|
Mae Busch (18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife. ==Early life and career== She was born in Melbourne, Victoria to popular Australian vaudeville performers Elizabeth Maria Lay and Frederick William Busch. Lay had been active since 1883 under the stage names Dora Devere and then Dora Busch; she toured India with Hudson's Surprise Party〔''Otargo Witness'' (NZ) 24 January 1895 p.37〕 and toured New Zealand twice. In 1887 she joined Frank M. Clark's Silk Stocking Company. A member of the Company's orchestra was Frederick William Busch. Elizabeth and Frederick were married on 6 February 1888 in Brisbane, Queensland between performances. They continued to tour with various companies with short breaks when their two children were born, Dorothy in 1889 (she lived for only 4 months) and Annie May in 1891. Dora Busch/Devere did one season of opera with mixed reviews and William featured in touring bands and orchestras as well as special acts as the Paragon Trio.〔''Launceston (Tasmania) Examiner'' 19 April 1895〕 He never conducted the Melbourne Symphony as has been suggested; the MSO was not founded until 1906, 10 years after William had left the country. Following a concert tour of New Zealand, the family left for the USA via Tahiti.〔''Auckland Star'' 8 August 1896〕 They departed on 8 August 1896 and arrived in San Francisco at the end of 1896 or in early 1897. Dora Busch was part of the Grand Opera Quartet, making her American debut on 14 February 1897 at the Orpheum Theatre.〔''San Francisco Call'' 16 Feb. 1897. In May 1897 Dora was playing various roles in comic opera at the Clunie Opera House. (''San Francisco Call'' 17 May 1897)〕 Towards the end of 1897 the family moved to the East Coast.〔They are listed on the 1900 US Census as William and Dora Busch living at 311 East 19th Street, New York.〕 William Busch performed with the Paragon Trio (renamed Lelliott Busch & Lelliott) at the Drexel Theatre in Chicago on 13 November 1897.〔''New York Dramatic Mirror'' 13 Nov 1897〕 While her parents were touring, 6-year-old Annie May was placed in a convent school in New Jersey. At the age of 12, she joined her parents as the Busch Devere Trio, which was active from the end of 1903 until 1912. As Mae Busch she performed with her mother in Guy Fletch Bragdon's "The Fixer" to good reviews, and in 1911 they featured in Tom Reeves' "Big Show Burlesque." Mae's big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine as the lead female in "Over the River" with Eddie Foy.〔''New York Herald'' 28 March 1912〕 Mae's first film appearances were in ''The Agitator'' and ''The Water Nymph'', both released in 1912. There is some doubt about Mae being in these films as the production of both films in California appears to clash with commitments in New York. (refer to Mae Busch Link for full details) In 1915 she began working at Keystone Studios, where she appeared in comedy two-reelers. Her dalliance with studio chief Mack Sennett famously ended his engagement to actress Mabel Normand—who had actually been Busch's mentor and friend—when Normand walked in on the pair. According to some accounts, Busch, who was known for pinpoint throwing accuracy, inflicted a serious head injury on Normand by striking her with a vase. Normand died a few years later at age 37 from health problems, principally tuberculosis. At the pinnacle of her film career, Busch was known as the ''versatile vamp''. She starred in such feature films as ''The Devil's Pass Key'' (1920) and ''Foolish Wives'' (1923), both directed by Erich von Stroheim, and in ''The Unholy Three'' (1925), with Lon Chaney. Her career declined abruptly in 1926, when she walked out on her contract at Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and suffered a nervous breakdown. Afterwards, she found herself working for less prestigious studios such as Gotham and Tiffany, where she was relegated mostly to supporting roles.〔 In 1927, she was offered a leading role in a Hal Roach two-reeler, ''Love 'em and Weep'', which began her long association with Laurel and Hardy. She appeared in 13 of their comedies, often as shrewish, gold-digging floozies (''Chickens Come Home'', ''Come Clean''), a volatile wife of Oliver Hardy (''Sons of the Desert'', ''Their First Mistake''), or more sympathetic roles (''Them Thar Hills'', ''Tit for Tat'', ''The Fixer Uppers''). Her last role in a Laurel and Hardy film was in ''The Bohemian Girl'', again as a combative spouse of Hardy's, released in 1936. Her film roles after 1936 were often uncredited. Overall, she had roles in approximately 130 motion pictures between 1912 and 1946. Jackie Gleason later mentioned her name on his TV show as "the ever-popular Mae Busch." In 2014 the thought to be lost 1919 film which was the first feature in to star Harry Houdini The Grim Game was discovered and restored by Rick Schmidlin for Turner Classic Movies and featured Mae Busch.〔Mae Basch IMDB〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mae Busch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|