Marie Osborne Yeats (born Helen Alice Myres; November 5, 1911 – November 11, 2010), credited as Baby Marie between 1914 and 1919, was the first major child star of American

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 ...

. She was one of the three major American child stars of the Hollywood silent film era along with Jackie Coogan and

Diana Serra Cary Diana Serra Cary (born Peggy-Jean Montgomery; October 29, 1918 – February 24, 2020), known as Baby Peggy, was an American child film actress, vaudevillian, author and silent film historian. She was the last living person with a substantial car ...

. As an adult, from 1934 until 1950, and now billed as Marie Osborne, she continued in film productions, although she appeared only in uncredited roles. In the 1950s, after retiring from the acting profession, she carved out a second career as a costume designer for

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...

.Obituary, ''L.A. Times'', November 18, 2010, pg. AA6.

Biography

Early life and child star

Osborne was born as Helen Alice Myres in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the daughter of Roy and Mary Myres. She soon became — under mysterious circumstances — the child of Leon and Edith Osborn, who called her Marie and added the "e" to the surname, apparently to obscure the adoption. Her foster parents, the Osbornes, introduced their daughter to silent films when they left Colorado to work at Balboa Studios in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Osborne made her debut credited as Baby Osbourne in 1914's short drama film '' Kidnapped in New York''. Osborne signed to a lucrative contract with Balboa Films (and working with director Henry King and writer Clara Beranger), by the age of five she was starring in silent films, including her best-remembered movie, ''Little Mary Sunshine'', from 1916, one of her few films which still survive on celluloid. Some of her other films are ''Maid of the Wild'' (1915), ''Sunshine and Gold'' (1917), ''What Baby Forgot'' (1917), ''Daddy's Girl'' (1918), ''The Locked Heart'' (1918), ''Winning Grandma'' (1918), ''The Sawdust Doll'' (1919), and ''Daddy Number Two'' (1919). At the age of eight, she completed her final film as a child star, ''Miss Gingersnap'' in 1919. In all, she was featured or starred in 29 films in a six-year period. Most of her films were produced at Diando Studios, the former Kalem Movie Studio in Glendale, California.

Later films

As an adult, she returned to motion pictures 15 years later in 1934 – at the request of director Henry King – to appear in his film '' Carolina'', starring Janet Gaynor and Lionel Barrymore. This movie also featured future child star Shirley Temple in a minor role. Over the next 16 years, Osborne worked as a

film extra A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

, also serving as a stand-in for actresses such as

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

, and

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 2 ...

. After appearing in more than a dozen films, she made her last on-screen appearance in ''Bunco Squad'' (1950), starring

Robert Sterling Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955). In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollywoo ...

and

Joan Dixon Joan Dixon (June 6, 1930 in Norfolk, Virginia – February 20, 1992 in Los Angeles) was an American film and television actress in the 1950s. She is known for her role in the film noir ''Roadblock'' (1951). Career Dixon appeared in ten fil ...

Costumer

In the 1950s, she started a new career as a costumer for

Western Costume Western Costume is a costume warehouse in Hollywood, California which supplies costumes and costuming supplies to the film and TV industry. One of the oldest businesses in the industry, the company outdates any studio or production company curren ...

, a clothing supplier for the motion picture industry. Osborne worked on the wardrobes for such films as ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' (1956), ''

How to Murder Your Wife ''How to Murder Your Wife'' is a 1965 American black comedy film from United Artists, produced by George Axelrod, directed by Richard Quine, that stars Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. Quine also directed Lemmon in '' My Sister Eileen'', '' It Happe ...

'' (1965), '' The Godfather: Part II'' (1974), and ''

Harry and Walter Go to New York ''Harry and Walter Go to New York'' is a 1976 American historical drama, period comedy film written by John Byrum and Robert Kaufman, directed by Mark Rydell, and starring James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning an ...

'' (1976). In 1963, Osborne worked as a special costumer for Elizabeth Taylor in the big-budget film, '' Cleopatra''. Osborne retired in 1977, and moved to San Clemente, California.

Personal life

Osborne married Frank J. Dempsey on May 2, 1931. Dempsey was the father of Osborne's only child, Joan (born May 13, 1932). They divorced in 1937. Osborne married 36-year-old actor Murray F. Yeats on June 14, 1945, and moved to

Sepulveda, California North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After WWII, the newly-developed ...

. They remained married until his death on January 27, 1975. Osborne died on November 11, 2010, in San Clemente, California, six days after her 99th birthday, from natural causes. She was interred at Mission San Luis Rey Cemetery. She was survived by her daughter, Joan, and five grandchildren.Obituary in the ''New York Times'', ibid.
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References

External links

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Literature on Baby Marie Osborne2005 biography of Baby Marie OsborneMarie Osborne Yeats at Find A Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Baby Marie 1911 births 2010 deaths Actresses from Denver American child actresses American silent film actresses American costume designers Actresses from Los Angeles People from San Clemente, California 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women