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Lucille Beatrice Smith; Widow of Film Pioneer

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Lucille Beatrice Smith, 95, widow of Albert E. Smith, a co-founder in 1896 of the Vitagraph studios and a featured player in several of that production company’s earliest films. Prior to marrying Smith, who with J. Stuart Blackton turned to film making after a successful career as an exhibitor, she appeared on screen as Jean Page. Her Vitagraph credits included “Black Beauty,” “Prodigal Judge,” “Captain Blood” and the studio’s first picture, “Burglar on the Roof.” Vitagraph, which turned out such stars as Rudolph Valentino, Adolphe Menjou and John Bunny, was sold in 1925 to Warner Brothers. In Los Angeles on Saturday.

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