sources at
the time commented, that she now had a somewhat tragic aura about her.
There were several more starring roles for Harriet in the mid- and late
20's. Possibly the best of these was opposite Lew Cody
in the romantic comedy
Man and Maid (1925), based on a
novel by Elinor Glyn. By 1928, Harriet's
career was essentially over and she retired after a bit part in her
only talkie in 1930.
