The only thing known about White’s childhood is she was born March 4, 1889, the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. Her mother died when White was only three years old, leaving only her farmer father to provide for the six of them. At the age of six, she played Little Eva in a production of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to earn money for her family.
By the time she was 18, White was on the road with a touring stock company. She did evening shows while holding down a day job to help support her family. She was also able to play minor film roles for Powers Film Company in the Bronx, New York.
By the time she was 21, White was offered a role by Pathé Fréres (the large European studio of the time) in their first American-produced movie, “The Girl From Arizona.” She also worked at several independent studios until Crystal Film Company offered her top billing in a few short silent films.
Doing Her Own Stunts
In 1914, at the age of twenty-five, White was offered the starring role in the action serial “The Perils of Pauline.” Serial movies were very popular at the turn of the century and the action-packed Pauline serial rocketed White to stardom. With twenty episodes, White made a sum of $3,000 per serial. She followed The Perils of Pauline with the serial “The Exploits of Elaine.” Both serials were made during the silent film era.
White did her own stunts in the beginning of her movie career. Injuries she suffered from these stunts forced her to use stunt doubles later in life.
White also had a secret: her blond hair was not her own. A natural brunette, she wore a blond wig when she discovered it filmed better. If she did not want to be recognized in public, White dispensed with the blond wig.
White’s poverty-stricken childhood made her frugal with money and a wise investor. She invested in a successful nightclub in Paris, a resort hotel and casino, and a stable of thoroughbred race horses.
Failed Marriages
White met her first husband, Victor Sutherland, while touring in 1907. The marriage was dissolved by 1914.
Her second marriage proved to be more dramatic. White was already at the top of her career when she met and married Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. an actor and war hero. In 1921, only a few years after they were married, they were divorced. McCutcheon disappeared a few weeks after the divorce and it was believed he committed suicide.
By 1922, White was forced to use stunt doubles in her movies. Her popularity had surged and the studios feared for her safety. She was also beginning to suffer from the impact of doing her own stunts earlier in life. On August 10, 1922, one of her stunt doubles, John Stevenson, was killed while performing a stunt for the movie “Plunder.”
A rumor quickly spread that White herself had been killed during a stunt performance. When it was revealed that White no longer did her own stunts, it created something of a scandal. White went to France shortly after and suffered a nervous breakdown.
May of 1923, White received another shock: McCutcheon, believed to have committed suicide, reappeared in her life. But in 1928, he actually did commit suicide, his pockets stuffed with clippings about Pearl White.
White's Decline
All of this had its effects on White. She began drinking heavily, not only burdened with guilt over Stevenson and McCutcheon, but also to alleviate the pain she suffered from previous stunt injuries. She was hospitalized in 1933 which led to an addiction to the pain-killing drugs administered to ease her suffering.
White died at age 49 at the American Hospital in Neuilly, France on August 4, 1938.
Pearl White’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6890 Hollywood Blvd., south side, between Orange and Highland.
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Penny White - Penny White has been writing since the age of ten. She is an avid supporter of women's history. She also loves music, movies, NCIS, ...
