Mary Philbin

Mary Loretta Philbin (July 16, 1902 – May 7, 1993)[1][2] 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 with Conrad Veidt. Both roles cast her as the beauty in Beauty and the Beast-type stories.

Mary Philbin
Philbin c. 1920
Born
Mary Loretta Philbin

(1902-07-16)July 16, 1902
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMay 7, 1993(1993-05-07) (aged 90)
Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1918–1930
Partner(s)Paul Kohner (1923–1927)

Early life

Philbin was born on July 16, 1902[3] in Chicago, Illinois, into a middle-class Irish American family and raised Catholic.[4] She was an only child, and was named after her mother, Mary. Her father, John Philbin,[5] was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland, and had immigrated to America in 1900.

Career
Postcard of Mary Philbin, c. 1922

Philbin began her acting career after winning a beauty contest sponsored by Universal Pictures in Chicago.[3] After she moved to California, Erich von Stroheim signed her to a contract with Universal, deeming her a "Universal Super Jewel."[5]

She made her screen debut in 1921, and the following year was honored at the first WAMPAS Baby Stars awards, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which annually honored young women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom.

During the 1920s, Philbin 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,[6] though her most celebrated role was in the Universal horror film The Phantom of the Opera in 1925.[7] 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."[8]

With Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera

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 1930 and devoted her life to caring 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.[3] 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.[9]

Personal life

From 1923 to 1927, Philbin was in a relationship with Paul Kohner. They had been introduced to each other by Erich von Stroheim. They secretly became engaged in 1926,[10] but never married due to the disapproval of Philbin's parents (Kohner was Jewish, and the Philbin family were staunch Catholics, and they were worried that he would try to convert her to Judaism). In 1929, it was rumored that they were going to marry in June of that year, but it never happened.[11] During their relationship, Philbin had an affair with western star Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.[12]

Kohner went on to marry Lupita Tovar in 1932, while Philbin never married. When Kohner died, he still had love letters Philbin had written to him in his possession. She had also kept his.[13][14]

Filmography
Mary Philbin in Danger Ahead (1921)
Arthur Edmund Carewe & Mary Philbin in The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
YearTitleRoleNotes
1921The Blazing TrailTalithy Millicuddy
1921Danger AheadTressie HarloowLost film
1921Twelve Hours to LiveShort
1921No Clothes to Guide HimShort
1921Red CourageEliza FayLost film
1921Sure FireLost film
1921False KissesMary
1922Foolish WivesCrippled girlUncredited
1922The WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1922HerselfShort
1922The TrouperMary LeeLost film
1922Human HeartsRuth
1922His First JobJimmy's SweetheartShort
1922Once to Every BoyJimmy's SweetheartShort
1923Penrod and SamMargaret Schofield
1923Merry-Go-RoundAgnes Urban
1923Where is This West?Sallie Summers
1923The Age of DesireMargy (age 18)Lost film
1923The Temple of VenusMoira
1923The Thrill ChaserHerselfCameo appearance, lost film
1924Fools HighwayMamie RoseLost film
1924The Gaiety GirlIrene TudorLost film
1924The Rose of ParisMitsi
1925The Phantom of the OperaChristine Daaé
1925Fifth Avenue ModelsIsoel Ludant
1925Stella MarisStella Maris / Unity Blake
1927Life in Hollywood No.3HerselfShort
1927Love Me and the World Is MineHannerl
1927SurrenderLea Lyon
1928Drums of LovePrincess Emanuella
1928The Man Who LaughsDea
1929Port of DreamsJoan
1929Girl OverboardJoanLost film
1929The Last PerformanceJulie Fergeron
1929The Shannons of BroadwayTessie Swanzey
1929After the FogFaith BarkerFinal film role

Notes and references

Notes
  1. Resting Places
  2. "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.
  3. Slide 2002, p. 307.
  4. "Recently Noted". The Catholic Charities Review. 26–27: 70. 1942.
  5. Sanchez 1930, p. 159.
  6. Beck 1978, p. 63.
  7. Beck 1978, p. 62.
  8. "Tears". Motion Picture Classic. 20–21: 41. 1924.
  9. Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 588. ISBN 978-1476625997. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  10. Kohner, Pancho (5 April 2011). Lupita Tovar the Sweetheart of Mexico. ISBN 9781456877378.
  11. https://books.google.com/books?id=kC8XAQAAMAAJ&q=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&dq=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiurPHNkJDtAhUDd6wKHcuZAOgQ6AEwBnoECAMQAg
  12. Kohner, Pancho (5 April 2011). Lupita Tovar the Sweetheart of Mexico. ISBN 9781456877378.
  13. https://books.google.com/books?id=wRELAQAAMAAJ&q=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&dq=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiurPHNkJDtAhUDd6wKHcuZAOgQ6AEwBHoECAAQAg
  14. https://books.google.com/books?id=_sFkAAAAMAAJ&q=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&dq=mary+philbin+paul+kohner&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiurPHNkJDtAhUDd6wKHcuZAOgQ6AEwBXoECAUQAg

References
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