Marie Prevost (born Marie Bickford Dunn; November 8, 1896 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian-born film actress. During her 20-year career, she made 121
silent and
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
s.
Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was discovered by
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
who signed her to contract and made her one of his "Bathing Beauties" in the late 1910s. Prevost appeared in dozens of Sennett's short comedy films before moving on to feature-length films for
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
. In 1922, she signed with
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
where her career flourished as a leading lady. She was a favorite of director
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
who cast her in three of his comedy films: ''
The Marriage Circle
''The Marriage Circle'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and distributed by Warner Bros. Based on the play ''Only a Dream'' by Lothar Schmidt, the screenplay was written by Paul Bern. The "circle" o ...
'' (1924), ''
Three Women'' (1924) and ''
Kiss Me Again'' (1925).
After being let go by Warner Bros in early 1926, Prevost's career began to decline and she was relegated to secondary roles. She was also beset with personal problems, including the death of her mother in 1926 and the breakdown of her marriage to actor
Kenneth Harlan
Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types.
Early life
Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...
in 1927, which fueled her depression. She began to abuse alcohol and binge eat, resulting in a weight gain that made it difficult for her to secure acting jobs. By 1935, Prevost was only able to secure bit parts in films. She made her last onscreen appearance in 1936.
After years of drinking, Prevost died of acute alcoholism at the age of 40 in January 1937. Prevost's estate was valued at $300 since she had squandered most of her earnings. Her death prompted the Hollywood community to create the
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
.
Early life
Prevost was born in Sarnia, Ontario, to Hughina Marion (née Bickford) and Arthur "Teddy" Dunn. Her father worked as a railroad conductor. When she was an infant, Teddy Dunn was killed when gas seeped into the
St. Clair Tunnel
The St. Clair Tunnel is the name for two separate rail tunnels which were built under the St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. The original, opened in 1891 and used until it was replaced by a new larger tunnel in 1995, ...
. Hughina later married Frank Prevost and the family moved to Denver. In 1900, Hughina gave birth to another daughter, Marjorie, called Peg. Marie's stepfather, who worked as a miner and surveyor, frequently moved the family around the country following up on various get-rich-quick schemes. After living in Ogden, Utah; Reno, Nevada; and Fresno, California, the family finally settled in Los Angeles. Hughina and Frank Prevost later divorced. Frank Prevost died in September 1933 and bequeathed Marie $1.
While living in Los Angeles, Prevost attended
Manual Arts High School
Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high scho ...
. By 1915, Prevost landed a job as a secretary at a law firm which represented the
Keystone Film Company
Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charles ...
. While running an office errand at the
Keystone Studios
Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charle ...
, Prevost was asked to appear in a bit part for the film ''His Father's Footsteps''.
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
, Keystone's owner, was impressed by Prevost's performance and sent word that he wanted to see Prevost in his office. Prevost later recalled the day to ''Motion Picture World'' magazine: "I asked for Mr. Sennett and was ushered in right away. He looked very stern as I walked into his office. I was ready to cry. Suddenly, he smiled. 'I want your signature today. Sign right here.' I suddenly realized the paper he pushed in front of me was a contract. I was to be one of his Sennett Bathing Beauties. Best of all I was to be paid $15 a week. I signed without reading a word. Fifteen dollars was a lot of money."
As her career was beginning to rise, Prevost married socialite Henry Charles "Sonny" Gerke in June 1918. The couple soon separated, and Prevost kept news of the marriage a secret.
Career
Early years
Initially cast in minor comedic roles as the sexy, innocent young girl, she worked in numerous films for Sennett's studio. In 1919, Sennett cast Prevost in her first lead role in ''
Yankee Doodle in Berlin
''Yankee Doodle in Berlin'' is a 1919 American silent comedy and World War I propaganda film from producer Mack Sennett. It was Sennett's most expensive production up to that time. Hiram Abrams was the original State's Rights marketer before th ...
''. The film was a hit and helped to solidify Prevost's career. She scored another success in the 1920 romantic film ''Love, Honor, and Behave'', opposite
George O'Hara, another newcomer and Sennett protégé. By 1921, Prevost wanted to move to another studio, later stating that she left Keystone because Sennett was only interested in making money and was unconcerned with creativity. Director
King Baggot
William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, B ...
helped secure her a contract with
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
for $1,000 per week. Prevost was released from her contract with Keystone, and she signed with Universal in 1921.
At Universal,
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
took an interest in Prevost and became determined to make her a star. Thalberg ensured that she received a great deal of publicity and staged numerous events which put her in the public spotlight. After announcing that he had selected two films in which Prevost would star, ''The Moonlight Follies'' (1921) and ''Kissed'' (1922), Thalberg sent Prevost to
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
where she burned her bathing suit to symbolize the end of her bathing beauty days.
Stardom
While at Universal, Prevost still was relegated to light comedies. After her contract expired,
Jack L. Warner
Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...
signed her to a two-year contract at $1,500 per week at
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
in 1922. During this time, Prevost was dating actor
Kenneth Harlan
Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types.
