Background
Cleo was born Freda Cleo Helwig in New York City. She was the daughter of August Helwig and Catherine Emily Sommerkamp.
Cleo was born Freda Cleo Helwig in New York City. She was the daughter of August Helwig and Catherine Emily Sommerkamp.
Her acting career continued for forty years. She retired in the 1930s but returned to make more movies. Her final film was Hollywood Story (1951), in which she had a bit part.
She was a native of New York, New New York
She had two sisters, Christina and Martha. Cleo starred with Ruth Roland in a girl detective series in the 1920s and co-starred in a number of films with Wallace Reid and Lew Cody. died in 1942.
Cleo worked with Famous Players-Lasky Film Company and also for Paramount Pictures. She was selected queen of the Auburn exhibit at the downtown automobile show in Los Angeles, California in October 1915.
A publicity photo posed the actress with a 1916 Auburn Six.
lieutenant was made by the Auburn Automobile Company and appeared at the show. In one of her Lasky features she stopped a run-away four-in-hand, risking her life, while on top of a stage coach. Ridgely lived her later years in Glendale, California.
She passed away in 1962 at her home at the age of 68.
She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. In 2016, Cleo Ridgely was honored with a Letter of Commendation by the City of Glendale, California.