Claire McDowell
Born
October 31, 1877
Died
October 23, 1966 (88 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Claire McDowell (2 November 1877 – 23 October 1966) was an American actress. She appeared in 360 films between 1908 and 1945.
Still somewhat of a youthful beauty when she started in early silent films, McDowell appeared in numerous films, eventually graduating to playing character and mother types. She can be seen to good advantage in Douglas Fairbanks's 1920 The Mark of Zorro. McDowell appeared in two of the biggest films of the silent era, The Big Parade (1925) and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), both in which she played mothers.
She was married to silent screen character actor Charles Hill Mailes from 1906 to his 1937 death. The couple appeared in numerous silent films together, including The Mark of Zorro. They had two sons, Robert Mailes and Eugene Mailes.
Claire McDowell died, aged 88, in Hollywood, California.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For

Adventure
Woman in Library (uncredited)
1945

Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
Dr. Standish's Servant (uncredited)
1944

Men on Her Mind
Mother Goodwin
1944

Du Barry Was a Lady
Subway Passenger
1943

This Land Is Mine
Woman in Bathroom
1943

Presenting Lily Mars
Dowager
1943

Hangmen Also Die!
Counterwoman (uncredited)
1943

Keeper of the Flame
1943

Lady Scarface
Mrs. Tuckerman
1941
Whispers
Gossip (uncredited)
1941

Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Nurse for Mr. Winslow (uncredited)
1940

The Golden Fleecing
Pedestrian (uncredited)
1940

A Failure at Fifty
Minor Role (uncredited)
1940

Young Tom Edison
Woman at Station
1940

Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Gossiper
1939

Thunder Afloat
Nurse (uncredited)
1939

One Against the World
Jane Todd Crawford (uncredited)
1939

Miracles for Sale
Jack of Diamonds Woman
1939

Angel of Mercy
Mother (uncredited)
1939

Idiot's Delight
Crying Mother
1939

Stand Up and Fight
Woman
1939

Boys Town
Nun (uncredited)
1938

The Man on the Rock
Napoleon's Mother (uncredited)
1938

They're Always Caught
Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)
1938

Three Comrades
Landlady Frau Zalewski (uncredited)
1938

Test Pilot
Funeral Home Associate (uncredited)
1938

A Night at the Movies
Movie Patron (uncredited)
1937

Two-Fisted Sheriff
Miss Herrick - Molly's Aunt
1937

Song of Revolt
Artistocratic Dowager (uncredited)
1937

Small Town Girl
Woman in Bed (uncredited)
1936

August Week End
Alma Washburne
1936

Murder by Television
Mrs. Houghland
1935

Imitation of Life
Teacher Outside Classroom (uncredited)
1934

Two Heads on a Pillow
Mrs. Helen Gorman
1934

British Agent
Woman Saying 'Lenin will Live' (uncredited)
1934

Dr. Monica
Miss Bryerly (uncredited)
1934

Journal of a Crime
Sister at Hospital (uncredited)
1934

It Happened One Night
Mother on Bus (uncredited)
1934

Bedside
Nurse
1934

Wild Boys of the Road
Mrs. Smith
1933

By Appointment Only
Mrs. Mary Carroll
1933

The Working Man
Benjamin's Secretary
1933

Central Airport
Mrs. Blaine
1933

Lawyer Man
Gilmurry's Secretary (uncredited)
1932

A Successful Calamity
Struthers' Secretary (uncredited)
1932

The Phantom Express
Ma Nolan
1932

Cornered
Jane's Aunt
1932

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Ann Marie's Caregiver Mrs. Schiller (uncredited)
1932

The Famous Ferguson Case
Brooks' Landlady (uncredited)
1932

Union Depot
Little Boy's Mother (uncredited)
1932

Under Eighteen
Seamstress (uncredited)
1932

Manhattan Parade
Nancy - the Maid
1931

An American Tragedy
Mrs. Samuel Griffiths
1931

Mothers Cry
Mary's Mother
1930

Brothers
Bess Naughton
1930

Wild Company
Mrs. Laura Grayson
1930

The Big House
Mrs. Marlowe
1930

Young Desire
Mrs. Spencer
1930

The Second Floor Mystery
Aunt Hattie
1930

Redemption
Anna Pavlovna
1930

The Quitter
Mrs. Abbott
1929

Silks and Saddles
Mrs. Calhoun
1929

The Flying Fleet
Mrs. Hastings (uncredited)
1929

The Viking
Lady Editha (as Claire MacDowell)
1928
Don't Marry
Aunt Abigail Bowen
1928

