Edna Flugrath was the eldest of three sisters who found fame as silent film stars.
Early life
Edna was the first born of Emil and Mary Flugrath. Her father, a printer by trade, was the son of Polish-German immigrants and had at one time been considered a talented amateur athlete. Mary Dubois was born in New York. Some years later when their daughters were working on films, the Flugraths moved to the West Coast where they became popular on movie sets conversing with curious Hollywood tourists. Mary Flugrath died in Los Angeles in 1922 at the age of 55. Her husband died there 20 years later, aged 74.
Career
Edna began working on stage at a very early age appearing in vaudeville shows, legitimate theater and ballet. Before she had turned twenty Edna had tired of the road and decided to try her hand working in the fledgling film industry. She began as a stock player with The Edison Film Company and eventually was given starring roles in one or two reel productions that were common for that period. At some point during her time with Edison she became involved with director Harold Marvin Shaw and later followed him to England after her contract with Edison had expired. Edna achieved some success as a leading lady working with Shaw in England but left acting after they married in Johannesburg, South Africa while filming De Voortrekkers. Three years later she attempted a comeback working on a few films for the London Film Company and Stoll Pictures before returning to America where she found it difficult to get work.
Later life
Eventually Edna gave up on acting and opened a beauty salon in Hollywood. Her husband later became secretary for the Motion Picture Directors’ Association. On January 30, 1926, while driving in Los Angeles, Harold Marvin Shaw was killed instantly in a head-on collision. He was 48 years old and a native of Tennessee. Coincidentally, all three of the Flugrath sisters married motion picture directors, Shaw, Bernard Durning and John Collins, who all died prematurely. Sometime around 1930 Edna next married Halliburton Houghton, a broker from Dallas, Texas. In the years to follow, Edna became estranged from her sisters Leonie and Virginia, a rift that lasted until the end of her life.
Death
Edna Flugrath died in San Diego in 1966, some seven years after her husband’s passing. Her sisters did not immediately learn of her death until notified by a stranger.
