Jacqueline Logan (November 30, 1901 - April 4, 1983) was a star of the silent motion picture screen who was on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht The Oneida in 1926 when film director Thomas Ince was killed mysteriously. The young actress was under contract to him at the time. She was born in Corsicana, Texas on November 30, 1901. Her father was a noted architect and her mother was briefly an opera singer.
Jacqueline traveled to Colorado Springs for her health. While there she took a course in journalism from Ford Frick, who later became commissioner of major league baseball. Setting out to Chicago Logan found employment dancing in a stage production of a theater. Her family believed she intended to visit an uncle in the windy city and also attend college. To get the job she lied about her age, and when her uncle found out, he was irate. She was let go from the stage job as a result.
She left Chicago and set out for New York City. Again Jacqueline was untruthful regarding her intentions. With her on her trip to New York was a theatrical troupe. She secured a small role in Flora Dora, a musical on Broadway in 1920. At this time Flo Ziegfeld noticed her and hired Logan for a job dancing on his Ziegfeld Roof. She replaced Billie Donovan who was leaving to act in films in Hollywood. Together with the Ziegfeld venture Jacqueline modeled as a prestigious Dobbs Girl in Alfred Cheney Johnston photographs. There was also a part in a Johnny Hines' comedy short.
Jacqueline was awarded a screen test with the then unknown actor Ben Lyon. Lyon was the husband of Hollywood actress Bebe Daniels and became a prominent figure in the movies. Later he furthered the careers of such stars as Marilyn Monroe. Working for Associated Producers Logan was featured opposite Jane Peters, the future Carol Lombard in the 1921 film The Perfect Crime. Peters was only a youth, appearing as a pretty blonde child actress. The same year she played with Mabel Normand in Molly O.
Other features she starred in during the early 1920s include Burning Sands (1922), Sixty Cents an Hour (1923), Java Head (1923), and A Man Must Live (1924). Among her co-stars were Thomas Meighan, Milton Sills, Ricardo Cortez, Leatrice Joy, Richard Dix, and William Powell. In 1926 Jacqueline made Footloose Widow with Louise Fazenda and Blood Ship in 1927 with Richard Arlen. Other prominent leading men whom the actress worked with were Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Antonio Moreno, and Lon Chaney, Sr.
Jacqueline was selected by Cecil B. De Mille for the role of Mary Magdalene in the classic The King of Kings {1927). The part was much sought after by actresses of the era. The movie broke records for audience attendance. It was shown somewhere in the world each day for decades after its release. When talking pictures began the voice of Jacqueline was recorded to accompany her acting part in the original silent film.
The actress of silent films was largely unsuccessful in the new medium of talkies. In an early musical, Show of Shows (1929), Logan was a member of an all-star cast. This followed her work in some early and profitable sound films for Columbia Pictures.
She went to England to do stage work such as Smoky Cell. This gained for her some good reviews. After completing the English film Middle Watch Jacqueline was awarded a Command Performance. British International signed her to write and direct. She wrote Knock-Out (1931) and wrote and directed Strictly Business (1931). Both were successful movies.
Unfortunately the new writer/director found herself less in demand behind the camera when she returned to Hollywood. Columbia Pictures' production chief, Harry Cohn, was complimentary of her work but unwilling to sign a female director.
Logan retired from films entirely after her marriage in 1934. Just prior to this she was part of several Broadway plays like Merrily We Roll Along and Two Strange Women.
After divorcing her industrialist husband in 1947 Jacqueline resided in Westchester County, New York into the late 1960s. She spent her winters in Florida where she visited friends such as Lila Lee and Dorothy Dalton, both former actresses. The remainder of the year she resided in Bedford Hills, New York with her prize Great Dane from the Lina Basquette Kennels.
Jacqueline Logan became a champion of right-wing political causes after her movie career ended. She was a member of the John Birch Society. Much of her life was devoted to fighting "One Worlders and the Treason Traders." She believed these factions were undermining the U.S. Constitution.
Her last film effort was in the role of Mrs. Donovan in Secrets of a Door-to-Door Salesman (1973). She died in Melbourne, Florida on April 4, 1983.
