Mary Thurman
Mary Thurman | |
---|---|
![]() Thurman in 1924 | |
Born | Mary Christiansen April 27, 1895 Richfield, Utah, U.S. |
Died | December 22, 1925 New York City, U.S. | (aged 30)
Resting place | Richfield City Cemetery |
Education | University of Utah |
Occupation(s) | Actress, model |
Years active | 1915–1925 |
Spouse | Victor E. Thurman
(m. 1915; div. 1919) |
Mary Thurman (née Christiansen; April 27, 1895 – December 22, 1925) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Early life
[edit]Mary Christiansen was born in Richfield, Utah on April 27, 1895, one of seven children raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her parents were Christian Christiansen and Mary Sophia Nielsen Christiansen, who were both Danish, her father having been born in Denmark.[1]
She attended the University of Utah and became a teacher before turning to acting.[2]
Thurman married Victor E. Thurman, son of Utah Supreme Court justice Samuel R. Thurman, in 1915. They divorced in 1919.[3]
Career
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Mary_Thurman_by_Ralph_Barton.jpg/220px-Mary_Thurman_by_Ralph_Barton.jpg)
Thurman's film career began with roles in the comedies of Mack Sennett, as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, and featured appearances in Bombs! (1916) and The Fool (1925). Her greatest success came when she started working with director Allan Dwan. They collaborated on several critically acclaimed films including The Sin of Martha Queed (1921) and A Broken Doll (1921). In Dwan's still extant 1923 film Zaza Thurman is the actress Gloria Swanson fights with. Off screen Thurman and Dwan were engaged for several years. She appeared in nearly sixty Hollywood films from 1915 up until her death in 1925, frequently in those made by Pathé Studios.
Death
[edit]In 1924 while working on the film Down Upon the Suwanee River in Florida, she came down with a serious case of pneumonia. She suffered from the illness and was hospitalized for nearly a year.[5] Thurman died of pneumonia in New York City on December 22, 1925, in Flower Hospital. Her best friend, actress Juanita Hansen, was at her side when she died.[6] She was buried in Richfield City Cemetery in her hometown of Richfield, Utah.
Selected filmography
[edit]- The Lamb (1915)
- Watch Your Neighbor (1918)
- The Poor Boob (1919)
- This Hero Stuff (1919)
- Spotlight Sadie (1919)
- The Prince and Betty (1919)
- The Scoffer (1920)
- The Valley of Tomorrow (1920)
- In the Heart of a Fool (1920)
- Leap Year (1921)
- Bare Knuckles (1921)
- A Broken Doll (1921)
- The Lady from Longacre (1921)
- The Sin of Martha Queed (1921)
- The Green Temptation (1922)
- The Bond Boy (1922)
- Zaza (1923)
- The Tents of Allah (1923)
- Wife in Name Only (1923)
- Does It Pay? (1923)
- Those Who Judge (1924)
- The Truth About Women (1924)
- Trouping with Ellen (1924)
- The Law and the Lady (1924)
- Greater Than Marriage (1924)
- Love of Women (1924)
- For Another Woman (1924)
- Playthings of Desire (1924)
- The Mad Marriage (1925)
- Back to Life (1925)
- The Fool (1925)
- The Necessary Evil (1925)
- A Little Girl in a Big City (1925)
- Down Upon the Suwanee River (1925)
- The Wives of the Prophet (1926)
References
[edit]- ^ Hunter, James Michael (2013). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. ISBN 9780313391675.
- ^ "Classic Hollywood Beauties: Mary Thurman (Silent Actress)". Archived from the original on 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
- ^ Hunter, James Michael (2013). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. ISBN 9780313391675.
- ^ "Dutch Boy Haircut | Origin of an Iconic 1920's Hairstyle". 25 April 2014.
- ^ "Classic Hollywood Beauties: Mary Thurman (Silent Actress)". Archived from the original on 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
- ^ Huber, Lisa (1978). "Mary Thurman". Slapstick! (3). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Steve Rydzewski: 14, 22–23. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- The New York Times, "Mary Thurman Dead", December 24, 1925, Page 13.
- Oakland, California Tribune, "From Film Fun To Film Drama", September 19, 1920, Page 53.
- Oakland Tribune, "Cupid Captures Mary Thurman", Tuesday Evening, December 26, 1922, Page 8.
External links
[edit] Media related to Mary Thurman at Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Thurman at IMDb
- Mary Thurman gravesite findagrave Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine,..and transcript of 1925 Memorial Service,findagrave
- 1895 births
- 1925 deaths
- Actresses from Utah
- American film actresses
- American silent film actresses
- Deaths from pneumonia in New York City
- Latter Day Saints from Utah
- People from Richfield, Utah
- 20th-century American actresses
- University of Utah alumni
- American people of Danish descent
- American film actor, 1890s birth stubs