Anna Louise Wey (m. 1907; div. 1913) Mary Palmer Bredell (née Nields) (alias May Foster Dabeney) (m. 1914; died 1950)[2][3][3]
Vaughn Archibald "Val" Paul[4][5] (April 10, 1886[6] – March 23, 1962) was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 99 films between 1913 and 1922. He also directed 10 films between 1920 and 1932.
In September 1907, Paul married fellow Salt Lake City resident Anna Louise Wey; they divorced in the summer of 1913.[10][11] The following winter he exchanged vows with aspiring actress/writer May Foster Habeney[12][13][14] (aka Mary Palmer Bredell, née Nields[15]), with whom—in their sole joint screen appearance—he co-starred later that year in the 101 Bisontwo-reeler, The Brand of His Tribe.[16] Paul had two sons,[1] those being Elwood Bredell—by his wife's first marriage[17]—and Vaughn Austin Paul,[18] who later had a brief film career composed primarily of assistant director stints but became best known during that period for his long-rumored elopement with—and short-lived marriage to—movie star Deanna Durbin.[19]
Publicity of a more sobering sort was generated in 1935 at a "picnic" held in San Bernardino's Griffith Park, when Mrs. Paul's brother, Daniel Nields (with premeditation and in the presence of his 84-year-old prospective mother-in-law), fatally shot his girl friend, Hollywood stenographer Frances Conklin, for "teas[ing] me [for] loving my sister too much."[20] a crime to which Nields ultimately pled guilty, resulting in a life sentence, served at San Quentin.[21]
Predeceased by his wife, Paul died on March 23, 1962, at age 75 in Hollywood,[6] survived by his son, his stepson, and four grandchildren.[1]
^ abc"Obituaries: Val Paul". The Hollywood Reporter. March 26, 1962. p. 12. ProQuest2339657667. Services for Val Paul, 75, film pioneer who died of a heart attack Friday, will be held at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at Pierce Bros. Hollywood chapel. He started as an actor in 1910 with Mary Pickford and Ruth Roland, turned to directing Harry Carey and Hoot Gibson westerns at Universal in 1922, was later production and studio manager for various studios and a producer at Paramount and Universal before retiring in 1948. Two sons and four grandchildren survive.
^"Through the Lens". The Billboard. July 18, 1914. p. 62. ProQuest1031487927. The night before Val Paul sailed to Hawaii with the 101 Bison bunch Miss May Foster, known as the 'queen of ragtime,' became Mrs. Paul. Friends of Paul, who has just returned from Hawaii, are now offering the young Universal actor belated congratulations.
^"California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGL4-DKW1 : Sat Mar 09 08:00:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Vaughan Austin Paul and Vaughan Archibald Paul, 5 January 1916.
^Associated Press (April 19, 1941) "At Reception After Ceremony". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. p. 5. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
