Alberta Vaughn

• Name — Alberta Vaughn • Born — 27 June 1904 • Birthplace — Ashland, Kentucky, U.S. • Died — 26 April 1992 • Place of death — Studio City, Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1921–1935 • Spouse — Joseph Egil or Egli (1934–1943, divorce) John R. Thompson or Thomas (1948–?) • Illustration — 1934

Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Vaughn was the sister of actress Adamae Vaughn.

Vaughn was a selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star along with Clara Bow and Dorothy Mackaill in 1924. Her movie career began in 1921 and continued until 1935. She often co-starred with actor Al Cook in comedies. She made Randy Rides Alone (1934) with John Wayne. She was a member of the cast of Intermission, a play by Irving Kaye Davis, in September 1932. The production opened in San Francisco and co-starred Madge Bellamy and Judith Voselli. Vaughn made her last onscreen appearance in the 1935 film The Live Wire opposite Richard Talmadge. • Illustration — Alberta Vaughn and Richard Talmadge share a cigar in The Live Wire (1935). She retired from acting in 1935 at age 31. • Illustration — Newspaper article about fat insurance, 1924

In 1926, Vaughn became engaged to actor and leading man Grant Withers. After announcing their engagement in October 1926, Vaughn traveled to New York to film some talking sequences for a movie she was filming in Hollywood. Withers broke off the engagement after he discovered Vaughn went out with friends to nightclubs in New York. Immediately after the wedding was called off, Vaughn returned to Hollywood as the fiancée of noted attorney (later agent and producer), Charles K. Feldman. Vaughn announced her engagement to William Laitt, a "wealthy young steel man", on August 26, 1928. On April 8, 1934, Vaughn wed assistant casting director Joseph Egil of Paramount Pictures. (Other sources give the last name as Egli.) They were married in Yuma, Arizona. The couple was divorced on August 11, 1943. In 1948 she married roofing contractor John R. Thompson. (The trade publication Billboard recorded his name as John R. Thomas, reporting in its July 10, 1948, issue that Thomas and she were married June 23 in Los Angeles.)

Already in trouble for drunk driving, Vaughn received a six-month jail sentence on May 13, 1946, for violating probation. Judge William R. McKay in Los Angeles revoked her probation and handed down the sentence after he did not accept her explanation that some sailors who rode in her car left a half-full bottle of whiskey in the vehicle. Another probation revocation and sentence occurred in 1948. She was sentenced to a year in jail for marrying John Robert (Thomas) Thompson in violation of her terms of probation for drunk driving. Those terms "required that she consult with authorities before marrying." In March 1949, Vaughn was jailed on an intoxication violation in Pasadena. She chose incarceration instead of paying a $25 fine. Her jail term was days. A previous drunken charge, then pending, would have added an additional four months to her sentence. Vaughn was arrested after an argument with her husband, John R. Thompson. The incident followed her release after serving eight months of a one-year sentence on the earlier instance.

Vaughn died of cancer in Studio City, California, on April 26, 1992, aged 87. She was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1921 — Stop Kidding • 1922 — Women First — Credited as Alberta Vaughan • 1923 — A Friendly Husband — Tootsie, Friend Wife • Down to the Sea in Shoes • 1924 — Picking Peaches — His Wife — *short • Fire When Ready — Peggy Davis • 1925 — The Pacemakers — Soda Jerk • The Sleuth — His Wife • 1926 — Collegiate — Patricia Steele • The Adorable Deceiver — Princess Sylvia • 1927 — Ain't Love Funny? — Helen Brice • Backstage — Myrtle McGinnis • The Romantic Age — Sally • 1928 — Skyscraper — Jane • Forbidden Hours — Nina • 1929 — Molly and Me — Peggy • Noisy Neighbors — Mary Carstairs • Points West — Dorothy • 1930 — The Setting Son • Eventually, But Not Now • 1931 — Wild Horse — Alice Hall • The Spell of the Circus — Marie Wallace • Working Girls — Violet • 1932 — Love in High Gear — Betty • Midnight Morals — Katy Dolan • 1933 — Alimony Madness — Mary • Dance Hall Hostess — Myra • 1934 — Randy Rides Alone — Sally Rogers • 1935 — The Laramie Kid — Peggy Bland • The Live Wire — Madge King