Orville Caldwell (1896-1967): Actor and Racist Deputy L.A. Mayor

Orville Caldwell and Grave marker

Urn Garden, Grave 30

Orville Robert Caldwell (1896–1967) lived a life that bridged the glamour of silent-era Hollywood and the gritty realities of mid-century Los Angeles politics. Born in Oakland, California, in 1896, Caldwell grew up in the Bay Area before making his way to Hollywood in the 1920s, where he carved out a modest but memorable career as a leading man in silent films.

Caldwell’s Hollywood career spanned from 1923 to 1938, encompassing more than twenty films. He first appeared in titles such as The Scarlet Lily (1923) and The French Doll (1923), which showcased him as a tall, handsome figure well-suited for the romantic and dramatic roles of the era. His most celebrated performance came in King Vidor’s 1928 comedy The Patsy, where he played Tony opposite Marion Davies. He also starred as David Langston in The Harvester (1927), a film adapted from Gene Stratton-Porter’s popular novel. Other projects, like Sackcloth and Scarlet (1925), further added to his résumé, though many of these films are now lost, leaving only reviews and promotional materials to attest to his work. As sound pictures rose to dominance, Caldwell’s opportunities diminished. By the 1930s his screen appearances were largely reduced to uncredited bit parts, such as inspectors, wardens, or political figures—roles that in hindsight foreshadowed his later career outside the screen.

Caldwell Hollywood headshot

When acting no longer offered stability, Caldwell shifted into public service. In 1942, he became Los Angeles’s first Deputy Mayor, a position he held until 1951. His tenure coincided with a period of enormous change in the city, as Los Angeles became a wartime hub and postwar magnet for new residents. Yet Caldwell’s political career was deeply marked by his regressive views on race. He openly opposed the migration of African Americans into California, at one point suggesting a ban on Black migration to the state. He expressed disdain for “Bronzeville,” a name used for predominantly African American neighborhoods, and he toured Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo district during the war years, commenting unfavorably on the African American residents who had moved into the vacated Japanese American community. These remarks reflected not just Caldwell’s personal prejudices but also the broader municipal culture of segregation, restrictive housing policies, and exclusionary practices that shaped Los Angeles politics in the mid-twentieth century.

Caldwell movie poster

After leaving public service, he retired quietly and spent his final years away from the spotlight. He died in Santa Rosa, California, in 1967, leaving behind a fragmented cinematic legacy and a controversial political record that continues to draw the attention of historians.

Sources: Wikipedia; IMDb; Silent Film Festival program notes; LA City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present (Josh Sides, University of California Press, 2003), Find a Grave