Marie Prevost

Marie Prevost

Marie Prevost, circa 1921
Born Marie Bickford Dunn
November 8, 1898
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Died January 21, 1937 (aged 38)
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death
 Acute alcoholism
Nationality Canadian
American
Other names Mary Prevost
Marie Provost
Education Manual Arts High School
Occupation Actress
Years active 1915–1936
Spouse(s) Sonny Gerke (m. 1918; div. 1923)
Kenneth Harlan (m. 1924; div. 1927)

Marie Prevost (November 8, 1898 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian-born film actress. During her twenty-year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.

Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was discovered by Mack Sennett who signed her to contract and made her one of his "Bathing Beauties" in the late 1910s. Prevost appeared in dozens of Sennett's short comedy films before moving on to feature length films for Universal. In 1922, she signed with Warner Bros. where her career flourished as a leading lady. She was a favorite of director Ernst Lubitsch who cast her in three of his comedy films; The Marriage Circle (1924), Three Women (1924) and Kiss Me Again (1925).

After being let go by Warner Bros. in early 1926, Prevost's career began to decline and she was relegated to secondary roles. She was also beset with personal problems, including the death of her mother in 1926 and the breakdown of her marriage to actor Kenneth Harlan in 1927, which fueled her depression. She began to abuse alcohol and binge eat causing her to gain weight thus making it difficult for her to secure acting jobs. By 1935, Prevost was only able to secure bit parts in films. She made her last onscreen appearance in 1936.

After years of drinking, Prevost died of acute alcoholism at the age of 38 in January 1937. Prevost's estate was valued at $300 since she had squandered most of her earnings. Her death prompted the Hollywood community to create the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.

Early life

Prevost was born Marie Bickford Dunn in Sarnia, Ontario, to Hughlina Marion (née Bickford) and Arthur "Teddy" Dunn. Her father worked as a railroad conductor. When she was an infant, Teddy Dunn was killed when gas seeped into the St. Clair Tunnel. Hughlina later married Frank Prevost and the family moved to Denver. In 1900, Hughlina gave birth to another daughter, Marjorie. Marie's stepfather, who worked as a miner and surveyor, frequently moved the family around the country following up on various get-rich-quick schemes. After living in Ogden, Utah, Reno, Nevada, and Fresno, California, the family finally settled in Los Angeles. Hughlina and Frank Prevost later divorced.[1] Frank Prevost died in September 1933 and bequeathed Marie $1.[2]

While living in Los Angeles, Prevost attended Manual Arts High School. By 1915, Prevost landed a job as a secretary at a law firm which represented the Keystone Film Corporation. While running an office errand at the Keystone Studios, Prevost was asked to appear in a bit part for the film His Father's Footsteps. Keystone's owner, Mack Sennett, was impressed by Prevost's performance and sent word that he wanted to see Prevost in his office. Prevost later recalled the day to Motion Picture World magazine: "I asked for Mr. Sennett and was ushered in right away. He looked very stern as I walked into his office. I was ready to cry. Suddenly, he smiled. 'I want your signature today. Sign right here.' I suddenly realized the paper he pushed in front of me was a contract. I was to be one of his Sennett Bathing Beauties. Best of all I was to be paid $15 a week. I signed without reading a word. Fifteen dollars was a lot of money."[3]

As her career was beginning to rise, Prevost married socialite Henry Charles "Sonny" Gerke in June 1918. The couple separated soon after and Prevost kept news of the marriage a secret.[4]

Career

Early years

c. 1918

Initially cast in minor comedic roles as the sexy, innocent young girl, she worked in numerous films for Sennett's studio. In 1919, Sennett cast Prevost in her first lead role in Yankee Doodle Dandy. The film was a hit and helped to solidify Prevost's career. One of her first publicly successful film roles came in the 1920 romantic film Love, Honor, and Behave, opposite another newcomer and Sennett protégé, George O'Hara. By 1921, Prevost wanted to move on to another studio. She later stated that she left Keystone Studios because Sennett was only interested in making money and was no longer concerned with creativity. Director King Baggot helped to secure her a contract with Universal for $1,000 a week. Prevost was released from her contract with Keystone and she signed with Universal in 1921.[5]

At Universal, Irving Thalberg took an interest in Prevost and decided to make her a star. Thalberg ensured that she received a great deal of publicity and staged numerous publicity events. After announcing that he had selected two films for Prevost to star in, The Moonlight Follies (1921) and Kissed (1922), Thalberg sent Prevost to Coney Island where she publicly burned her bathing suit to symbolize the end of her bathing beauty days.[6]

