Corinne Barker

Corinne Barker (née Riely; June 5, 1890 – August 6, 1928) was an American actress and costume designer born in Salem, Oregon, to Charles Strang and Amelia (née Savage) Riely. Her father was a prominent businessman in both Salem and Portland. Barker received her education at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Salem before beginning her acting career in Portland theater in the early 1900s. She relocated to New York City in 1910, where she appeared in a stage production of The Crinoline Girl alongside Julian Eltinge. Prior to 1916, she married William Barker in Portland.

Barker's Broadway career spanned 1915 to 1918, during which she appeared in On With the Dance, Remnant, Shirley Kaye, and Abe and Mawruss. Her screen career began in 1918 with the film Money Mad. Her performance in Peck's Bad Girl that same year drew notice from Variety, which singled out her portrayal of the character Hortense. In 1919 she appeared in One Week of Life, The Peace of Roaring River, and The Climbers, the last of which starred Corinne Griffith. She went on to appear in supporting roles opposite Marion Davies in two productions: the 1920 drama The Restless Sex and Enchantment in 1921. Also in July 1920, she married actor Hobart Henley in New York City. Her 1921 credits additionally include Why Girls Leave Home.

Alongside her acting work, Barker established herself as a costume designer in Manhattan. She designed the costumes for the 1926 Broadway production of No, No, Nanette, and in late 1927 began designing for productions under Vincent Youmans. During this period she lived on the Upper West Side at 78th Street with Henley and her mother.

Returning to the United States from Europe in the summer of 1928, Barker was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on July 19 suffering from peritonitis. Reports on July 27 attributed her condition to food poisoning and described her as being in serious condition. She died on August 6, 1928. Her funeral service was held at the Church of Transfiguration in Manhattan, and she is interred at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.