Fontaine La Rue
Biography
Matilda Fernández, stage name Fontaine La Rue (July 18, 1890 in Hermosillo, Mexico – September 13, 1964) was an American silent film actress appearing in films from 1918 to 1929. Her career ended with the advent of talkies. She was one of seven children born to Diego and Carlotta Monreal Fernandez. After immigrating to the United States in 1907, Matilda married Victor Garcia Rojas. The couple had three children, Victor Paul, Matilda Garcia, and Victoria Grace. After the couple divorced, Matilda entered show business. She got her start on stage as a toe dancer and in musical comedy. She toured with the Trimble Musical Comedy Company in 1914 before breaking into films the following year in comedy shorts for Keystone. She first used the name Dora Rodgers, but reinvented herself with the name Fontaine La Rue, tiring of playing vamps. On occasions she would switch between the names. Notably she appeared in the lost film, A Blind Bargain with Lon Chaney. After a lengthy love affair with actor Nelson McDowell, Fontaine married real estate broker Wayne Hancock and retired from the screen. The Keystone Vamp died of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on September 13, 1964, at UCLA Medical Center.
Personal Details
Movies (43)
Gold from Weepah
as Pearl
1927
His New York Wife
as Julia Hewitt
1926
Flyin' Thru
as Sybil
1925
Love on the Rio Grande
1925
Trigger Fingers
as Wetona
1924
The Torrent
as Dancing Girl
1924
Unseen Hands
as Madame Le Quintrec
1924
Daughters of Today
as Mrs. Mantell
1924
The Showdown
1923
The Love Letter
1923
A Blind Bargain
as Mrs. Lamb
1922
Oh, Mabel Behave
as The Barmaid
1922
The Bear Cat
as Mary Lang
1922
The Dangerous Little Demon
as Helene Westley
1922
The Secret Code
1922
The Further Adventures of Yorke Norroy
1922
The Isle of Love
1922
Exit the Vamp
as Mrs. Willy Strong
1921
The Great Impersonation
as Princess Eiderstrom
1921
Beyond
as Mrs. Langley
1921
The Lost Romance
as Elizabeth Erskine
1921
The Faith Healer
as Mary Beeler
1921
Two Kinds of Love
as Sita
1920
The Sins of Rosanne
as Rachel Bangat
1920
A Prohibition Monkey
1920
Human Stuff
as Boka
1920
An Adventuress
1920
The Woman Under Cover
as Yvonne Leclaire
1919
The Man Beneath
as Countess Petite Florence
1919
Boots
as Mme. De Valdee
1919
Borrowed Clothes
as Rita Morris (as Fontine La Rue)
1918
Who Killed Walton?
as Elsa Armytage
1918
Did She Do Wrong?
1918
Wronged by Mistake
1918
Cactus Nell
as The Gent's Accomplice
1917
His Naughty Thought
as Babe Delores
1917
Stolen Magic
as Secondary Supporting Role
1915
Mabel Lost and Won
as Mabel's Rival
1915
Love, Loot and Crash
as Mary, The Banker's Daughter
1915
Droppington's Family Tree
as Cabaret Dancer
1915
The Home Breakers
as Mts. Walrus
1915
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition
as 1st Street Crowd Participant (uncredited)
1915
Peanuts and Bullets
as The Maid They All Love
1915