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Mae Clarke

 
Actor: Mae Clarke
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Aug 16, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Died: Apr 29, 1992 in Woodland Hills, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Frankenstein, Turn Back the Clock, Penthouse
  • First Major Screen Credit: Nix on Dames (1929)

Biography

A nightclub dancer in her teens, Mae Clarke rose to prominence on the Broadway musical stage of the 1920s. In films, Clarke nearly always seemed predestined for tragedy and abuse: she played the long-suffering bride of the title character in Frankenstein (1931), the self-sacrificing trollop Molly Molloy in The Front Page (1931), and the streetwalker protagonist in Waterloo Bridge (1931). Clarke's most famous film role was one for which she received no onscreen credit: she was the recipient of James Cagney's legendary "grapefruit massage" in 1931's Public Enemy. Clarke went on to co-star with Cagney in such films as Lady Killer (1933) and Great Guy (1936); though the best of friends in real life, Cagney and Clarke usually seemed poised to bash each other's brains out onscreen. For reasons that still remain unclear, Clarke's starring career plummeted into bit roles and walk-ons by the 1950s. Her most rewarding work during that decade was on television -- it was Clarke who portrayed a middle-aged woman undergoing menopause on a controversial 1954 installment of the TV anthology Medic. Even during her career low points, Clarke retained her sense of humor. When applying for a role on one TV program, she advertised herself as a comedian, listing as a "qualification" the fact that she was at one time married to Fanny Brice's brother. Mae Clarke continued accepting minor film roles until 1970, when she retired to the Motion Picture Country Home at Woodland Hills, California. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Mae Clarke
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Mae Clarke

"Lady Killer" 1933
Born Violet Mary Klotz
August 16, 1910(1910-08-16)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died April 29, 1992 (aged 81)
Woodland Hills, California, United States
Years active 1929-1970
Spouse(s) Lewis Brice (1928-divorced)
Stevens Bancroft (1937-divorced)
Herbert Langdon (1946-divorced)

Mae Clarke (August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American film actress.

Mae Clarke was born Violet Mary Klotz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] She started her career as a dancer, sharing a room with Barbara Stanwyck, and subsequently starred in many films for Universal Studios, including the original screen version of The Front Page (1931) and the first sound version of Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff. Clarke played the role of Henry Frankenstein's fiancee in Frankenstein, who was attacked by the Monster (Karloff) on her wedding day. The Public Enemy, released that same year, contained one of cinema's most famous (and frequently parodied) scenes, in which James Cagney pushed a half grapefruit into Clarke's face, then went out and picked up Jean Harlow. The film was so popular that it ran 24 hours a day at a theatre in Times Square upon its initial release, and Clarke's ex-husband had the grapefruit scene timed and would frequently buy a ticket, enter the theatre to enjoy that sequence, then leave the theatre.[2]

She may be best known for her leading role as, "Myra Deauville," in the 1931 pre-Code version of, Waterloo Bridge. In the film, she portrays a young American woman who is forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution in World War I London. Both the film and Clarke's performance were well received by the critics.

She also appeared in the modest pre-code Universal film Night World (1932), with Lew Ayres, Boris Karloff, and Hedda Hopper.

By the mid-1930s though, Clarke was no longer a leading lady and was only featured in small or bit parts through the 1960s.

Contents

Personal life

She was married and divorced three times, to Lewis Brice, Stevens Bancroft and Herbert Langdon. She did not have children.

Clarke died on April 29, 1992, at age 81, from cancer, in Woodland Hills, California. She is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.

Selected filmography

Features

  • Nana (1934)
  • This Side of Heaven (1934)
  • Let's Talk It Over (1934)
  • The Man with Two Faces (1934)
  • Silk Hat Kid (1935)
  • The Daring Young Man (1935)
  • Hitch Hike Lady (1935)
  • The House of a Thousand Candles (1936)
  • Hearts in Bondage (1936)
  • Wild Brian Kent (1936)
  • Hats Off (1936)
  • Great Guy (1936)
  • Trouble in Morocco (1937)
  • Outlaws of the Orient (1937)
  • Women in War (1940)
  • Sailors on Leave (1941)
  • Flying Tigers (1942)
  • Lady from Chungking (1942)
  • And Now Tomorrow (1944)
  • Here Come the Waves (1944)
  • Kitty (1945)
  • Reaching from Heaven (1948)
  • King of the Rocket Men (serial) (1949)

Short Subjects

  • Screen Snapshots (1932)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937)

See also

  • CLARKE, MAE. Featured Player - An Oral Autobiography of Mae Clarke. Edited With An Introduction by James Curtis. Santa Barbara/Lanham: Santa Teresa Press/Scarecrow Press, 1996.
  • Halliwell's Filmgoers Companion

References

  1. ^ Mae Clarke at Allmovie
  2. ^ a story told in James Cagney's autobiography, Cagney by Cagney

External links

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Great Guy (1936 Drama Film)
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