Helen Ann Rork Light (June 12, 1908 – January 23, 1988) was an American silent film actress. She was credited under the name Ann Rork.
Ann Rork Light | |
|---|---|
 During her divorce from J. Paul Getty, 1935 | |
| Born | Helen Ann Rork June 12, 1908 |
| Died | January 23, 1988 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouses |
Dr. Rudolph Alvin Light
(m. 1960; died 1970) |
| Children | 3, including John Paul Getty Jr. Gordon Getty |
| Parent | Sam E. Rork |
Early life
editHelen Ann Rork was born June 12, 1908, in Darien, Connecticut.[1][2] Her father, Sam E. Rork, was a film producer at First National Pictures, and her mother the former Helen Welch.[1][3] Actor Will Rogers was her godfather.[3]
Career
editShe starred in silent films such as The Blonde Saint and Old Loves and New in 1926, followed by The Notorious Lady, A Texas Steer and The Prince of Headwaiters in 1927. Her co-stars included Will Rogers and Rudolph Valentino.[4]
Personal life
editShe was married five times.[1] Her first husband was J. Paul Getty, an oil heir from San Francisco, California, from 1932 to 1935.[1][5] They had two sons: John Paul Getty, Jr. and Gordon Getty.[5] From her first-born son, John, she had a grandson, John Paul Getty III, who also became an actor.
She then married a succession of three other men.[1] In 1960, she married her fifth husband, Dr. Rudolph A. Light, an Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company heir and Professor of Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][3] Rork became the first female member of St Catherine's College, Oxford, being awarded an Honorary Fellowship in the 1970s in recognition of her and Dr Light's philanthropic donations to the College.[6]
Death
editShe died of emphysema and lung cancer on January 23, 1988, at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is buried with her husband Dr. Rudolph Light, at the Royal Palm Memorial Gardens in West Palm Beach, Florida.[1] She was seventy-nine years old.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g ANN RORK LIGHT, 79, Orlando Sentinel, January 25, 1998 Archived 2015-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Getty Fee Suit Trial Begins". Los Angeles Times. June 8, 1938. p. 28.
- ^ a b c d Associated Press, Ann Rork Light, Former Actress, 79, The New York Times, January 25, 1988
- ^ Ann Rork Light, Chicago Tribune, January 31, 1988
- ^ a b Stacy Finz, Jaxon Van Derbeken, Getty's Secret Double Life / Second family in L.A. – 3 daughters, San Francisco Chronicle, August 21, 1999
- ^ St Catherine's College, 'International Women's Day 2024: Remembering the First Woman Member of Catz' (8 March 2024) The article does not make it clear whether Rork took up her Fellowship in 1973 or 1974.
External links
edit