Mary Nolan
Mary Nolan | |
|---|---|
| File:Foreign legion1.jpg Mary Nolan (center) in The Foreign Legion, 1928. | |
| Born | Mary Imogene Robertson |
Mary Nolan (born Mary Imogene Robertson on December 18,1905) was an American actress.
Ziegfeld Follies dancer
After a bad childhood (her mothers death in 1908, an absent father) including working as a farm laborer, Mary Robertson moved to New York City in 1919 where she worked as a model. Before long, she was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld, who hired her under the name of Imogene Wilson (the first of three major name changes she was to have) as a dancer in his follies. As a showgirl in New York she was called Bubbles. Her impact as a dancer was so profound that columnist Mark Hellinger once said of her in 1922: "Only two people in America would bring every reporter in New York to the docks to see them off. One is the President. The other is Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson."
German interlude
It was at this point that she began a long and abusive relationship with comedian Frank Tinney, which would culminate in being hospitalised for injuries he inflicted on her during an argument. Because Tinney was married to another woman, the affair caused a scandal. Mary Robertson was fired from the Ziegfeld Follies and subsequently moved to Germany for two years. While in Germany, she made a large number of films, including "Das Panzergewölbe" and "Verborgene Gluten."
Hollywood actress
Moving back to the United States in 1927, Mary Robertson adopted the stage name Mary Nolan and had a brief film career, starring in films such as "The Foreign Legion", "Shanghai Lady," and "Docks Of San Francisco". She made Sorrel and Son for United Artists in 1927, but her film career declined afterwards. In 1935, she made her final screen appearance in X Marks The Spot. The same year, she sued Hollywood producer Edward Mannix for $500,000 in damages. She accused him of beating her. In 1937, Nolan was jailed for an unpaid dress bill.
She turned up sick and broke at the Actor's Fund Home in Amityville, New York. She regained her health and returned to Hollywood in 1939. She lived there in obscurity with a sister, Mrs. Mabel Rondeau.
Drug addiction and death
Unable to gain work, she became addicted to heroin and died of cardiac arrest on October 31,1948. She suffered from a chronic gall bladder ailment and had recently been discharged from Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. She was 42 and weighed only 90 pounds when she died in a small stucco bungalow at 1504 South Mansfield Avenue, Los Angeles, California.
Her tiny apartment was simply furnished except for a single possession. There was a huge antique piano formerly owned by Rudolph Valentino, which almost filled Mary's living room. She bought it from the possessions which were once a part of Falcon's Lair, Valentino's home. Nolan revered the deceased film actor and kept his photo on the music rack.
Mary Nolan had only recently completed negotiations for the sale of her life story, in screenplay and novel form. She previously sold a similar account to a popular magazine, the second instalment of which had only recently been printed.
When she died, the former dancer was still married to Wallace McCreary, who likewise had a tumultuous Hollywood career. Her husband was living in Berkeley, California.
References
- Los Angeles Times, Mary Nolan, Ex-Follies Star, Dies, November 1, 1948, Page 1.
- Los Angeles Times, Mary Nolan Dies; Won Follies Fame, November 1, 1948, Page 29.
External links
- Mary Nolan at IMDb
- "Portrait Of The Actress Imogene Robertson By Thomas Staedeli". Retrieved September 16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Films Of The Golden Age Article on Mary Nolan (preview)". Retrieved September 16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - Mary Nolan at Find-A-Grave