Mary Josephine Dunn (May 1, 1906 – February 3, 1983) was an American stage and film

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

of the 1920s and 1930s.

Early years

Dunn was born in New York City and educated at Holy Cross convent school.

Career

At age 14 and a 5'5" tall blonde, Dunn started out as a member of the chorus at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

. Her first appearance was in the chorus of "Good Morning Dearie." Rather than return to school she continued in her Broadway career, appearing in almost 20 productions including the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

'', ''Between Two Worlds'' (1934), ''Take a Chance'' (1932), ''Pickwick'' (1927), ''Dear Sir'' (1924), and ending her Broadway run with "Kid Boots." Josephine Dunn from Stars of the Photoplay

Josephine Dunn from Stars of the Photoplay

Dunn visited the Paramount studio with a friend, and attended the

Paramount Pictures School The Paramount Pictures School was a short-lived acting school established in 1925 by the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation (FPLC). Sixteen students studied at the school, including Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Thelma Todd. A film showcasing the work ...

In 1926 after being discovered there. Her first film role was in ''

Fascinating Youth ''Fascinating Youth'' is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood. It starred Charles "Buddy" Rogers (in his feature debut), along with Thelma Todd and Josephine Dunn in supporting roles. Many well-known personalities ma ...

'' (1926) which was cast with the school's graduating class. She went on to have the lead roles in '' Love's Greatest Mistake'' (1927) and '' Fireman, Save My Child'' (1927). After nine months of inactivity in film, Dunn signed a long-term contract with

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. She starred in 23

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

, and in 1929 she was one of 13 girls named as "

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

", which that year included actress

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

. In 1930 she made a successful transition, unlike many silent stars, to sound films. In 1930 she starred in ''

Safety in Numbers Safety in numbers is the hypothesis that, by being part of a large physical group or mass, an individual is less likely to be the victim of a mishap, accident, attack, or other bad event. Some related theories also argue (and can show statistica ...

'' (1930) alongside

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

and

Kathryn Crawford Kathryn Crawford ( Moran; October 5, 1908 – December 7, 1980) was an American film and theatre actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She was also known as Katherine Crawford and Kitty Moran. Early years Born in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, Cra ...

. She starred in sixteen films through 1932.

Personal life

Dunn married four times. In 1925, she married William P. Cameron in Elkton, Maryland. He was a contracting engineer. They were divorced in 1928. She married Clyde Greathouse, an official of an oil company, in Los Angeles on January 10, 1931, and they were divorced on October 26, 1931. On January 6, 1933, in Great Neck, New York, she married Eugene J. Lewis, whom she divorced in 1935 to marry Carroll Case, whose father Frank Case owned the

Algonquin Hotel The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...

in New York City, which housed the now famous Algonquin Round Table. She retired from acting in 1938 and remained with Case until his death in 1978.

Death

Dunn died of cancer on February 3, 1983, in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

, aged 76.

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1926) *''

It's the Old Army Game ''It's the Old Army Game'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film app ...

'' (1926) *''

The Sorrows of Satan ''The Sorrows of Satan'' is an 1895 Faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first best-sellers – partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books, and partly due to its ...

'' (1926) *'' Love's Greatest Mistake'' (1927) *'' Fireman, Save My Child'' (1927) *''

With Love and Hisses ''With Love and Hisses'' is a silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1950 Plot Slow-witted army ...

'' (1927) *''

Swim Girl, Swim ''Swim Girl, Swim'' is a lost 1927 American silent romantic comedy film produced and distributed by Famous Players-Lasky and Paramount Pictures, now amalgamated as Paramount Famous Lasky. It was directed by Clarence Badger and starred Bebe Daniel ...

'' (1927) *''

She's a Sheik ''She's a Sheik'' is a 1927 American silent comedy adventure film produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures and starring Bebe Daniels. A 16mm print of the film was rediscovered in 2017 by Kevin Brownlow.Get Your Man'' (1927) *'' Excess Baggage'' (1928) *''

The Singing Fool ''The Singing Fool'' is a 1928 American musical drama part-talkie motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow-up to his previous film, '' The Jazz Singer''. It is credited w ...

'' (1928) * ''

We Americans ''We Americans'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Edward Sloman and starring George Sidney, Patsy Ruth Miller and George J. Lewis.Erens p.96 Synopsis Two young couples try to cross the mixed ethnic divide in America, something w ...

'' (1928) * '' A Million for Love'' (1928) *'' All At Sea'' (1929) *''

Sin Sister ''The Sin Sister'' is a lost 1929 American silent drama adventure film directed by Charles Klein and starring Nancy Carroll. It was produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. The film was released with a music score and sound effects ...

'' (1929) *''

China Bound ''China Bound'' is a 1929 silent film comedy produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A rarely revived comedy due to some of its Asian racial content, a selected scene was shown in Robert Youngson's 1965 ''MGM's Big Parade of Comedy''. P ...

'' (1929) *'' A Man's Man'' (1929) *''

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

'' (1929) *'' Melody Lane'' (1929) *''

Our Modern Maidens ''Our Modern Maidens'' is a 1929 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway. Starring Joan Crawford in her last silent film role, the film also stars Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Anita Page. ''Our Modern Maidens' ...

'' (1929) *''

Red Hot Rhythm ''Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929) is an American pre-Code early sound musical film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Alan Hale Sr., Kathryn Crawford, Walter O'Keefe, and Josephine Dunn. As originally released by Pathé Exchange, the film featured ...

'' (1929) *'' Big Time'' (1929) *''

'' (1930) *'' Madonna of the Streets'' (1930) * '' Second Honeymoon'' (1930) *'' Two Kinds of Women'' (1932) *''

Murder at Dawn ''Murder at Dawn'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code film directed by Richard Thorpe. The film is also known as ''The Death Ray'' in the United Kingdom. Cast *Jack Mulhall as Danny *Josephine Dunn as Doris Farrington *Eddie Boland as Freddie *Marjor ...

'' (1932) *''

Forbidden Company ''Forbidden Company'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Sally Blane, John Darrow and John St. Polis.Pitts, p. 90 Cast * Sally Blane as Barbara Blake * John Darrow as Jerry Grant * John St. ...

'' (1932) *'' One Hour With You'' (1932) *'' Big City Blues'' (1932) as Jackie DeVoe (uncredited) *''

The Fighting Gentleman ''The Fighting Gentleman'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code sports drama film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer with William Collier, Jr. and Josephine Dunn in the leads.Pictorial History of the Talkies, p. 60 c.1958 by Daniel Blum (19 ...

'' (1932) *'' Murder in the Library'' (1933)

References

External links

* * *
Josephine Dunn
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Josephine American film actresses American silent film actresses 1906 births 1983 deaths Actresses from New York City 20th-century American actresses Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park WAMPAS Baby Stars