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The New York Daily News shouted its headline: “Why I Remain a Dope Fiend: The Most Amazing Confession Ever Told! Alma Rubens’ Own Story, Written Personally by the Once Great Movie Star Who Was Ruined by Drugs.” In poor health, Rubens died shortly after its publication. She was only 33.
Jul 24, 2011 · Alma Rubens was a major film star by age 19 in 1916 after co-starring in a couple of Douglas Fairbanks hits. She already had two husbands behind her by the time of her January 1926 marriage to Cortez and was by that time, by her own account, already a drug addict. By the time of her death, January 22, 1931, she had already separated from Cortez ...
- She Didn’T Know Who She Was
- She Supported Her Family
- She Ate Hospital Food
- She Escaped to The Theater
- She Was A Stand-In
- She Got Some Good Advice
- She Left Her Father
- She Shined on screen
- She Reinvented Herself
- She Married Her Mentor
No one knows the source of Alma Rubens’ deep sorrow and sadness but she seemed to suffer from a crisis of identity her whole life. She was born to John Reubens, a Jewish German immigrant to San Francisco in 1897. However, Rubens denied her Jewish heritage her entire career and identified, instead, with her Irish Catholic mother. Wikimedia Commons
By all accounts, Rubens’ childhood was as woeful as her adult years. Both of her parents suffered from poor health and Rubens had to work to support the family. According to a 1932 biography, “Her earnings average about twelve dollars a week, not much for a family of three.” In fact, it wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot. Wikimedia Commons
Despite her meager earnings, Rubens managed to get her mother, Theresa Reubens, into a hospital where she could get the care she needed. From the sounds of it, however, there wasn’t any money left over for Rubens herself. The 1932 biography claimed, “she herself [Rubens] often managed to get along on the food that was left on her mother’s tray.” Wi...
As a young girl, Rubens turned to the theatre and acting as an escape from her crippling poverty—she had no way of knowing then that Hollywood would, ultimately, be her undoing. By chance alone, however, the theatre would also give Rubens her first (and, frankly, her only) big break. It would also give her first marriage—and a broken jaw. Picryl
Rubens was attending a musical comedy when she caught her big break. The story goes that one of the chorus girls fell mysteriously and suddenly ill and Rubens, then virtually unknown, was asked to fill in. By the time the curtains closed, it was obvious to everyone that Rubens was going to be a star—if she could stay out of trouble. That was easier...
Rubens stayed with the acting troupe into her teens, honing her talents. Somewhere along the line, she met fellow actor Franklyn Farnum who spotted Rubens’ unique potential. He told her that she should try screen acting, as there was good money in it. Given what happened next, however, Farnum’s intentions might not have been entirely noble. Picryl
Rubens followed Farnum’s advice and moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles at just 16 years of age. Curiously, Rubens’ mother accompanied her to the nascent City of Stars but her father remained behind. Theresa Rubens explained, “She’s only sixteen and needs me more than you do[...] Her papa understood, but it was hard for us both.” Wikipedia
Rubens’ success in the early days of Hollywood was almost immediate. She made her debut in short films, even garnering an uncredited role in D.W. Griffith's controversial 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. In a cruel and ironic twist of fate, one of Rubens’ first film appearances was in 1914’s The Narcotic Spectre, foreshadowing her struggles in the ...
From the time she arrived in Hollywood, Rubens tried to reinvent herself and ditch her old identity. In an interview with Photoplay, she said, “As a matter of fact my name is not the same [spelling] as the painter’s. It’s either Reubens or Ruebens—I forget which. I never could spell it. Couldn't remember where the ‘e’ came from. So, I let it go Rub...
Some years after Rubens arrived in Los Angeles, Franklyn Farnum reappeared on the scene. Where before their relationship had just been friendly (as far as we know), when Farnum showed up in Los Angeles, he and Rubens sparked up a romance. By June of 1918, Rubens tied the knot to Farnum but she wasn’t exactly a blushing bride. Wikimedia Commons
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Sep 28, 2018 · Rubens also had three brief marriages in quick succession. In 1931, she wrote an account of her life, entitled “Why I Remain A Dope Fiend,” which was serialized in newspapers throughout the United States. She died shortly after its publication at 33 years old.
Alma Rubens, Early Studio Portrait Many persons who have followed my career on the screen and stage mistake me for a Jewess. This belief perhaps was strengthened when I married Ricardo Cortez, my third husband, the only one I ever really loved, and whom I am now trying to divorce.
Feb 7, 2015 · Alma Rubens passed away on January 22, 1931 in Los Angeles. While at a friend's house, Alma collapsed and was soon diagnosed with pneumonia, her body worn out from years of alcohol and drug abuse. She soon lapsed into a coma and never regained consciousness, dying with her mother and older sister, Hazel by her side. She was only 33 years old.
A stunning blonde star of over 40 silent pictures, Alma Rubens died in 1931, age 34, from complications arising from an addiction to heroin. The actress, who had a musical-comedy background, made her first film in 1916 and became a screen regular soon after. She appeared in such well-known films as Intolerance (1916), Humoresque (1920), and an ...
