Here is the biography of Lina Basquette:
Lina Basquette, the screen tragedy girl, lived a life filled with turmoil and drama. Born Lena Baskette in California, she was the daughter of a drug store owner and began training in dance at a young age. She was discovered by Carl Laemmle, who signed her to a long-term contract with Universal Pictures.
Lina's early career was marked by success, with her headlining her own short programs and starring in several full-length features. However, her personal life was marred by tragedy. Her father died when she was 16, and her mother remarried a dance director who had a daughter of his own, future dancing star Marge Champion.
Lina's mother managed to get her into the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, where she was billed as "America's Prima Ballerina." Her act was caught by Anna Pavlova, who offered to take her on as her protégée, but Lina's mother refused, wanting to make more money for her daughter.
At 18, Lina married 38-year-old Warner Bros. mogul Sam Warner, who was 20 years her senior. Lina influenced Warner to pursue sound pictures and even encouraged him to star Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927). However, Sam died unexpectedly at 40, leaving Lina to deal with a series of legal battles with her in-laws over his estate. She lost custody of her daughter Lita and attempted suicide.
Lina continued to work in films, making silents such as Ranger of the North (1927),The Noose (1928),and Wheel of Chance (1928). She also scored two noteworthy roles in Frank Capra's The Younger Generation (1929) and Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl (1928). However, her career began to decline, and she was forced to take on "B" westerns and other low-budget films.
Lina's personal life continued to be marked by drama and tragedy. She married three more times, including a quickie union to cameraman J. Peverell Marley and a rebound marriage to Jack Dempsey's personal trainer Theodore Hayes. Her affair with Dempsey led to her second suicide attempt.
In the 1930s, Lina's career slowed down, and she began to focus on stage work, touring Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa in various plays. She continued to work in films, but her career was marked by a series of low-budget productions.
In the 1940s, Lina's personal life continued to be marked by drama. She brought up assault and rape charges against a 22-year-old Army GI, who was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in the brig. Completely retired, Lina found emotional solace in breeding and handling Great Danes, and became the owner of Honey Hollow Kennels, a 25-acre estate in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Lina continued to marry and divorce, and at least one of her later unions lost out to an either/or ultimatum with her Great Danes. She wrote the non-fiction book "Your Great Dane" in 1972 and moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1975.
Out of nowhere, the octogenarian grandmother had one last chance to bask in the limelight when she was cast as Nada in Daniel Boyd's independent feature Paradise Park (1992),playing an Appalachian trailer park granny who dreams that God is coming and granting a wish on all its residents.
