Olive Hasbrouck

Olive Elizabeth Hasbrouck Whittier (January 23, 1907 – January 1, 1976) was an American film actress of the silent era.^[1] She appeared in dozens of films, mostly Westerns, between 1924 and 1929.^[2]

Olive Hasbrouck
Hasbrouck, from a 1929 advertisement
Born	January 23, 1907 Lewiston, Idaho, U.S.
Died	January 1, 1976 San Diego, California, U.S.
Other names	Olive Whittier
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1924-1929 (film)
Relatives	Sol Hasbrouck (grandfather) Max Whittier (father-in-law)

Early life

Hasbrouck was born in Lewiston, Idaho, the daughter of Van Wagenen Hasbrouck and Ladia Marguerite Pingree Hasbrouck. Her father was an attorney.^[3] Her grandfather was Sol Hasbrouck, an Idaho pioneer and politician.^[4] She and her mother moved from Boise to Hollywood for her health.^[5] Hasbrouck attended Hollywood High School until she started getting film roles.^[6]

Career

Hasbrouck began working in films as an extra at Universal City.^[7] When she was 17, she won the lead female roles in Ridgeway of Montana (1924)^[5] and in Big Timber (1924) opposite William Desmond.^[8] By 1925 she was considered a star, leading the cast in Two Blocks Away.^[6][9] She was a skilled rider,^[10] athletic and willing to do stunts,^[6] so most of her roles were in silent Westerns.^[2][11] She also appeared in an early sound comedy^[12] set at sea, Clear the Decks (1929) with Reginald Denny.^[13] Louella Parsons described Hasbrouck as resembling Norma Talmadge.^[14]

In January 1929, Hasbrouck signed with First National; she co-starred with Philippe de Lacy and Ken Maynard in The Royal Rider (1929), which turned out to be her last film.^[15][16][17]

Later life

Olive Hasbrouck (right) on the poster for The Two-Gun Man (1926)

Hasbrouck's younger brother died in an explosion in 1926.^[18] She retired from the movie industry just as sound films were introduced,^[19] when she married Nelson Paul Whittier (son of oil executive and real estate developer Max Whittier) in 1930.^[20] They had children, Laddia^[21] and Peter,^[22] and lived on a cattle ranch in Yucaipa,^[23] and in a penthouse in Westwood.^[24] She died in 1976, at the age of 68, in San Diego.^[25]

Partial filmography

• Big Timber (1924)
• Ridgeway of Montana (1924)
• The Call of Courage (1925)
• Hidden Loot (1925)
• The Cohens and Kellys (1926)
• The Interferin' Gent (1926)
• Rustlers' Ranch (1926)
• A Six Shootin' Romance (1926)
• The Border Sheriff (1926)
• A Regular Scout (1926)^[26]
• The Two-Gun Man (1926)
• The Ridin' Rascal (1926)
• White Pebbles (1927)
• Set Free (1927)
• Ride 'em High (1927)
• Pals in Peril (1927)
• The Fighting Three (1927)
• The Obligin' Buckaroo (1927)
• The Ridin' Rowdy (1927)
• Tearin' Into Trouble (1927)
• The Shamrock and the Rose (1927)
• The Woman Who Did Not Care (1927)
• Desperate Courage (1928)
• The Cowboy Cavalier (1928)
• The Charge of the Gauchos (1928)
• The Flyin' Cowboy (1928)
• Clear the Decks (1929)
• The Royal Rider (1929)