The Tragedy of Youth
Mother
1928

Almost Human
Mrs. Livingston
1927

The Shield of Honor
Mrs. MacDowell
1927
Winds of the Pampas
Doña Maria Casandos
1927

Tillie the Toiler
Ma Jones
1927

The Black Diamond Express
Martha Foster
1927

The Taxi Dancer
Aunt Mary
1927

The Auctioneer
Mrs. Tim Eagan
1927

A Little Journey
Aunt Louise
1927

The Flaming Forest
Mrs. McTavish
1926

The Show Off
Mom Fisher
1926

The Unknown Soldier
John Phillips' sister
1926

The Shamrock Handicap
Molly O'Shea
1926

The Dixie Merchant
Josephine Fippany
1926

The Devil's Circus
Mrs. Peterson
1926

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Princess of Hur
1925

The Midnight Flyer
Liza Slater
1925

The Big Parade
Mrs. Apperson
1925

The Tower of Lies
Katrina
1925

The End of the World
Mrs. Joyce
1925
The End of the World
Mrs. Joyce
1925

Waking Up the Town
Mrs. Joyce
1925
The Reckless Sex
Concha
1925

Those Who Dare
Mrs. Rollins
1924

Secrets
Elizabeth Channing
1924

Thy Name Is Woman
Juan's Mother
1924

Judgment of the Storm
Mrs. Heath
1924
Enemies of Children
Godfrey sister
1923

Ponjola
Mrs. Hope
1923

Ashes of Vengeance
Margot's Aunt
1923

Circus Days
Martha
1923

Human Wreckage
Mrs. Brown
1923

Michael O'Halloran
Nancy Harding
1923

The West~Bound Limited
Mrs. Bill Buckley
1923

Quincy Adams Sawyer
Mrs. Putnam
1922

Heart's Haven
May Caroline
1922

Nice People
Margaret Rainsford
1922

Penrod
Mrs. Schofield
1922

Rent Free
Countess de Mourney
1922

Love Never Dies
Liz Trott
1921

What Every Woman Knows
Comtesse de la Brière
1921

Midsummer Madness
Mrs. Osborne
1921

Prisoners of Love
Her Mother
1921

The Mark of Zorro
Dona Catalina Pulido
1920

Something to Think About
Housekeeper
1920

The Jack-Knife Man
Lize Merdin
1920

Through Eyes of Men
Mrs. Virginia All
1920

The Gift Supreme
Lalia Graun
1920

The Woman in the Suitcase
Mrs. James B. Moreland
1920

The Feud
Mary Lynch
1919

Heart o' the Hills
Martha Hawn
1919

Prudence on Broadway
Miss Grayson
1919

The Follies Girl
Nina
1919
Rosalind at Redgate
1919
You Can't Believe Everything
Grace Dardley
1918
Captain of His Soul
Annette
1918

The Storm Woman
1917
The Empty Gun
Mary
1917

The Clean-Up
Vera Vincent
1917

The Bronze Bride
A-Che-Chee
1917

The Gates of Doom
Indore / Agatha
1917
Avarice
The Miserly Old Woman
1917

The White Raven
Daisy
1917

The Right to Be Happy
Mrs. Cratchit
1916

Mixed Blood
Nita Valyez
1916

A Stranger from Somewhere
Olga
1916
As It Happened
The Ranchman's Daughter
1915
Old Offenders
Joe's Wife
1915
Her Convert
The Old Inventor's Daughter
1915
The Way Out
The Young School Teacher
1915
Her Dormant Love
The Discontented Wife
1915
Truth Stranger Than Fiction
Crook
1915

The Canceled Mortgage
The Widowed Mother
1915
A Day's Adventure
Hogan's Moll
1915
The Gambler's I.O.U.
Nell - Daddy Wilson's Daughter
1915
The Miser's Legacy
The Crook's Wife
1915
The Sheriff's Dilemma
Molly
1915

The Heart of a Bandit
Claire
1915

Men and Women
Mrs. Stephen Rodman
1914
The Cracksman's Gratitude
1914
Her Hand
Olga
1914
Her Father's Silent Partner
1914
A Nest Unfeathered
Kate
1914
His Fireman's Conscience
Mrs. Daily
1914
The Fatal Wedding
1914
Waifs
1914

