Mary Philbin
| Mary Philbin | |
|---|---|
 Philbin in 1922 | |
| Born |
Mary Loretta Philbin July 16, 1902 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died |
May 7, 1993 (aged 90) Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Years active | 1918–1930 |
Mary Loretta Philbin (July 16, 1902 – May 7, 1993)[1] was an American film actress of the silent film era, who is best known for playing the roles of Christine Daaé in the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera opposite Lon Chaney, and as Dea in The Man Who Laughs. Both roles cast her as the beauty in Beauty and the Beast-type stories.
Early life
Philbin was born on July 16, 1902[2] Chicago, Illinois into a middle-class Irish American family and raised Roman Catholic.[3] Her father, John Philbin,[4] was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.
Career
Philbin began her acting career after winning a beauty contest sponsored by Universal Pictures in Chicago.[2] Relocating to California, Erich von Stroheim signed her to a contract with Universal, deeming her a "Universal Super Jewel."[4]
She made her screen debut in 1921 and the following year was awarded at the first annual WAMPAS Baby Stars awards, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honoured thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom.
Over the course of 1920s, Philbin became a successful film actress and starred in a number of high-profile films, most notably in D. W. Griffith's 1928 film Drums of Love. In 1927, she appeared in the horror film Surrender,[5] though her most celebrated role was in the Universal horror film The Phantom of the Opera in 1925.[6] Philbin's ethereal screen presence was noted in a 1924 edition of Motion Picture Classic, in which she was referred to as "one of the astonishing anomalies of motion pictures...Pat O'Malley once said of her: "If I were superstitious I would think that the spirit of some great tragedienne of a forgotten past slipped into Mary's soul."[7]
Philbin played a few parts during the early talkie era and most notably dubbed her own voice when The Phantom of the Opera was given sound and re-released. She retired from the screen in the early 1930s and devoted her life to care for her aging parents.
Later life and death
Philbin spent the remainder of her life after leaving the film industry as a recluse, living in the same home in Huntington Beach, California.[2] She never married and rarely made public appearances. One rare public appearance by Philbin occurred in her later years at the Los Angeles opening of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera.
She died of pneumonia at age 90 in 1993 and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in east Los Angeles, California.[8]
Filmography
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | The Blazing Trail | Talithy Millicuddy | |
| 1921 | Danger Ahead | Tressie Harloow | |
| 1921 | Twelve Hours to Live | Short film | |
| 1921 | No Clothes to Guide Him | Short film | |
| 1921 | Red Courage | Eliza Fay | |
| 1921 | Sure Fire | ||
| 1921 | False Kisses | Mary | |
| 1922 | Foolish Wives | Crippled girl | Uncredited |
| 1922 | The Trouper | Mary Lee | |
| 1922 | Human Hearts | Ruth | |
| 1922 | His First Job | Jimmy's Sweetheart | |
| 1922 | Once to Every Boy | Jimmy's Sweetheart | |
| 1923 | Penrod and Sam | Margaret Schofield | |
| 1923 | Merry-Go-Round | Agnes Urban | |
| 1923 | Where Is This West? | Sallie Summers | |
| 1923 | The Age of Desire | Margy (age 18) | |
| 1923 | The Temple of Venus | Moira | |
| 1923 | The Thrill Chaser | Cameo appearance | |
| 1924 | Fools Highway | Mamie Rose | |
| 1924 | The Gaiety Girl | Irene Tudor | |
| 1924 | The Rose of Paris | Mitsi | |
| 1925 | Fifth Avenue Models | Isoel Ludant | |
| 1925 | The Phantom of the Opera | Christine Daaé | |
| 1925 | Stella Maris | Stella Maris/Unity Blake | |
| 1927 | Surrender | Lea Lyon | |
| 1927 | The Last Performance | Julie | |
| 1927 | Love Me and the World Is Mine | Hannerl | |
| 1928 | Drums of Love | Princess Emanuella | |
| 1928 | The Man Who Laughs | Dea | |
| 1929 | Port of Dreams | Joan | |
| 1929 | Girl Overboard | Joan | |
| 1929 | The Shannons of Broadway | Tessie Swanzey | |
| 1929 | After the Fog | Faith Barker |
Notes and references
Notes
- ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP2K-JTB : 26 November 2014), Mary Loretta Philbin, 07 May 1993; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
- 1 2 3 Slide 2002, p. 307.
- ↑ "Recently Noted". The Catholic Charities Review. 26–27: 70.
- 1 2 Sanchez 1930, p. 159.
- ↑ Beck 1978, p. 63.
- ↑ Beck 1978, p. 62.
- ↑ "Tears". Motion Picture Classic. 20–21: 41. 1924.
- ↑ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 588. ISBN 9781476625997. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
References
- Beck, Calvin Thomas (1978). Scream Queens: Heroines of the Horrors. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-020-12140-4.
- Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift (1930). California and Californians. 3. The Lewis Publishing Co.
- Slide, Anthony (2002). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-813-12249-6.
