Gertrude Astor

Gertrude Astor (born Gertrude Irene Eyster; November 9, 1887 – November 9, 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone in a woman's band. Early years Astor's father was Glen Eyster, an assistant fire chief in Lima, Ohio. Career Astor joined a woman's band as a trombone player and toured the states. In New York she left the band to obtain film work and got a job as an extra before her career took off. In 1915, Astor gained a contract with Universal Studios. Between then and 1962, she appeared in over 250 movies. Her first known credit is in a Biograph short in 1915. She then became a contract player at Universal. A tall, angular and beautiful woman, Astor frequently towered over the leading men of the era; thus, she was frequently utilized in comedy roles as aristocrats, gold-diggers, and "heroine's best pal".