Early life
Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...
. Jack Warner also had signed Harlan to a contract and cast the couple in the lead roles in
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
's ''
The Beautiful and Damned
''The Beautiful and Damned'' is a 1922 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in New York City, the novel's plot follows a young artist Anthony Patch and his flapper wife Gloria Gilbert who become "wrecked on the shoals of dissipatio ...
''. To publicize the film, Warner announced that the couple would marry on the film's set. The publicity stunt worked, and thousands of fans sent gifts and letters to the couple. In August 1923, Sonny Gerke, Prevost's first husband filed for divorce. The ''Los Angeles Mirror'' got wind that Prevost still was married and ran a story with the headline "Marie Prevost Will Be a Bigamist if She Marries Kenneth Harlan". Warner was livid over the negative publicity and Prevost's failure to disclose her first marriage despite the fact that the publicity stunt was his idea.
In spite of the bad publicity, Prevost's performance in ''The Beautiful and Damned'' brought good reviews. Director
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
chose her for a major role opposite
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley Ku ...
in 1924's ''
The Marriage Circle
''The Marriage Circle'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and distributed by Warner Bros. Based on the play ''Only a Dream'' by Lothar Schmidt, the screenplay was written by Paul Bern. The "circle" o ...
''. Of her performance as the beautiful seductress, Lubitsch said that she was one of the few actresses in Hollywood who knew how to underplay comedy to achieve the maximum effect. This performance, praised by ''The New York Times,'' resulted in Lubitsch casting her in ''
Three Women'' in 1924 and in ''
Kiss Me Again'' the following year.
In early 1926, Warner Bros. decided to not renew Prevost and Harlan's contracts (the two quietly married in 1924 after Prevost's divorce was finalized).
Shortly after she was dismissed by Warner Bros., Prevost's mother Hughina died in an automobile accident in
Lordsburg, New Mexico
Lordsburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. Hidalgo County includes the southern "bootheel" of New Mexico, along the Arizona border. The population was 2,797 at the 2010 census, down from 3,379 in 20 ...
on February 5, 1926. Hughina had been traveling to
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...
with actress
Vera Steadman
Vera Steadman (June 23, 1900 – December 14, 1966) was an American film actress of the silent era. Steadman was born on June 23, 1900, in Monterey, California.
Before she began working in films, Steadman was experienced as a swimmer, high ...
and Hollywood studio owner
Al Christie
Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs.
Early life
Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, 1 ...
when their vehicle overturned. Hughina was crushed by the vehicle and died at the scene. Steadman and Christie sustained serious injuries, but survived.
Actress
Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Early life
Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas to James Hiram Haver (1872–1936) and Minnie Shanks Malone (1879–1949). When sh ...
, who had been friends with Prevost since her bathing beauty days, later stated in an interview that she believed the loss of Prevost and Harlan's contracts with Warner Bros. caused problems in the marriage and was one of the causes of Prevost's alcoholism.
Decline
Devastated by the loss of her only remaining parent, Prevost began drinking heavily and developed an addiction to alcohol. Prevost tried to get past her personal torment by burying herself in her work, starring in numerous roles as the temptingly beautiful seductress who in the end was always the honorable heroine. Adding to her depression was the end of her marriage to
Kenneth Harlan
Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types.
Early life
Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...
– the two separated in 1927.
After seeing Prevost in ''The Beautiful and Damned'',
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
cast her as the lead in ''
The Racket'' (1928). Hughes and Prevost later had a brief affair. After the affair ended, Prevost was heartbroken which furthered her depression. Her role in ''The Racket'' proved to be Prevost's last leading role.
Prevost's depression caused her to binge on food resulting in significant weight gain. Her career continued but she was relegated to secondary roles. In 1929,
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
offered her a co-starring role in his final silent film ''
The Godless Girl
''The Godless Girl'' (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery.
Plot
This drama featu ...
'', starring
Lina Basquette
Lina Basquette (born Lena Copeland Baskette; April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994) was an American actress. She is noted for her 75-year career in entertainment, which began during the silent film era. Talented as a dancer, she was paid as a gi ...
. In her 1990 autobiography, Basquette recalled that Prevost was not outwardly bitter about losing her leading lady status, stating "Aw, hell, that's the way it is." Prevost received generally good reviews for her role in the film. The following year, she signed a 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 (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
.
While at MGM, Prevost worked steadily but was offered only secondary parts. In 1930, she appeared in ''
Paid'', starring
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
. While Prevost's role was secondary, she garnered good reviews. In 1931, she played Academy Award winner
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
' loyal friend in ''
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
''The Sin of Madelon Claudet'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Edgar Selwyn and starring Helen Hayes. The screenplay by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht was adapted from the play ''The Lullaby'' by Edward Knoblock. It tells the ...
''. In 1932, she was one of the three leads in the film ''
Three Wise Girls
''Three Wise Girls'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by William Beaudine and featuring Jean Harlow in her first starring role. The supporting cast features a young Andy Devine. This film is preserved in the Library of C ...
