by Hal Erickson
biography
Steadfast silent-film leading man Elliot Dexter was 45 when he gave up vaudeville and the legitimate theatre for the movies. Cutting a dashing figure in tuxedos and smoking jackets, Dexter gained popularity as the urbane hero of many a Cecil B. DeMille production, starring opposite the likes of Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford. In 1916 Dexter married actress Marie Doro, but the union didn't last. Elliot Dexter retired from show business in 1925, after appearing opposite Mary Pickford once more in Stella Maris; his son Elliot Dexter Jr. later pursued a film career of his own.
