Biography
Louise Closser Hale (also credited as Louise Closser) was an American actress, playwright and novelist. Born in Chicago, she trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and Emerson College of Oratory in Boston, making her stage debut in 1894. She became a noted character actress on Broadway and in London, appearing in productions including George Bernard Shaw’s Candida (1903) and Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1907). In 1899 she married actor and artist Walter Hale; he died in 1917.
Hale entered films in 1929 and appeared in around thirty pictures before her death, often in maternal or matronly roles. Her screen credits include Platinum Blonde (1931) as Mrs. Schuyler, Shanghai Express (1932) as Mrs. Haggerty, Dinner at Eight (1933) as Hattie Loomis and an uncredited part in Duck Soup (1933). She also wrote novels such as A Motor Car Divorce (1906) and travel books illustrated by her husband, including We Discover New England (1915).