Concentration
The Mother
1914
The Abandoned Well
The Widow
1913
For Her Government
1913

The House of Discord
The Sister-in-Law
1913
All for Science
Detective
1913
The Detective's Stratagem
Kate, the Bank Clerk's Sweetheart
1913
The Stopped Clock
The Antique Dealer's Daughter
1913
The Van Nostrand Tiara
Kate
1913
A Tender-Hearted Crook
Edith
1913
The Law and His Son
Marguerite, Manning's Sister
1913
The Stolen Treaty
Olga
1913

The Strong Man's Burden
Ida Glynn, The Nurse
1913
The Crook and the Girl
The Uncle's Adopted Daughter
1913
The Work Habit
The Daughter in the City
1913
Under the Shadow of the Law
John Haywood's Sister
1913
I Was Meant for You
Lavina
1913
The Vengeance of Galora
Galora
1913
A Misappropriated Turkey
Mrs. Fallon / Widow Logan
1913
The Mirror
Daisy
1913
A Gambler's Honor
Beth
1913
A Gamble with Death
Kate
1913

The Switchtower
The Switchman's Wife
1913
The Well
The Farmer's Wife
1913
The Enemy's Baby
Miller's Wife
1913
The Ranchero's Revenge
The Schemer's Associate
1913

Olaf—An Atom
A Parent
1913
The Stolen Loaf
The Rich Woman
1913

The House of Darkness
The Doctor's Wife
1913
The Tenderfoot's Money
The Prospector's Wife
1913

The Wanderer
The Female Lover
1913
The Stolen Bride
The Wife
1913

The Unwelcome Guest
The Wife
1913
The Wrong Bottle
The Blind Sister
1913

The Telephone Girl and the Lady
The Lady
1913
The God Within
The Woodsman's Wife
1912

A Cry for Help
The Thief's Wife - the Charity Patient
1912

The Massacre
Stephen's Belle - In Prologue
1912

The New York Hat
The Main Gossip
1912

A Sailor’s Heart
The Sailor's Third Sweetheart
1912

In the Aisles of the Wild
The Elder Daughter
1912

So Near, Yet So Far
Rich Woman in Other Town
1912

Two Daughters of Eve
The Mother
1912

Man's Genesis
Cave Woman
1912

The School Teacher and the Waif
The Street Fakir's Sweetheart
1912

Lena and the Geese
Lena's Mother
1912

A Temporary Truce
Mexican Jim's Wife
1912
When the Fire-Bells Rang
An Actress
1912

The Old Actor
At Audition
1912

The Female of the Species
The Miner's Wife
1912

A String of Pearls
The Italian Shoemaker's Wife
1912

The Sunbeam
The Spinster
1912

The Sands of Dee
Artist's fiancee
1912

Under Burning Skies
The Friend
1912

Billy's Stratagem
Billy's Mother
1912

The Baby and the Stork
The Mother
1912

The Baby and the Stork
The Workman
1912

A Woman Scorned
The Doctor's Wife
1911

The Long Road
Ned's Wife
1911

The Adventures of Billy
Rich Woman
1911
The Unveiling
1911

The Squaw's Love
Silver Fawn
1911

Swords and Hearts
Irene Lambert
1911

A Country Cupid
The Half-Wit's Mother
1911

The Primal Call
The Woman
1911

The Manicure Lady
Lunchroom Hostess
1911
A Decree of Destiny
A Nun
1911

Fisher Folks
At Fair
1911

What Shall We Do with Our Old?
The Old Carpenter's Wife
1911

Fate's Turning
At Hotel/At Wedding
1911

His Trust Fulfilled
Mrs. Frazier
1911

His Trust
Col. Frazier's wife
1911

The Golden Supper
Lady-in-Waiting
1910
His New Lid
1910

Waiter No. 5
The Chief of Police's Wife
1910
The Message of the Violin
The Other Woman's Servant
1910
The Iconoclast
1910

Rose o' Salem Town
1910

The Oath and the Man
Rebel
1910
A Mohawk's Way
1910

Muggsy Becomes a Hero
One of the Sisters Frost
1910

Wilful Peggy
Housemaid
1910

The Usurer
Despairing Mother / One of the Third Debtors
1910

A Flash of Light
At First Party
1910

Love Among the Roses
1910

The Call of the Wild
Party Guest
1908

The Planter's Wife
Mrs. John Holland
1908

The Devil
1908