Mary MacLaren

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Mary MacLaren (born Mary Ida MacDonald, also credited Mary McLaren; January 19, 1900 – November 9, 1985) was an American film actress in both the silent and sound eras.[1]Template:Efn She was the younger sister of actresses Miriam and Katherine MacDonald and appeared in more than 170 films between 1916 and 1949.[2]

Early life and stage work

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, MacLaren was the youngest of three daughters of Lillian Edith (née Agnew) and William Albert MacDonald.[3] Her two sisters, Miriam and Katherine MacDonald, also became actors, and another sibling, her brother Edward, died at birth in 1901, 14 months after MacLaren was born.[4]Template:Efn Federal census records for 1900 document that MacLaren's father supported his family working as the proprietor of a hotel in Pittsburgh.[3] By 1910, however, her parents had divorced, and Lillian worked as a dressmaker to support her daughters.[1] Before moving with her mother, Miriam, and Katherine to New York City around 1913, MacLaren obtained her basic education in Greensburgh (now Greensboro), Pennsylvania.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Once situated in New York, all three girls began working either in modeling, performing on stage in minor acting roles, or dancing in revues. MacLaren began her own stage career at the Winter Garden in New York City with Al Jolson in The Passing Show of 1914 and Dancing Around.[5]

Films

File:The Three Musketeers (1921) - Mary MacLaren.jpg
MacLaren as Queen Anne in The Three Musketeers (1921)

MacLaren's screen career began in 1916 with Shoes.[6] She subsequently performed in productions for the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, including Idle Wives (1916), The Plow Woman (1917), The Model's Confession (1918), The Petal on the Current (1919), The Unpainted Woman (1919), Bonnie Bonnie Lassie (1919), Rouge and Riches (1920), and many others.[7] Among her more notable film roles is her performance as Queen Anne of Austria in the 1921 Douglas Fairbanks production of The Three Musketeers.[8]

In studio directories and trade publications, the 5'3" MacLaren was described as having blue eyes and "masses of blond hair" and being an accomplished swimmer and tennis player.[7] While the height of her screen career was in the silent era, she successfully transitioned into sound productions and continued to perform periodically in films throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Later years and death

MacLaren was a vegetarian and advocate of animal welfare. She had four cats and five dogs and was known to have slept on a rotted mattress.[9] In 1979 in California, the long-retired actress resisted attempts by Los Angeles County officials to declare her mentally incompetent and to assume control of her finances due to repeated charges that she was living in her "dilapidated home" with too much clutter and too many pets.[10][8] She appeared before the Superior Court commissioner who ruled that she was capable of managing her own affairs.[10]

MacLaren, at age 85, died of "respiratory problems" at West Hollywood Hospital in California in November 1985.[10][8]

Selected filmography

File:Shoes 1916.jpg
MacLaren opposite actor William V. Mong in Shoes (1916)
File:The Wild Goose (1921) - 1.jpg
MacLaren with Holmes Herbert and child actress Rita Rogan in The Wild Goose (1921)
File:Mary MacLaren in A Lawman Is Born.jpg
A Lawman Is Born (1937)

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Notes

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References

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  1. ↑ a b "Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population", digital copy of original handwritten enumeration page, Pittsburgh City, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1910, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (NOTE: Not currently in copyright).
  3. ↑ a b "Twelfth Census of the United States: 1900", population schedule, digital copy of original handwritten enumeration page, Pittsburgh City, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. FamilySearch (FS) database.
  4. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", death of Edward Wallman McDonald, son of Lillian Edith McDonald and William [A.] McDonald, March 11, 1901, Bronx, New York City. FamilySearch database.
  5. ↑ Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual, 1921, Motion Picture News, Inc., New York, N.Y., p. 230. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b c "Mary MacLaren, Silent Film Star", Newsday, Nassau edition (Long Island, New York), 11 November 1985, p. 27. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  9. ↑ Slide, Anthony. (2002). A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. p. 238. Template:ISBN
  10. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Pepper, Peter. "The Strange Case of Mary MacLaren", The Moving Picture Weekly (New York, N.Y.), June 24, 1916, pp. 9, 34. Internet Archive. Retrieved November 12, 2020.

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Further reading

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External links

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