by Hal Erickson
biography
Pint-sized, squeaky-voiced actress Gertrude Short was a performer from childhood, touring in vaudeville and stock with her family. Short entered films as a juvenile in 1913, often playing boy's roles. From 1924 to 1925, she starred in a series of Telephone Girl comedies, many of these directed by her husband, Percy Pembroke. She continued in this vein well into the talkie era, generally cast as nosy or intrusive telephone operators. Gertrude Short made her last appearance before a switchboard in Weekend at the Waldorf (1945).
