- Born
- Died
- Evelyn Nelson was born Dorris Evelyn Nelson on November 13, 1899 in Chloride, Arizona. Her father was a miner and cattle owner. When she was a child her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She started her career at Bull's Eye films and appeared in the 1920 comedy Don't Park Here. Evelyn was signed by Vitagraph and costarred with Oliver Hardy in the comedies The Backyard and The Decorator. Then she was chosen to be Jack Hoxie's leading lady in the 1921 film Cyclone Bliss. She would make a series of westerns with Jack including The Crow's Nest, The Desert Bridegroom, and Two-Fisted Jefferson. Her older sister Pauline Nelson became an actress too. After her father died Evelyn moved into a modest apartment with her mother. She began a passionate affair with married actor Wallace Reid.
He ended the relationship because he was fearful it would ruin his career. Tragically in January of 1923 Wallace died of a drug overdose. Evelyn was devastated by his death. In June of 1923 she finished filming Desert Rider. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. On June 16, 1923 she committed suicide by turning on the gas in her apartment. She was only twenty-three years old. Evelyn left two suicide notes for her family. The first note said that she was "tired" and that she wanted "rest more than anything in the world". The other note said "I am just about gone and will soon be with my friend Wally." She was buried in an unmarked grave at Rosedale cemetery in Los Angeles.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann
- Her sister Pauline "Dee Dee" Nelson also became an actress. She married actor Charles King in 1919.
- Her first acting job was in the Bull's Eye Follies, a series of short comedies produced by the Bull's Eye film company. These films are now considered lost.
- She was chosen to be Jack Hoxie's leading lady in the 1921 western Cyclone Bliss. She would make ten more films with Jack including The Crow's Nest, The Desert Bridegroom, and Two-Fisted Jefferson.
- By the time she finished filming Desert Rider in June of 1923 she was physically and emotionally exhausted.
- She was buried in an unmarked grave at Rosedale cemetery in Los Angeles, California. In 2022 her fans raised the money to finally buy her a headstone.
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