Google honored Myrtle Gonzalez with a Google Doodle 110 years after the release of The Level, one of her most renowned films.
Myrtle was born on September 28, 1891, in Los Angeles to Irish and Hispanic parents. She sang as a soprano in church choirs and plays across the city.
Gonzalez took advantage of the filmmaking boom in Los Angeles by joining Vitagraph Corporation of America, where she made her film debut in The Yellow Streak.
Gonzalez featured in eighty films during the course of her five-year career. She retired from silent films after marrying Allen Watt, her second husband.
Myrtle Gonzalez Died from the Spanish FLU
Gonzalez went to Tacoma, Washington, where Watt was stationed as a U.S. Army lieutenant, after marrying Allen. Myrtle’s health was too fragile for the frigid temperature of Washington, so Captain Watt was placed on the retirement list, allowing the pair to return to Southern California.
Myrtle didn’t live long after the couple’s return: she passed away on 22 October 1918 at her parent’s home on West 30th Street in Los Angeles.
Gonzalez died during the height of the Spanish flu, although according to sources, he did not die from the sickness.
Forbes states that Myrtle Gonzalez went away owing to injuries sustained in an accident three years earlier while performing stunt riding in a film.
The Los Angeles Times stated at the time that Myrtle died of heart failure. Myrtle leaves behind her husband Watt and a son from her first marriage, James Jones. According to Forbes, the Library of Congress has saved the few existing creations of this author.
Final Words
Myrtle Gonzalez didn’t live long after the couple’s return: she passed away on 22 October 1918 at her parent’s home on West 30th Street in Los Angeles.
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