Biography for
Marie Dressler More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 November 1868, Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

Date of Death

28 July 1934, Santa Barbara, California, USA (cancer)

Birth Name

Leila Marie Koerber

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

Once you saw her, you would not forget her. Despite her age and weight, she became one of the top box office draws of the sound era. She was 14 when she joined a theater group and she went on to work on stage and in light opera. By 1892, she was on Broadway and she later became a star comedienne on the vaudeville circuit. In 1910, she had a hit with 'Tillie's Nightmare' which Mack Sennett adapted to film as Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) with Charles Chaplin. Marie took top billing over a young Chaplin, but her film career never took off and by 1918, she was out of films and out of work. Her role in the chorus girls' strike of 1917 had her blacklisted from the theaters. In 1927, MGM screenwriter Frances Marion got her a small part in The Joy Girl (1927) and then a co-starring lead with Polly Moran in The Callahans and the Murphys (1927) (which was abruptly withdrawn from circulation thanks to objections of Irish-American groups over its depiction of gin-guzzling Irish). Her career stalled and the 59-year old actress found herself no longer in demand. In the late 1920s she had been largely forgotten and reduced to near-poverty. Despite her last film being a financial disaster, Irving Thalberg, somewhat incredibly, sensed her potential was determined to re-build her into a star. It was a slow return in films but her popularity continued to grow. But it was sound that made her a star again. Anna Christie (1930) was the movie where Garbo talks, but everyone noticed Marie as Marthy. In an era of Harlow, Garbo and Crawford, it was homely old Marie Dressler that won the coveted exhibitor's poll as the most popular actress for three consecutive years. In another film from the same year, Min and Bill (1930) she received a best actress Oscar for her dramatic performance. She received another Academy Award nomination for Emma (1932). She had more success with Dinner at Eight (1933) and Tugboat Annie (1933). In 1934, cancer claimed her life.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana

Spouse

George Hoppert

(1900 - 1906) 1 daughter

Trivia

Daughter died in infancy.

Lived with James Dalton from 1914 until his death

Dressler appears as a character in the new musical play In Hell with Harlow by Paul L. Williams.

Suffered from stage fright throughout her career.

There is some dispute to the actual birth year of Marie Dressler. According to most sources and the document as to the history of the house, she was born in 1868. Other sources say 1869. At least one scientist says that her baptismal records give 1863, and to make more confusion, 1871 is given on her grave.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 141-143. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

She won her Academy Award for Best Actress the day after her 63rd birthday.

Was named the top box-office star of 1933 by the Motion Picture Herald, based on an annual poll of exhibitors as to the drawing power of movie stars at the box-office conducted by Quigley Publications.

Was seriously contemplating working as a housekeeper at a Long Island estate before Frances Marion insisted MGM cast her in the The Callahans and the Murphys.

She is commemorated on a 2008 Canadian postage stamp, one of four stamps honoring the achievements of Canadians in Hollywood. The other stamps depict Norma Shearer, Chief Dan George, and Raymond Burr.

Always credited her good friend, screenwriter Frances Marion, with, literally, saving her life. After much time spent trying to find her, Marion contacted Dressler about a major role in the 1927 film "The Calahans and the Murphys." Dressler had planned to commit suicide by jumping out of her apartment window that very night. Instead, the role marked a personal and professional comeback for her. It brought her to MGM, where she would remain a major star until her death, and establish friendships, not just with Marion, but with Marion's husband, director George W. Hill. She would work with both on several subsequent pictures.

Personal Quotes

"If ants are such busy workers, how come they find time to go to all the picnics ?"

"By the time we hit fifty, we have learned our hardest lessons. We have found out that only a few things are really important. We have learned to take life seriously, but never ourselves."

"Old age is an insult. It's like being smacked."

"Any fact is better established by two or three good testimonies than by a thousand arguments."

"I'm too homely for a prima donna and too ugly for a soubrette."

"You're only as good as your last picture."

Salary

Min and Bill (1930)	$500/week
The Joy Girl (1927)	$1,500/week
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)	$35,000

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