Silent-era star Claire Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk in Cawker City, Kansas, the daughter of Ella and G.E. Cronk. She was educated at Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington, and Washburn Preperatory Academy in Topeka, Kansas. She studied voice and piano at Cohn's Conservatory of Music in Seattle. Claire began her film career as an extra ...
Interviewed in "Talking to the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember" by Stuart Oderman (BearManor Media).
2
Clara Viola (Ola) Cronk was actually born in Marvin (present day Glade), in Phillips County, Kansas. Ola was two years old when the family moved to Cawker City (Jan. 1895) and ran a general merchandise store until 1920. "Claire Windsor" always claimed to be born in Cawker because she used 1897 or 1898 as the date of her birth instead of 1892.
3
Her real name was Clara Cronk, but it was changed to Claire Windsor by writer Frances Marion, who said that Clara Cronk would never do as a name for a movie star.
4
Claire was peripherally involved in the famous William Desmond Taylor murder case in 1922. She and Taylor had a dinner date the night before he was found murdered in his house. Although the case has never been officially solved, one theory is that Desmond was killed by a jealous lover who saw Claire at his house that night and, when she left, sneaked in the house and killed him. She was questioned by the police the next day and eventually cleared of any involvement in the murder.
5
Her son Billy Bowes (David William Bowes) was born on September 9th, 1916 in Denver Colorado. He made his screen debut in What Do Men Want? (1921) and then appeared in several pictures, his greatest success being the leading role in the comedy Three Good Pals (1921), a two-reel comedy by Fox, in which he was supported by a duck and a monkey.
6
WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922.
7
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Kindly Light area, section 5, spot #299.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Invitation Playhouse: Mind Over Murder
1952
TV Series
How DOooo You Do
1945
Claire
Barefoot Boy
1938
Valerie Hale
Topper
1937
Mrs. Simpkins (uncredited)
Cross Streets
1934
Anne Clement Grattan
Kiss of Araby
1933
Mrs. Courtney
The Constant Woman
1933
Marlene Underwood
Sister to Judas
1932
Anne Fane aka Anne Ross
Self Defense
1932
Alice
Midstream
1929
Helene Craig
Captain Lash
1929
Cora Nevins
Show People
1928
Claire Windsor (uncredited)
Domestic Meddlers
1928
Claire
The Grain of Dust
1928
Josephine Burroughs
Nameless Men
1928
Mary
Fashion Madness
1928
Gloria Vane
Satan and the Woman
1928
Judith Matheny
The Opening Night
1927
Carol Chandler
Blondes by Choice
1927
Bonnie Clinton
Foreign Devils
1927
Lady Patricia Rutledge
The Bugle Call
1927
Alice Tremayne
The Frontiersman
1927
Lucy
The Claw
1927
Dierdre Saurin
A Little Journey
1927
Julia Rutherford
Life in Hollywood No. 7
1927
Short
Tin Hats
1926
Elsa von Bergen
Money Talks
1926
Phoebe Starling
Dance Madness
1926
May Anderson
Souls for Sables
1925
Alice Garlan
The Lady Who Lied
1925
Just a Woman
1925
June Holton
The White Desert
1925
Robinette
The Denial
1925
The Mother
The Dixie Handicap
1924
The Daughter
Born Rich
1924
Chadyeane Fairfax
For Sale
1924
Eleanor Bates
A Son of the Sahara
1924
Barbara Barbier
Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model
1924
Nellie
The Acquittal
1923
Madeline Ames
The Eternal Three
1923
Mrs. Frank R. Walters
Rupert of Hentzau
1923
Countess Helga
Little Church Around the Corner
1923
Leila Morton
The Strangers' Banquet
1922
Derith
Broken Chains
1922
Hortense Allen
Brothers Under the Skin
1922
Dorothy Kirtland
Rich Men's Wives
1922
Gay Davenport
Fools First
1922
Ann Whittaker
One Clear Call
1922
Faith
The WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1922
1922
Short
Claire
Grand Larceny
1922
Kathleen Vaughn
Dr. Jim
1921
Helen Keene
What Do Men Want?
1921
Hallie
The Blot
1921
The Professor's Daughter - Amelia Griggs
Too Wise Wives
1921
Mrs. David Graham
The Raiders
1921
'Honey' Moore
What's Worth While?
1921
Phoebe Jay Morrison
To Please One Woman
1920
Alice Granville
In the Heart of a Fool
1920
Extra (uncredited)
The Luck of the Irish
1920
Extra (uncredited)
Eyes of Youth
1919
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Pest
1919
Extra (uncredited)
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Meet the Stars #2: Baby Stars
1941
Documentary short
Herself
Hollywood on Parade No. A-5
1932
Short
Herself
Fashion News
1930
Documentary
Herself (1929)
Screen Snapshots, Series 6, No. 16
1926
Documentary short
Herself
Screen Snapshots No. 2
1925
Documentary short
Herself
1925 Studio Tour
1925
Documentary short
Herself
Screen Snapshots, Series 4, No. 4
1923
Documentary short
Herself
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 23
1923
Documentary short
Herself
Souls for Sale
1923
Herself
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 17
1923
Documentary short
Herself
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 13
1922
Documentary short
Herself
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 5
1922
Documentary short
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Zelig
1983
Herself (uncredited)
Hollywood Without Make-Up
1963
Documentary
Herself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Motion Picture
On 8 February 1960. At 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Known for movies
The Blot (1921) as The Professor's Daughter - Amelia Griggs
Sister to Judas (1932) as Anne Fane aka Anne Ross
Little Church Around the Corner (1923) as Leila Morton
$5 Million
