Merna Kennedy

Merna Kennedy (September 7, 1908 in Kankakee, Illinois – December 20, 1944 in Los Angeles, California) was an American actress of the late silent era.

Short career

Kennedy (born Maude Kahler) is best known for her role opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent film The Circus (1928).

Kennedy was brought to the attention of Chaplin by her friend Lita Grey, who became Chaplin's second wife in 1924. A dancer, she had muscular legs which helped her gain the role of the circus bareback rider. It is rumored she had an affair with Chaplin during the filming of this movie, and Grey used this infidelity in her divorce proceedings from Chaplin in 1927.

Kennedy continued acting after The Circus, starring in early sound films, but retired in 1934, when she married choreographer/director Busby Berkeley. Their marriage broke up a year later, and Kennedy died of a heart attack in 1944, at thirty-six years of age.

Filmography

Silent Films

• 1928 The Circus
• 1929 Broadway
• 1929 Barnum Was Right
• 1929 Skinner Steps Out

Talkies

• 1930 The Rampant Age
• 1930 Embarrassing Moments
• 1930 The King of Jazz
• 1930 Worldly Goods
• 1930 Midnight Special
• 1931 Stepping Out
• 1932 The Gay Buckaroo
• 1932 Lady with a Past
• 1932 Ghost Valley
• 1932 Come On, Tarzan
• 1932 The All-American
• 1932 The Red-Haired Alibi
• 1933 Laughter in Hell
• 1933 Emergency Call
• 1933 Easy Millions
• 1933 Don't Bet on Love
• 1933 I Love That Man (scenes deleted)
• 1933 Arizona to Broadway
• 1933 Police Call
• 1933 The Big Chance
• 1933 Son of a Sailor
• 1934 Wonder Bar
• 1934 Jimmy the Gent
• 1932 I Like It That Way

Notes

External links

• Merna Kennedy at the Internet Movie Database
• Merna Kennedy at Find a Grave
• Merna Kennedy at Silent Ladies]