Stardom

While at Universal, Prevost was still relegated to light comedies. After her contract expired, Jack Warner signed her to a two-year contract at $1500 a week at Warner Bros. in 1922. During this time, Prevost was dating actor Kenneth Harlan. Jack Warner had also signed Harlan to a contract and cast the couple in the lead roles in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned. To publicize the film, Warner announced that the couple would marry on the film's set. The publicity stunt worked and thousands of fans sent gifts and letters to the couple. In August 1923, Sonny Gerke, Prevost's first husband filed for divorce. The Los Angeles Mirror got wind that Prevost was still married and ran a story with the headline "Marie Prevost Will be a Bigamist if She Marries Kenneth Harlan". Warner was livid over the negative publicity and Prevost's failure to disclose her first marriage despite the fact that the publicity stunt was his idea.[7]

c. 1923

In spite of the bad publicity, Prevost's performance in The Beautiful and Damned brought good reviews. Director Ernst Lubitsch chose her for a major role opposite Adolphe Menjou in 1924's The Marriage Circle. Of her performance as the beautiful seductress, Lubitsch said that she was one of the few actresses in Hollywood who knew how to underplay comedy to achieve the maximum effect.[8] This performance, praised by The New York Times, resulted in Lubitsch casting her in Three Women in 1924 and in Kiss Me Again the following year.

In early 1926, Warner Bros. decided to not renew Prevost and Harlan's contracts (the two had quietly married in 1924 after Prevost's divorced was finalized).[9] Shortly after she was dismissed by Warner Bros., Prevost's mother, Hughlina Bickford, was involved in a fatal automobile accident in Lordsburg, New Mexico on February 5, 1926. Bickford was traveling to Palm Beach, Florida with actress Vera Steadman and Hollywood studio owner Al Christie when their vehicle overturned. Bickford was crushed by the vehicle and died at the scene. Steadman and Christie both sustained serious injuries but survived.[10]

Actress Phyllis Haver, who had been friends with Prevost since her Bathing Beauty days, later stated in an interview that she believed the loss of Prevost and Harlan's contracts with Warner Bros. caused problems in the marriage and was also one of the causes of Prevost's alcoholism.[9]

Decline

Devastated by the loss of her only remaining parent, Prevost began drinking heavily and developed an addiction to alcohol. Prevost tried to get past her personal torment by burying herself in her work, starring in numerous roles as the temptingly beautiful seductress who in the end was always the honorable heroine. Adding to her depression was the end of her marriage to Kenneth Harlan - the two separated in 1927.

After seeing Prevost in The Beautiful and Damned, Howard Hughes cast her as the lead in The Racket (1928). Hughes and Prevost later had a brief affair. After the affair ended, Prevost was heartbroken which furthered her depression.[11] Her role in The Racket would prove to be Prevost's last leading role.

Prevost's depression caused her to binge on food resulting in significant weight gain. Her career continued but she was relegated to secondary roles. In 1929, Cecil B. DeMille offered her a co-starring role in his final silent film The Godless Girl, starring Lina Basquette. In her 1990 autobiography, Basquette recalled that Prevost was not outwardly bitter about losing her leading lady status stating, "Aw, hell, that's the way it is." Prevost received generally good reviews for her role in the film. The following year, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[12]

While at MGM, Prevost worked steadily but was still offered only secondary parts. In 1930, she appeared in Paid, starring Joan Crawford. While Prevost's role was secondary, she still garnered her good reviews. In 1931, she played Academy Award winner Helen Hayes' loyal friend in The Sin of Madelon Claudet. In 1932, she was one of the three leads in the film Three Wise Girls, starring Jean Harlow. By 1934, she had no work at all and her financial situation deteriorated dramatically. The downward spiral became greatly aggravated when her weight problems forced her into repeated crash dieting in order to keep whatever bit part a movie studio offered. Prevost made her last on screen appearance in a bit part as a waitress in Ten Laps to Go (1936).

Personal life

Prevost was married twice with both marriages ending in divorce. Her first marriage was to socialite Henry Charles "Sonny" Gerke in June 1918. The marriage was not known to the public until Gerke filed for divorce in August 1923 citing desertion. Gerke claimed that the marriage was kept a secret because Prevost feared it would damage her budding acting career. News of the marriage was revealed shortly after Jack Warner devised a publicity stunt in which he claimed that Prevost and her The Beautiful and Damned co-star Kenneth Harlan would marry on the film's set in real life. To avoid negative publicity, Prevost did not fight the divorce. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Prevost admitted that she and Gerke married on a whim and had separated shortly after marrying. She also stated that she and Gerke had remained friendly and dated on occasion.[13] Gerke's divorce petition was granted in October 1923.[14]

In October 1924, Prevost married actor Kenneth Harlan. The two starred in several films together including The Marriage Circle and Bobbed Hair. Prevost and Harlan separated in May 1927 and Prevost filed for divorce. Later that year, she was granted an interlocutory divorce. However, the couple reconciled in June 1928.[15] The reconciliation proved to be brief and their divorce was finalized in January 1929.[16]

Death

On January 21, 1937, Prevost died of acute alcoholism at the age of 38. Her body was not discovered until January 23, after neighbors complained about her dog's incessant barking. A houseboy found her body after entering her room.[17] Police found several empty liquor bottles in the room along with a promissory note to Joan Crawford for $110.[18]

Her funeral (which was paid for by Joan Crawford) at the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery was attended by Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Clark Gable, Wallace Beery, Mack Sennett, and Barbara Stanwyck among others.[19] Prevost's sister had her remains cremated and combined them with their mother's, who had died in 1926.[20]

