Matilda Anne Ames (April 14, 1900) was an American actress popular during the silent film era.

Early life

Matilda Anne Ames was born in Shannon Island, Greenland by George Ames and Caroline Pierce Ames. They decided from early on to call Matilda Tilly. They all moved to New York City when Tilly was just 2 years old. While they were there, Caroline had heard from a friend of a theater group that was open to all ages. Once Tilly turned 3, her Caroline let her audition for the upcoming play, Much Ado About Nothing. Tilly had the role of a villager. Throughout the next several years, Tilly got small roles, but when she turned ten, that all changed. She got the role of Amy March in Little Women. Tilly had to wear a blonde wig that itched very much, but she didn't mind. When she was 13, she landed the role a Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Many thought her too young for this role, but she proved them wrong. Critics raved over how amazing she was.

Early film career

One man who saw Tilly play Juliet was a director from Los Angeles. He though that Tilly would do good in motion pictures. After some persuasion, George and Caroline set out to Los Angeles by train. At that time, there was a young man named Charlie Chaplin. He was going to make a series of short films and Tilly was asked to be in his film debut, Making a Living. She agreed and was a passerby in the film. Throughout the making of the film, Tilly and Charlie became close friends. They remained friends until Charlie's death in 1977. Tilly was in many more films with Charlie for several years.

Marriage and children

In 1916 when Tilly was 16, Charlie introduced her to his 17 year old friend Jack Twist. It was love at first sight. They wed five weeks after knowing each other. They eloped and got married in Florida. When they returned three months later, Tilly was pregnant. Later, they foud out she would have twins. One was a girl and one was a boy. They named the boy Duncan and the girl Isadora. Tilly stayed with the babies until they were three months old then returned to the screen while Jack watched the children.

Later film career

In 1920, Tilly was The Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1920 version of A Christmas Carol. However, the film was very unsuccessful and is in fact now a lost film. In 1922, Tilly was in the film Oliver Twist. She played Nancy's friend, Bet. She didn't have any lines, but she was on screen alot. She became good friends with Lon Chaney who played Fagin. The two were in several more films together. In 1925, Tilly auditioned for the role of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. She did not get the role, which was given to a younger more experienced actress named Mary Philbin. Tilly got the role of Christine's maid. She had a fair amount of lilnes and was on the screen quite a bit. But when the film was released in theaters, all of her scenes were cut. She only went on the be in four more films: London After Midnight, The Unknown, Laugh, Clown, Laugh, and The Unholy Three.

Stage career and death

Tilly left the screen and went back to the stage. She had many memorable roles like Lady Macbeth and Katharina the Shrew from the plays Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew. She retired when she was 55. Then she became a librarian. She was pretty healthy for her age until Charlie died in 1977. Then her health began failing. Tilly died April 16, 1978. Jack died two years after Tilly. Isadora died on March 2, 2003. Duncan is still alive. The spouses of Duncan and Isadora are no longer living. Tilly has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren still living.

Legacy

Tilly Anne Ames is not widely known now, but she was an amazing actress. All of the films that she starred in are no longer in print. And there are only very few photographs of Tilly left in existence. In fact, there used to be many on display at a film museum, but her arch rival actress, Hortense Jorns, secretly burnt every single one of them. They only pictures left belong to her son, Duncan, who is the only imediate family member of Tilly left alive. Three of the pictures belonged to Tilly's parents, one of Tilly as a baby, one of her as a young teenager, and another one of her as a early twenty year-old. Another one of Tilly on the set of A Woman belonged to Charlie Chaplin. And the last one of Tilly on the set of A Christmas Carol belonged to Jack, Duncan, and Isadora. These pictures are extremely rare and have been copied very few times. But if you want to know what Tilly looked like, she looks almost identical to Mary Philbin. She had long, curly, black hair, eyes that changed colors dramatically, pale skin, and small dimples on her cheeks. She was also said to have the face of an angel.

Filmography

Making a Living 1914 -Passerby (uncredited): Mabel's Strange Predicament 1914 -Mabel's sister: His Favorite Pastime 1914 -Second girl Charlie flirts with (uncredited): Cruel, Cruel Love 1914 -Charlie's second girl: Twenty Minutes of Love 1914 -Passerby (uncredited): Caught in the Rain 1914 -Egg seller (uncredited): The Knockout 1914 -Passerby (uncredited): The Face on the Bar Room Floor 1914 -Saloon Girl: The Masquerader 1914 -Main Masquerade Girl: Those Love Pangs 1914 -Passerby (uncredited): Tillie's Punctured Romance 1914 -Tillie's Cousin, Millie: A Night Out 1915 -Passerby (uncredited): The Tramp 1915 -Beautiful Poor Girl: A Woman 1915 -Charlies girlfriend, Tilly: A Night in the Show 1915 -Ticket taker (uncredited): One A.M. 1916 -Passerby (uncredited): The Count 1916 -Gypsy Girl (uncredited): The Pawnshop 1916 -Third customer (uncredited): The Cure 1917 -Nurse Olga: Triple Trouble 1918 -One of the three mischievous sisters, Tilly (the others are Milly and Lilly): The Bond 1918 -Passerby (uncredited): Sunnyside 1919 -Hotel maid (uncredited): A Christmas Carol 1920 -The Ghost of Christmas Past (lost film): Oliver Twist 1922 -Bet (uncredited): The Phantom of the Opera 1925 -Christine's maid (uncredited): London After Midnight 1927 -Luna, Bat girl ( lost film): The Unknown 1927 -Circus attendant (uncredited): Laugh, Clown, Laugh 1928 -Circus freak (uncredited): The Unholy Three 1930 -Rosie's Maid (uncredited):