Marie Prevost
From Bathing Beauty to tragic star: the rise and fall of Marie Prevost.
Marie Prevost was a Canadian film actress born Mary Bickford Dunn on November 8, 1896, in Sarnia, Ontario.[1][2] Acute alcoholism and malnutrition, stemming from anorexia nervosa, caused the death of the 40-year-old actress on January 21, 1937.[3]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Mary Bickford Dunn
- Born
- 8 November 1896
- Birthplace
- Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
- Died
- 21 January 1937
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Other names
- Mary Prevost; Marie Provost
- Occupation
- Actress
- Years active
- 1915–1936
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
She married actor Kenneth Harlan in October 1924, and they starred together in several films.[4] Socialite Henry Charles "Sonny" Gerke became Prevost's husband in June 1918; the pair split soon after and kept the union hidden.[5] A $1,000-per-week contract with Universal was arranged for her by director King Baggot, and she signed with that studio in 1921.[5] In 1922, Jack L. Warner gave her a two-year Warner Bros. contract paying $1,500 each week.[5]
On January 23, 1937, a houseboy discovered Prevost's corpse after people in the neighborhood had reported her dog's barking.[3][6]
What the cited sources add
A 1933 Los Angeles Times article reported that Frank Prevost died and bequeathed Marie $1.[2] The same article stated that her father worked as a railway conductor and was killed in the St. Clair Tunnel.[2] A 1923 Evening Independent article reported that Gerke filed for divorce on grounds of desertion and claimed the marriage was kept secret.[7] The Milwaukee Journal reported in 1937 that police discovered empty liquor bottles and a $110 promissory note to Joan Crawford in Prevost's room.[6]
The New York Times stated in 1937 that Prevost's estate was worth $300.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Family Search. Marie Vicford (sic) Dunn. Ontario Births, 1869-1911. Retrieved on October 28, 2016. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Dead Stepfather's Will Leaves Marie Prevost $1", The Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1933, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Klepper, Robert K. (1999). Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 388. .; Morino, Marianne (1988). The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. p. 163. .; Walker, Brent E. (2010). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Pla (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Marie Prevost and Husband Reconciled", Warsaw Union, June 21, 1938, p. 6; "Divorce For Film Actress", Reading Eagle, January 13, 1929, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Marie Prevost Diets, and Dies", The Milwaukee Journal, January 24, 1937, p. 12; "Marie Prevost Is Found Dead Of Alcoholism", Schenectady Gazette, January 22, 1937, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Monte And Marie Both Divorced For Leaving Mates", The Evening Independent, October 6, 1923, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Marie Prevost" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Marie Prevost Left Only $300", The New York Times, 1937-02-02, p. 8; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marie Prevost (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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