Ann Murdock

Ann Murdock, born Irene Anna Coleman on November 10, 1890, in Port Washington, New York, was a stage and silent film actress who rose to prominence during the 1910s. She died on April 22, 1939. She was occasionally billed under the name Anna Murdock during her career.

Murdock's stage career began in 1908 with a production of The Lion and the Mouse in Pittsburgh, followed by an appearance in The Offenders in New York that same year. Her Broadway debut came in 1909 with The Noble Spaniard, launching an eight-year run on the New York stage that included productions such as Excuse Me, The Bridal Path, Miss Phoenix, A Pair of Sixes, and The Beautiful Adventure. Her final Broadway appearance was in The Three Bears in 1917.

Concurrent with her stage work, Murdock built a career in silent film. Her screen credits include A Royal Family (1915), Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1916), The Seven Deadly Sins (1917), Where Love Is (1917), The Seventh Sin (1917), Outcast (1917), The Beautiful Adventure (1917), Please Help Emily (1917), The Impostor (1918), My Wife (1918), and The Richest Girl (1918).

Murdock's personal life attracted public attention following the 1921 death of Alf Hayman, who had led the Frohman theatrical operations after the passing of Charles Frohman. When Hayman's will was made public, it disclosed that the majority of his multimillion-dollar estate had been left to Murdock, with no bequests directed to his wife or sisters. Hayman's widow did not move to contest the will.

Murdock married three times. On August 4, 1924, she wed Harry Carson Powers in Baltimore, Maryland; the marriage ended in divorce in Paris on December 13, 1926. She then married Hallam Keep Williams on August 28, 1928, in Rye, New York, and sought a divorce from him in May 1929. On October 14, 1931, she married hotel manager Cavaliere Leone Calleoni in Milan, Italy.