1904-1980
Born Florence Silverlake in Charleston, South Carolina; she is yet another child of performers, in this case circus performers who became stage actors in vaudeville shows. Her father and his brother toured as a circus act known as "The Flying Silverlakes;" and her mother was an actress. As a couple they toured all over the southern United States, coast to coast, as a vaudeville act with a touring company, performing in a skit called "Family Affair." In 1910 Florence and her younger brother joined the act. Some time after that, the children were brought to Hollywood in attempt to get them into the growing film industry there. Her father changed his name to Arthur Lake and would later go on to have his own film success in the Blondie movie series. She, herself, went on to be quite the success in silly comedic "dumb" roles. Florence was only in 3 films in the 1920's, all of them early talkies, and all released in 1929. She made her film debut in New Year's Eve, starring Mary Astor. She went on to have a very long and prolific acting career in film and television with her last role coming in 1976 in an episode of the television series Emergency!. She passed away at the age of 75 on the 11th of April in Los Angeles. She in interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, CA. as Florence Lake Owen.
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