'', starring
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
. By 1934, she had no work at all, and her financial situation deteriorated dramatically. The downward spiral became aggravated when her weight problems forced her into repeated crash dieting to keep whatever bit part a movie studio offered. Prevost made her last on screen appearance in a bit part as a waitress in ''
Ten Laps to Go
''Ten Laps to Go'' (''King of the Speedway'') is a 1938 American action/drama film directed by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Rex Lease as a champion race car driver, Duncan Renaldo as his rival, and Muriel Evans as the romantic interest. Former si ...
'' (1936).
Personal life
Prevost was married twice with both marriages ending in divorce. Her first marriage was to socialite Henry Charles "Sonny" Gerke in June 1918. The marriage was not known to the public until Gerke filed for divorce in August 1923 citing desertion. Gerke claimed that the marriage was kept a secret because Prevost feared it would damage her budding acting career. News of the marriage was revealed shortly after
Jack L. Warner
Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...
devised a publicity stunt in which he claimed that Prevost and her ''The Beautiful and Damned'' co-star
Kenneth Harlan
Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types.
Early life
Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...
would marry on the film's set in real life. To avoid negative publicity, Prevost did not fight the divorce. In an interview with the ''Los Angeles Times'', Prevost admitted that she and Gerke married on a whim and had separated shortly after marrying. She also stated that she and Gerke had remained friendly and dated on occasion. Gerke's divorce petition was granted in October 1923.
In October 1924, Prevost married actor Kenneth Harlan. The two starred in several films together, including ''
The Beautiful and the Damned'' and ''
Bobbed Hair
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, but no longer than shoulder-length, often with fringe or bangs at the front. The standar ...
''. Prevost and Harlan separated in May 1927, and Prevost filed for divorce. Later that year, she was granted an
interlocutory
Interlocutory is a legal term which can refer to an order, sentence, decree, or judgment, given in an intermediate stage between the commencement and conclusion of a cause of action, used to provide a temporary or provisional decision on an is ...
divorce. However, the couple reconciled in June 1928. The reconciliation proved to be brief and their divorce was finalized in January 1929.
Death
On January 21, 1937, Prevost died of acute alcoholism at the age of 40. Her body was not discovered until January 23 after neighbors complained about her dog's incessant barking. A houseboy found her body after entering her room. Police found several empty liquor bottles in the room along with a
promissory note
A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
to
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
for $110.
Her funeral (which was paid for by Joan Crawford) at the
Hollywood Memorial Cemetery was attended by Crawford,
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
,
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...
,
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
, and
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
. Prevost's sister had her remains cremated and combined them with those of their mother, who had died in 1926.
In February 1937, it was discovered that Prevost's estate was valued at $300. Prevost's fate as well as that of others prompted the Hollywood community to create the
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
to provide medical care for employees of the television and motion picture industry.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Marie Prevost has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.
Filmography
In popular culture
* Prevost's death was featured in the book ''
Hollywood Babylon
''Hollywood Babylon'' is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the purported scandals of famous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. The book was banned shortly after it was first published in the U.S. in 1965, ...
'' by
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...
. In the book, Anger claims Prevost's dog consumed her remains over the ensuing days to survive. However, Anger's claims that Prevost's dog made "mincemeat out of his mistress" are false. While Prevost's pet dachshund Maxie did bite her legs in an effort to wake her, the dog did not attempt to eat her body.
*
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,[Jesus of Cool
''Jesus of Cool'' is the solo debut album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe, it was released in March 1978 by Radar Records in the UK.
In the United States, the album was reconfigured by Columbia Records and retitled ''P ...]
'' details her life and Anger's account of her death. The song includes the lyric in the chorus "She was a winner/that became the doggie's dinner".
* In 2019, novelist Laini Giles released ''Bathing Beauty,'' a novel that details her life.
See also
*
Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
Motion pictures have been a part of the culture of Canada since the industry began.
History
Around 1910, the East Coast filmmakers began to take advantage of the mild California winter climates, and after Nestor Studios, run by Canadian Al Christi ...
References
Works cited
*
Anger, Kenneth (1975). ''
Hollywood Babylon
''Hollywood Babylon'' is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the purported scandals of famous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. The book was banned shortly after it was first published in the U.S. in 1965, ...
''. Bell Publishing Company.
*
Ankerich, Michael G. (2010). ''Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen''. BearManor. .
* Dumaux, Sally A. (2002). ''King Baggot: A Biography and Filmography of the First King of the Movies''. McFarland.
* Golden, Eve; King, Bob (2001). ''Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars''. McFarland.
* Foster, Charles (2000). ''Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood''. Dundurn Press Ltd. .
* Petrucelli, Alan W. (2009). ''Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises of the Famous and Infamous'' (1 ed.), Perigee Trade,
External links
*
*
*
Photographs and literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prevost, Marie
1896 births
1937 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Ontario
Alcohol-related deaths in California
American film actresses
American silent film actresses
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian film actresses
Canadian silent film actresses
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People from Sarnia
Warner Bros. contract players
20th-century Canadian actresses