Mary Philbin

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Mary Philbin
Philbin in 1922

Mary Philbin (born July 16, 1902 in Chicago , Illinois , † May 7, 1993 in Huntington Beach , California ) was an American silent film actress .

Life

Mary Philbin comes from a strictly Catholic, Irish-American middle class family. She made her film debut in 1921. The following year she was among the " WAMPAS Baby Stars ", an advertising campaign in the film industry that honored young actresses on the threshold of film stars.

She had her first big success with the lead role in the fairground drama Merry-Go-Round as the daughter of Cesare Gravina . In the second half of the 1920s, she became a regular lead actress. Her best-known representations today include the role of the opera singer Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera (1925) with Lon Chaney .

In 1927 she played on the side of Ivan Mosschuchin in Edward Sloman's Surrender . Her two subsequent roles in the theater environment with Conrad Veidt , The Last Performance by Pál Fejös (Paul Fejos) and The Man Who Laughs by Paul Leni , are considered her most successful works. In 1928 she appeared in Drums of Love under DW Griffith , whose fame had already declined . Her career ended in 1929 with the advent of talkies .

She was engaged to Paul Kohner , a studio boss from Universal , but her conservative parents, under whose influence she was throughout their life, were against a marriage to the Czech Jew. Philbin remained unmarried and rarely appeared in public after her acting career ended. She died of pneumonia at the age of 90.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Mary Philbin  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Philbin, Mary
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American silent film actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 1993
Place of death Huntington Beach , California