Deshon was born Florence Danks in Tacoma, Washington to Samuel Danks, a musician and union organizer from Wales, and Flora Caroline Spatzer, a pianist of Austro-Hungarian descent. She lived with her parents and older brother, Walter, in Washington until around 1900, when the family moved to New York City, where her parents pursued musical careers. In 1913, she became acquainted with Max Eastman in Greenwich Village, and the two became romantically involved.
Career
Deshon appeared in more than twenty movies beginning in 1915 with The Beloved Vagabond. In 1919, while living in New York City, she was summoned by Samuel Goldwyn to Los Angeles, California, and offered her work in his studio. Florence played in features for Vitagraph until 1921. Her final film credit was in the role of Sally McTurk in The Roof Tree, directed by John Francis Dillon. She returned to New York City with her mother in December 1921. Deshon hoped to continue her work in films there.
Personal life
In addition to her relationship with Max Eastman, Deshon had a purported romantic relationship with Charlie Chaplin while living in Los Angeles, and purportedly "commuted from coast to coast" between the two men.
Death
On February 4, 1922, Deshon was found unconscious on the third floor of her apartment building at 120 West Eleventh Street. A window was open in her bedroom but illuminating gas flowed from an opened jet. A newspaperwoman, Minnie Morris, found Deshon when she returned to the building. An ambulance took Deshon to St. Vincent's Hospital, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She died the following afternoon. She was 28 years old. Deshon's apartment had been subleased from Doris Stevens, who was married to Dudley Field Malone. The couple were honeymooning in Europe at the time of the actress' death. Deshon was listed as being a resident of both Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles. She died 5 days after William Desmond Taylor, who overshadowed her. The New York Medical Examiner concluded Deshon's death was accidental. However, rumors persisted among her circle of friends and acquaintances that she might have committed suicide, and several biographers, including Ross Wetzsteon and Christoph Irmscher, have described her death as such. An unsubstantiated comment from a neighbour had it that she had recently argued with a person who came to her apartment. Having recently broken off their relationship, Eastman claimed that Deshon had no reason to kill herself and that her death was accidental but other mutual friends believed that she did indeed commit suicide. Eastman came across her on the street on the afternoon before her death when they spoke briefly before going their separate ways. That evening, Eastman heard that she had been rushed to hospital whilst he was watching a theatre performance. He went to St. Vincent's and gave blood but the attempt to revive Deshon was futile.