In February 1937, it was discovered that Prevost's estate was valued at $300.[21] This prompted the Hollywood community to create the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital to provide medical care for employees of the television and motion picture industry.[22]

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Marie Prevost has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1915 Those Bitter Sweets Short film
1915 His Father's Footsteps Short film
1916 Unto Those Who Sin Celeste
1916 A Scoundrel's Toll Short film
1917 Secrets of a Beauty Parlor Short film
1918 His Hidden Purpose The Girl in the Case Short film
1918 Her Screen Idol Short film
1919 East Lynne with Variations The Girl Short film
1919 Uncle Tom Without a Cabin Eliza Short film
1919 Yankee Doodle in Berlin Belgian Girl
1920 Down on the Farm The Faithful Wife
1920 Love, Honor and Behave! The Newlywed
1921 A Small Town Idol Marcelle Mansfield
1921 Moonlight Follies Nan Rutledge
1921 Nobody's Fool Polly Gordon
1921 A Parisian Scandal Liane-Demarest
1922 Don't Get Personal Patricia Parker
1922 The Dangerous Little Demon Teddy Harmon
1922 The Married Flapper Pamela Billings
1922 The Beautiful and Damned Gloria Lost film
1923 Brass Marjorie Jones
1923 The Wanters Myra Hastings
1924 The Marriage Circle Mizzi Stock
1924 Daughters of Pleasure Marjory Hadley Alternative title: Beggar on Horseback
1924 Three Women Harriet
1924 The Lover of Camille Marie Duplessis Lost film
1925 Kiss Me Again LouLou Fleury Lost film
1925 Bobbed Hair Connemara Moore
1926 His Jazz Bride Gloria Gregory
1926 The Caveman Myra Gaylord
1926 Nana Gaga Uncredited
1926 Broadway Rose Mabel Ainsworth
1927 Getting Gertie's Garter Gertie Darling
1927 The Girl in the Pullman Hazel Burton
1928 The Racket Helen Hayes
1928 The Rush Hour Margie Dolan
1929 The Godless Girl Mame - The Other Girl
1929 Divorce Made Easy Mabel Deering
1930 Party Girl Diana Hoster
1930 Ladies of Leisure Dot Lamar
1931 Sporting Blood Angela 'Angie' Ludeking
1931 The Runaround Margy
1931 The Sin of Madelon Claudet Rosalie Lebeau
1932 Hell Divers Mrs. Lulu Farnsworth
1933 Parole Girl Jeanie Vance
1933 Only Yesterday Amy Uncredited
1935 Keystone Hotel Mrs. Clarabelle Sterling Short film
1935 Hands Across the Table Nona
1936 Thirteen Hours by Air Waitress in Omaha Producer
1936 Cain and Mabel Sherman's Receptionist Uncredited
1936 Ten Laps to Go Elsie, Cafe Waitress Alternative title: King of the Speedway

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, pp. 282–283)
  2. ↑ "DEAD STEPFATHER'S WILL LEAVES MARIE PREVOST $1". The Los Angeles Times. September 30, 1933. p. 6.
  3. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, p. 283)
  4. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, p. 285)
  5. ↑ (Foster 2000, pp. 302–303)
  6. ↑ (Dumaux 2002, pp. 124–125)
  7. ↑ (Foster 2000, pp. 303–304)
  8. ↑ (Foster 2000, p. 955)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 (Ankerich 2010, p. 292)
  10. ↑ "Mother of Marie Prevost Killed". Youngstown Vindicator. February 6, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  11. ↑ (Petrucelli 2009, p. 98)
  12. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, pp. 296–297)
  13. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, pp. 285, 290)
  14. ↑ "Monte And Marie Both Divorced For Leaving Mates". The Evening Independent. October 6, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Marie Prevost and Husband Reconciled". Warsaw Union. June 21, 1938. p. 6. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Divorce For Film Actress". Reading Eagle. January 13, 1929. p. 6. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Marie Prevost Diets, and Dies". The Milwaukee Journal. January 24, 1937. p. 12. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Marie Prevost Is Found Dead Of Alcoholism". Schenectady Gazette. January 22, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  19. ↑ (Foster 2000, p. 309)
  20. ↑ (Ankerich 2010, p. 301)
  21. ↑ "Marie Prevost Left Only $300". The New York Times. 1937-02-02. p. 8.
  22. ↑ (Golden 2001, p. 141)
  23. ↑ (Anger 1975, p. 146)
  24. ↑ (Golden 2001, p. 140)
  25. ↑ (Petrucelli 2009, p. 99)

Works cited

  • Anger, Kenneth (1975). Hollywood Babylon. Bell Publishing Company.
  • Ankerich, Michael G. (2010). Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. BearManor. ISBN 1-59393-605-2.
  • Dumaux, Sally A. (2002). King Baggot: A Biography and Filmography of the First King of the Movies. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1350-6
  • Golden, Eve; King, Bob (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0834-0
  • Foster, Charles (2000). Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 1-55002-348-9.
  • Petrucelli, Alan W. (2009). Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises of the Famous and Infamous (1 ed.), Perigee Trade, ISBN 0-399-53527-6

External links

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