Mary Dees

Mary Dees
Born June 3, 1911
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Died August 4, 2004 (aged 93)
Lake Worth, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1929–1985

Mary Ella Dees (June 3, 1911 – August 4, 2004) was an American stage and screen actress who once served as a primary stand-in double for late-1930s actress Jean Harlow. Dees had parts in The Last Gangster (1937), The Women (1939), as well as a number of Three Stooges shorts, which included Hoi Polloi (1935), and numerous Marx Brothers comedies.

Biography and career

Born in Syracuse, New York on June 3, 1911,[1] the daughter of a successful lawyer, she was for a time raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[2]

In 1937, upon the sudden death of actress Jean Harlow, Dees was cast by MGM boss Louis B. Mayer as a four-minute stand-in for Harlow, who was acting on the film Saratoga with Clark Gable, which was still in production at the time.[3]

Later career

Dees appeared in her last film role in 1946, in the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca. She continued to act on stage in repertory theatre until 1985.[3]

Death

Dees died on August 4, 2004 in Lake Worth, Florida, aged 93, after a long illness.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Born on June 3, 1911, not in September 1911 as per the Social Security Death Index, under name DEES, MARY E (SS# 569-18-8259)
  2. ↑ Guide to actress Mary Dees' scrapbooks MSS.2562-001, University of Alabama, accessed 2011-01-02.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Guardian obituary for Mary Dees, September 22, 2005; accessed January 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ South Florida Sun-Sentinel article with photo, August 10, 2004

External links