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.

Known For

Boots

The Woman Under Cover

The Man Beneath

Beyond

Oh, Mabel Behave

Peanuts and Bullets

Cactus Nell

The Love Letter

All Movies (45)

• Gold from Weepah1927 · as Pearl
• His New York Wife1926 · as Julia Hewitt
• Flyin' Thru1925 · as Sybil
• Love on the Rio Grande1925
• Trigger Fingers1924 · as Wetona
• The Torrent1924 · as Dancing Girl
• Unseen Hands1924 · as Madame Le Quintrec
• Daughters of Today1924 · as Mrs. Mantell
• The Showdown1923
• The Love Letter1923
• The Social Buccaneer1923
• A Blind Bargain1922 · as Mrs. Lamb
• Oh, Mabel Behave1922 · as The Barmaid
• The Bear Cat1922 · as Mary Lang
• The Dangerous Little Demon1922 · as Helene Westley
• The Secret Code1922
• The Further Adventures of Yorke Norroy1922
• The Isle of Love1922
• Exit the Vamp1921 · as Mrs. Willy Strong
• The Great Impersonation1921 · as Princess Eiderstrom
• Beyond1921 · as Mrs. Langley
• The Lost Romance1921 · as Elizabeth Erskine
• The Faith Healer1921 · as Mary Beeler
• Two Kinds of Love1920 · as Sita
• The Sins of Rosanne1920 · as Rachel Bangat
• A Prohibition Monkey1920
• Human Stuff1920 · as Boka
• An Adventuress1920
• The Woman Under Cover1919 · as Yvonne Leclaire
• The Man Beneath1919 · as Countess Petite Florence
• Boots1919 · as Mme. De Valdee
• Borrowed Clothes1918 · as Rita Morris (as Fontine La Rue)
• Cleopatsy1918 · as Cleopatsy (as Dora Rogers)
• Who Killed Walton?1918 · as Elsa Armytage
• Did She Do Wrong?1918
• Wronged by Mistake1918
• Cactus Nell1917 · as The Gent's Accomplice
• His Naughty Thought1917 · as Babe Delores
• Stolen Magic1915 · as Secondary Supporting Role
• Mabel Lost and Won1915 · as Mabel's Rival
• Love, Loot and Crash1915 · as Mary, The Banker's Daughter
• Droppington's Family Tree1915 · as Cabaret Dancer
• The Home Breakers1915 · as Mts. Walrus
• Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition1915 · as 1st Street Crowd Participant (uncredited)
• Peanuts and Bullets1915 · as The Maid They All Love