Anita Garvin (born Anna Frances Garvin; February 11, 1906 – July 7, 1994) was a tall
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
stage performer and film actress who worked in both the silent and sound eras.
["California Death Index, 1940-1997", Anita Garvin Stanley, February 11, 1906—July 7, 1994, California Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Section, Sacramento.] Before her retirement in 1942, she reportedly appeared in over 350
shorts and
features
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
for various Hollywood studios.
["Anita Garvin Stanley, 88; Actress in 350 Comedies," ''Los Angeles Times'' (July 10, 1994).](_blank)
/ref> Her best known roles are as supporting characters in Hal Roach
Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...
comedies starring Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
and Charley Chase.[Young, Jordan R. (1978). "She Took Her Lumps and Liked Them", ''Los Angeles Times'' (1923-1995), September 24, 1978, p. I-3. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.]
Early life and stage career
Anna Frances Garvin was born in 1906 in New York City, the middle child of three children of Anne (née Donovan) and Edward J. Garvin, a native of North Carolina.[ "wikt:Special:Search/stagestruck, Stagestruck" as a child, her desire to become an entertainer was encouraged by two sisters who were members of another family living in the same apartment building as the Garvins. The sisters were also dancers in vaudeville. "They were very nice to me", recalled Garvin in a 1978 interview, "They'd teach me different steps and I would practice with them."][
In 1918, only 12 years of age, she applied for a job as a Sennett Bathing Beauties, bathing beauty in one of Mack Sennett's New York stage shows. When the casting agent asked her age, Garvin replied, "'Well, almost 16'".][ She got the job. The next year she joined the Ziegfeld Follies and later performed in The Earl Carroll Vanities.][ In 1920, she appeared on stage as "The Kirchner Girl", a 10-minute vaudeville act produced by Ernest Brengk.][Fred (1920)]
"Anita Garvin/'The Kirchner Girl'/10 Mins.; Full..."
reviews of "New Acts This Week", ''Variety'' (New York, NY), April 16, 1920, pg. 26. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
The 14-year-old performer recreated the poses of women in seven different paintings by artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. For each simulated artwork, she was able to change costumes on stage by means of a curtain suspended between two columns. In its April 16, 1920 review of the act, the widely read trade paper ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' states, "Miss Garvin is a stunning looking Brown hair, brunet [sic] who has a corking figure, and is ideally suited for the act."[
In Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, Garvin began working for Christie Film Company's comedies. She recalled her co-star Bobby Vernon dropping butter on the floor onto which she stepped and tumbled, cementing her career as a comedian.][ Charles Lamont brought her over to work for Educational Pictures. Then, in 1926, she was hired by Hal Roach Studios, where over the next several years she appeared in many silent shorts with Charley Chase, Jimmy Finlayson, James Finlayson, Max Davidson, and Laurel and Hardy. She was also cast occasionally in supporting roles in features. A statuesque presence at 5' 9", "her regal countenance and deadpan expression" made her the perfect comic foil.][ Garvin continued to impress Roach with her talents and on-screen presence, so much so that he later ranked her as "one of his finest actresses."]["Anita Garvin", ''Times'' (London), (July 12, 1994), p. 21.] In a 1978 interview for an article in the ''Los Angeles Times'', she reflects on her frequent work with Stan Laurel during that period: Garvin appeared in a total of 11 Laurel and Hardy films. In 1928-29 she had her own starring series, teamed with fellow actress Marion Byron to perform as a distaff version of Stan and Ollie. The best-known of the three Garvin-Byron comedies is ''A Pair of Tights'', an "acknowledged masterpiece"[ in which the girls go out on a double date with tightwads Edgar Kennedy and Stuart Erwin.
In the sound era, Garvin continued working in comedies produced at Educational, Warner Brothers/Vitaphone, RKO Radio Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. She continued to work as well in Laurel and Hardy shorts with Hal Roach, such as in the 1930 release ''Blotto (film), Blotto'' in which she plays Stan's feisty wife.][ A decade later she performed in the 1940 Three Stooges short ''Cookoo Cavaliers'', briefly appearing as a customer requesting a haddock.
]
Personal life and death
On March 15, 1926 in Ventura, California, Garvin married Clem Beauchamp, Clement Beauchamp, a film actor and assistant unit director for Fox Film. They divorced in 1930, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' covered the related court proceedings. A witness for Garvin, according to the newspaper, testified that "she knew that Mrs. Beauchamp had to support herself" due to the lack of spousal assistance.["Actor's Wife Given Divorce", ''Los Angeles Times'', August 6, 1930, p. II-A5. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.] Quoting Garvin herself, the newspaper in an August 6 new item shares her main reason for ending the four-year marriage:
Later in 1930, after finalizing her divorce from Beauchamp, Garvin married Clifford "Red" Stanley, a bandleader and music editor for a film studio.[ Their marriage lasted nearly 50 years, until Clifford's death in 1980. During the first decade of their marriage, Garvin continued to perform in films, but by 1942 she retired from acting to devote more time to raising the couple's two children.][ Decades after she left acting, moviegoers continued to remember and acknowledge Garvin's contributions to film history. The Sons of the Desert — an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of Laurel and Hardy — honored her career at their membership meetings in 1978 and 1989.
Five years after her last appearance before The Sons of the Desert, Garvin died at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was survived by her two children, Anita Patricia Stevenson and Edward Garvin Stanley, and by seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.][Exploring the Graves of Laurel and Hardy CoStars.]
Partial filmography
* ''The Last Man on Earth (1924 film), The Last Man on Earth'' (1924)
* ''The Sleuth (film), The Sleuth'' (1925)
* ''Raggedy Rose'' (1926)
* ''Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl'' (1926)
* ''Why Girls Love Sailors'' (1927)
* ''With Love and Hisses'' (1927)
* ''Sailors Beware'' (1927)
* ''Hats Off (1927 film), Hats Off'' (1927)
* ''The Valley of Hell (film), The Valley of Hell'' (1927)
* ''The Battle of the Century'' (1927)
* ''From Soup to Nuts'' (1928)
* ''Their Purple Moment'' (1928)
* ''The Play Girl'' (1928)
* ''Fandango (1928 film), Fandango'' (1928)
* ''Night Watch (1928 film), Night Watch'' (1928)
* ''Feed 'Em and Weep'' (1928, co-starred with Marion Byron)
* ''A Pair of Tights]'' (1929, co-starred with Marion Byron)
* ''Going Ga-Ga'' (1929, co-starred with Marion Byron)
* ''Trent's Last Case (1929 film), Trent's Last Case'' (1929)
* ''Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929)
* ''Modern Love (1929 film), Modern Love'' (1929)
* ''The Charlatan (1929 film), The Charlatan'' (1929)
* ''Blotto (1930 film), Blotto'' (1930)
* ''Whispering Whoopee'' (1930)
* ''Be Big!'' (1931)
* ''Los calaveras'' (1931)
* ''Yoo-Hoo'' (1932)
* ''Show Business (1932 film), Show Business'' (1932)
* ''Swiss Miss (film), Swiss Miss'' (1938)
* ''A Chump at Oxford'' (1940)
* ''Cookoo Cavaliers'' (1940)
References and notes
Further reading
*
External links
*
Interview
angelfire.com
maryellenmark.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garvin, Anita
1906 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery
Hal Roach Studios actors
Hal Roach Studios short film series
Silent film comedians
20th-century American comedians
Comedians from New York City
Comedians from California