BERNICE CLAIRE PRE CODE FLAPPER ELMER FRYER PHOTO LARGE

ITEM: You are bidding on a 1930 wonderfully composed scarce original antique 1st generation large format photograph by Hollywood portrait photographer Elmer Fryer of the incredibly sultry Bernice Claire in great close up coyly posed flapper portrait view. This features a great art deco styled and posed shot of the beauty, this is an oversized photograph with blindstamp and verso ink stamp on a double weight paperstock with glossy finish. Verso press snipe reads "YES YES IT'S NANETTE--Introducing Bernice Claire, one of the latest arrivals in Hollywood from the stage. Miss Claire, protege of Jeritza is under contract at First National Studios, and singing the title role in "No, No Nanette" This is a wonderful Hollywood memorabilia treasure, and it is a treat. This original first generation photograph measures 11" x 14" with margins. A great sexy portrait with art deco elements and really tremendous beauty. This photograph is just an incredible document, and very rare Hollywood treasure that sells no reserve. We have come into an extraordinary collection of antique Hollywood photographs and memorabilia and are happy to combine multiple wins at no additional cost.  100% guaranteed original and vintage.


 



CONDITION: This 1st generation glassy and beautiful art deco large format photograph is in fine condition+++ overall with a very soft curl to the paper that will flatten when displayed and a little silvering to the emulsion. As good as it gets. 100% guaranteed vintage and original.

ELMER FRYER Elmer Fryer began working as a photographer in 1924. When Warner Bros. and First National Studios joined operations in 1929, Fryer replaced Fred Archer as head of the new Warner-First National stills department. During the 1930's he took portraits of Dolores Del Rio, Kay Francis Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, George Brent, and other Warner Bros. stars.

YIKES I HAVE A COME INTO A FINE COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL SILENT MOVIE AND EARLY TALKIE ERA HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STILLS, HAND SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED, THEY ALL SELL IN THE COMING WEEKS ON EBAY IN A NO RESERVE AUCTION FORMAT ALONG WITH AN ASSORTMENT OF PIN UP, PAPER, ART DECO COLLECTIBLES, AND ANTIQUE CALENDARS AND PRINTS WHICH WE AT GRAPEFRUITMOONGALLERY ARE HAPPY TO OFFER TO YOU OUR BIDDERS GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY, THESE ARE FABULOUS!
 

As a singer of light opera, Bernice Claire could be called the trailblazer for Jeanette MacDonald. In the year 1930, Claire and Alexander Gray were "the" operetta duo of talking pictures. Born Bernice Janighen in Oakland, California, Bernice was favorably influenced by her distinguished Castlemont High Schoolteacher, Alice Eggers. Claire's publicist would later fabricate a teacher-student relationship between Claire and opera great Maria Jeritza. She possessed a remarkably clear and pure coloratura voice and had no difficulty singing demanding roles such as Victor Herbert's "Mlle Modiste," in which she starred a revival. Bernice met Alexander Gray while performing in an operetta. Around 1929 he asked her to accompany him to a screen test for First National-Vitaphone at the time the studios were hastily bolstering their music departments. The producers liked the team so much, they were both signed. Subsequently, Bernice Claire made the first screen versions of such hits and "Mlle Modiste" (released as "Kiss Me Again" and "Toast of the Legion"), "Spring is Here" (in which she sings "With a Song in My Heart"), "No, No, Nanette," "Song of the Flame," and an original film musical "Top Speed" with Joe E. Brown. When the craze for musical films cooled down, Warners tried her in some dramatic parts, which were not in her oeuvre. Claire returned to radio and appeared with many prestigious orchestras, including Rudy Vallee, Erno Rapee and others. She made very few phonograph records. A few short subjects were made, and a British musical film "Two Hearts in Harmony." Her cameo with Alexander Gray in "Moonlight and Pretzels" was intended as a "nod," or acknowledgement of their former prominence in earlier musical films. When her first husband died, she felt unable to continue her performing. She and her second husband, Douglas Morris, owned property in southern California, including convalescent homes. During the 1970s and '80s Bernice was honored by local film societies in the San Francisco Bay Area. IMDb Mini Biography By: mintunmusic@earthlink.net