Ann Brody

Ann Brody was an American actress of the silent era whose career was often described as pioneering. Born in Poland in 1884, she began performing on stage at nine in a children's theater in New York and afterward toured the country with stock companies. Her first screen part came in a Vitagraph film released in 1912, and she continued working for that studio alongside performers such as Norma Talmadge, Wally Van and Hughie Mack. She acted in Hollywood productions during the 1920s, and critics of the time noted her skill with parts blending humor and sorrow; the San Francisco Examiner highlighted her work in My Man, and the Pasadena Post called her a specialist in character roles. In the mid 1930s she went back to New York for Broadway plays, her 50th year on stage was celebrated in 1937, and her final stage role came in The Time of Your Life in 1940. She died in 1944.