The movies of this brilliant comedienne earned more money than those of Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow.
Comedienne Marie Dressler Used Humor as Defense
Marie Dressler (Leila Marie Koerber) was born November 9, 1868, (there is some dispute about the year) in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. Her parents, Alexander Rudolph Koerber and Annie Henderson were constantly on the move for professional and personal reasons.
As a child large for her age, Marie developed humor as a defense mechanism. People laughed so much at her skits that she decided to become a professional performer. Despite her strict father’s disapproval, at age fourteen she changed her name and joined a theatre group.
Vaudeville Circuit to Broadway Theatre
While working in light opera, Dressler honed her skills. Because of her height (5’ 7”) and stocky build, and her versatility, she was called upon to play a great variety of roles. If a co-star forgot lines or was weak, Marie stole the show with ad-libs and gags that delighted audiences.
After nine years on the road, she reached Broadway. A leading producer hired her for a supporting role with famed actress Lillian Russell. In November 1893, the play began its long, successful run on Broadway. She also played the Palace Theatre in London, England in a thirty-week highly successful run.
Broadway Comedy a Great Success
Dressler achieved her greatest success on Broadway in a comedy, “Tillie’s Nightmare”. The play allowed her to show her comedic and dramatic abilities. She was a well-paid performer acclaimed by critics, audiences, and people of high social standing.
In 1914, Canadian Mack Sennett (creator of the Keystone Kops) hired Marie for a film adaptation of “Tillie’s Nightmare”, renamed “Tillie’s Punctured Romance”. The film caught the public’s fancy and was financially successful. It was the only time that Marie Dressler and Charlie Chaplin appeared together on screen, and was considered to be the first feature comedy film.
Marie Dressler Blacklisted after Actors’ Equity 1919 Strike
In 1919, the Actors’ Equity Association called a strike in New York theatres that eventually spread to eight cities. Chorus performers joined in the fight and soon formed Chorus Equity with Marie Dressler’s help. She was elected its first president. At the end of the strike, the producers signed a five-year contract that included most of the demands. Dressler was blacklisted on Broadway and in Hollywood.
She worked tirelessly to sell Liberty Bonds during World War I. Her manager and partner, James Dalton, became very ill and her care for him until his death in 1921 depleted her finances. She could not find work. She lived in a single, low-cost room at the Ritz Hotel in New York, and worked as hostess for the Supper Club. Longing to return to the stage, and believing that her career was over, Marie published her memoir, The Life Story of an Ugly Duckling, in 1924.
Hollywood, MGM Studios, and an Academy Award
In 1927 Marie Dressler signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios. Her box-office draw was soon on the rise. In “The Vagabond Lover”, meant to showcase bandleader Rudy Vallee, she showed her great versatility and broad sense of humor that “sparked an otherwise dull movie”.
Advertising for “Anna Christie” was geared to draw audiences to Greta Garbo’s first talking picture. In her comparatively small role, Dressler almost stole the show. She was the most beloved character actress of that period in the eyes of the public, her peers, and the producers and directors.
Dressler received the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1931 for her work in “Min and Bill”. She had portrayed a woman who protected and gave her all to a child in her care. The role resonated with Depression-era parents who were sacrificing for the sake of their children.
Classic Films and another Academy Award Nomination
From 1928 until 1933, Marie Dressler made twenty-two films including the classics, “Emma” (another Academy Award nominated role), “Dinner at Eight”, “Tugboat Annie”, and “Christopher Bean”.
Marie often performed her characteristic boisterous comedy with no display of suffering, though she was ill. A disciplined professional, she did not allow her personal difficulties to get in the way of a performance. She died of cancer July 28, 1934 at Santa Barbara, California.
Louis B. Mayer said that Marie Dressler was the most adored person ever to set foot in MGM. George Cukor, director of “Dinner at Eight” commented on Dressler’s complete naturalness, exquisite comic timing, and humanity. He said that she acquired “a kind of peculiar distinction, and a magnificence.”
Marie Dressler epitomized the opposite of the super glamorous. An older woman who had survived hard times in her own life, she was a symbol of strength and survival for her audiences. She gave them hope.
Sources:
Marie Dressler: A Biography, With A Listing Of Major Stage Performances, A Filmography And A Discography by Matthew Kennedy, Published by McFarland 1998
Marie Dressler: The Unlikeliest Star by Betty Lee, Published by University Press of Kentucky 1997
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