Rex Cherryman

Rexford Raymond Cherryman, known professionally as Rex Cherryman, was born on October 30, 1896, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and died on August 10, 1928, in Le Havre, France, at the age of 31. An American actor of both stage and screen, Cherryman built a notable career during the 1920s across film, Broadway, and regional theater productions.

Cherryman enrolled at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, in 1915 before transferring to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1916, where he met Esther Louise Lamb. The two married on February 9, 1918, and had one son, Rexford Raymond Cherryman, Jr., born October 10, 1925. Rexford Jr. later married Beatrice Wishard in 1950, and the couple had two daughters, Ann Elizabeth Cherryman, born in 1951, and Constance Lamb Cherryman, born in 1954.

Cherryman's film career began in 1919 with the comedic picture In for Thirty Days, in which he played Count Dronsky opposite silent film actress May Allison. The following year, actress and screen figure Alla Nazimova selected him to appear opposite her in her own dramatic film Madame Peacock, in which he portrayed the character Thorne. The professional relationship between Cherryman and Nazimova continued when, at her request, he was cast as Gaston Rieux in the 1921 Metro Pictures Corporation adaptation of Alexandre Dumas fils's novel La Dame aux Camélias, released under the title Camille. The film, which also featured Rudolph Valentino and Patsy Ruth Miller alongside Nazimova, received significant critical and public attention and brought Cherryman considerable recognition. He subsequently appeared in the 1923 film The Sunshine Trail as Willis Duckworth, and his final screen appearance came in a small role in the 1928 film Two Masters.

Alongside his film work, Cherryman was active in regional theater, including productions at the Denham Theatre in Denver and the Aladdin Theatre in San Francisco, where he first encountered actress Barbara Stanwyck. His Broadway career spanned from 1924 to 1927 and included appearances in several productions. Among his earlier stage credits were the musical comedy Topsy and Eva, which ran from 1924 through 1925, and The Valley of Content in 1925. He also appeared in the plays Down Stream and Madame X during this period. Cherryman then took a role in The Noose, a drama written by Willard Mack that ran from 1926 through 1927 and became one of the major hits of its season. Stanwyck was also a cast member of The Noose, and the production is credited with helping to advance her career. Cherryman's final Broadway appearance was a starring role in the 1927 dramatic production The Trial of Mary Dugan, performed opposite actor Robert Cummings at the National Theatre.

While traveling by sea to France in 1928 to audition for a play in Paris, Cherryman contracted septic poisoning and died in Le Havre on August 10, 1928. His body was cremated in France, and his ashes were returned to his mother. His remains, along with those of his wife Esther, are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.