Mary Carlisle
| Mary Carlisle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
February 3, 1912 Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Years active | 1923–1943 |
| Spouse(s) |
James Blakeley (1942–2007; his death) |
Mary Carlisle (born February 3, 1912) is a retired American actress and singer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was a star of Hollywood films in the 1930s, having been one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1932.
Biography
Career
The archetypal blonde, Mary Carlisle was brought to Hollywood at the age of four by her recently widowed mother. While eating lunch with her mother at the Universal Pictures commissary, she was spotted by Carl Laemmle, Jr. and offered a screen test.
Her first screen role was in 1923 when she played Jackie Coogan's sweetheart in Long Live the King.[citation needed] After that she decided to finish school before launching her film career. Carlisle finally stepped back in front of the cameras in 1930, appearing in a series of Collegian short subjects and Madam Satan, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. She subsequently freelanced in eighteen movies, alternating between supporting and leading roles. She co-starred in three films with Bing Crosby: College Humor, Double or Nothing and Doctor Rhythm.
In 1934, Carlisle was featured opposite Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray in Once to Every Woman, based on a story by A.J. Cronin. She also starred with Robert Armstrong and Richard Cromwell, for Producers Releasing Corporation, in Baby Face Morgan (1942).
During Carlisle's first decade in Hollywood, her mother became the second wife of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, thus making Carlisle Kaiser's step-daughter.
Marriage and retirement
Carlisle married New York socialite James Blakely on March 14, 1942, a film actor who later became an executive producer at 20th Century-Fox. Carlisle retired from films after her marriage to Blakely. Carlisle's husband James (February 18, 1910 – January 30, 2007), died aged 96; the couple had one child during their nearly 65-year marriage.
In 1949, she began a second career as the manager of the Elizabeth Arden Salon in Beverly Hills, California.
On February 8, 1960, aged 48, she received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[1] With the deaths of Gloria Stuart and Barbara Kent, Carlisle became the sole known surviving "WAMPAS Baby Star".[2]
Selected filmography
- Long Live the King (1923)
- Montana Moon (1930)
- This Reckless Age (1932)
- Grand Hotel (1932)
- Smilin' Through (1932)
- College Humor (1933)
- Palooka (1934)
- Once to Every Woman (1934)
References
- ↑ "Mary Carlisle - Inducted to the Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960". walkoffame. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
- ↑ Wollstein, Hans J. (2000–2001). "The WAMPAS Baby Stars". The Old Corral at b-westerns.com.
External links
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