| #1 A popular star in Hollywood for two decades through 1936, Marie Prevost began as a Mack Sennett "Bathing Beauty" in 1917, later starring in dozens of light comedies. Marie Prevost was born Mary Bickford Dunn in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on November 8, 1898. She broke into films when she was 18 years old in Unto Those Who Sin (1916). Finding work in films was difficult in the early days, just as it is today. Marie found herself doing odd jobs until 1917, when she made another film, Secrets of a Beauty Parlor (1917). After filming was completed, Marie found herself unemployed again and went back to scraping around for a living. She kept going to casting calls, but it wasn't until 1919 when she landed a role in Uncle Tom Without a Cabin (1919). Finally, in 1921, movie moguls discovered her talent and began casting her in a number of roles. She appeared in four films that year and an additional six in 1922. Marie seemed to be on a roll. She stayed busy through the balance of the 1920s in a number of films, mostly comedies. As a matter of fact, she would continue making films until 1933, when her appeal began to fade. She made no films in 1934 and precious few after that. With the advent of sound, her thick New England accent didn't lend itself well to the "demon microphone", despite her beauty. Her death was not discovered until after neighbors had complained about incessant barking by her little dachshund. The fairy tale that Marie was eaten by her dog comes from a song made up about the incident. And from a story in the book "Hollywood Babylon". Miss Prevost was trying desperately to lose weight. She had virtually stopped eating and had replaced food with alcohol. Reports at the time felt she had died on January 21, 1937 but was not found until January 23. Her neighbors had complained her little dachshund had been barking and sounded in distress. When police went in, they found Marie dead and her dog at her side. She had some scratches on her hand where her dog had been pulling at her, probably to try to get her attention. So, reports about the dog trying to chew on her body were ridiculously overblown. - IMDb Mini Biography Family (2) Spouse Kenneth Harlan (1924 - 1927) (divorced) H.C. (Sonny) Gerke (22 June 1918 - 7 October 1924) (divorced) Relatives: Peggy Prevost (sibling) |
| Posted by: Jack Elmusons8312 2022-10-07 18:35 |
