Eileen Sedgwick

Eileen Sedgwick came from a theatrical family. Her parents were both stage actors, her brother Edward Sedgwick went on to become a respected comedy director and her sister Josie Sedgwick became a film actress. The entire family toured the vaudeville circuit as "The Five Sedgwicks," and it wasn't long before a pretty girl like Eileen was noticed by Hollywood. She is thought to have debuted in films around 1914, and worked her way up to minor stardom by 1918, when a fortuitous accident happened: the female star of the Universal serial The Lure of the Circus (1918) took ill, and Eileen was tapped to take her place and finish the serial. It proved to be a big hit, and over the next 10 years Eileen would perform in a dozen serials. By 1928, though, she apparently tired of the serial grind, and began using the name Greta Yoltz in an effort to have casting directors for non-serial films hire her. She made a few films under that name, but soon reverted to her real name. She retired from the screen with the advent of sound.