Dorothy Gibson was a 22 year old silent film star, having found a place in a lifeboat dressed in a sweater and coat over an evening gown on the night of April 14, 1912, the night Titanic sank. Lifeboat 7 was launched at 12:45 a.m. and remained near the sinking ship so it could be used in a rescue operation. By 2 a.m. it was obvious the majority of people scrambling on the decks of the Titianic would not survive. As the ship went down, two hours and thirty-five minutes after it struck an iceberg. Dorothy remembers the sound of 1,200 people crying out to be saved in their yells, shrieks and moans. The sounds of the engulfing waters were indescribable.
Dorothy Gibson, a popular silent screen star was feeling burnt out by the spring in 1912. She worked for the Eclair Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey and asked for a temporary leave of absence and was sent on a holiday abroad. Her married lover Jules Brulatour (41 years old), was a powerful producer at the time and arranged the vaca-y for Dorothy and her mother. They stayed until the appointed date for their return, a sail back to New York from Cherbourg on April 10, 1912.
The survivors drifted overnight and were picked up by the steamship Carpathia in the morning.The morning light also revealed the numerous icebergs set in the path of the ships.Dorothy found herself on deck by the evening and passengers of the Carpathia offered her a place in their room where she slept for 26 hours following the ordeal.
Brulatour, her lover, planned to record her arrival in New York. He used the event as a publicity tool for the silent film star on the rescue ship at her arrival. That night he offered her an engagement ring worth $1,000 and a plan to make a one-reel film of her survival. It premiered in East Coast theaters on April 22.
Shooting took place at the Fort Lee studio and on location in the New York Harbor. She wore the same clothes she had worn the night of the sinking, a white silk evening gown, a sweater, an overcoat and black pumps. She drew on her memory and turned it into a reconstruction.
The film was released on May 16, 1912, but by that time Dorothy Gibson was feeling sad about the whole thing and eventually turned her back on the movie business. He went on to form the universal Film Manufacturing Company with Carl Laemmle in 1912. She married her lover, Brulatour in1917. They divorced in 1923. She lived in Europe and had a hell of a time during World War II but somehow got through it all. She returned to Paris after the war and enjoyed a few months at the Ritz until she died on February 17, 1946 most likely of a heart attack at the age of 56. Long may she run.
04/15/2012
REEL Jersey Girl