Marilyn Harris (born July 17, 1924 – December 1, 1999) was an American

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated ...

who appeared in several

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

productions in the 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her role as "Little Maria" in the 1931 horror film ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

''.

Early life and career

Harris was born in

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...

and placed in a Los Angeles orphanage shortly after her birth. She was adopted by an area couple when she was a month old. Shortly after her adoption, she appeared in a

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

film. In her later years, Harris revealed that her adoptive mother forced her to pursue a screen career because of her own failed attempts to become an actress. Harris also claimed that her mother was physically and emotionally abusive. In 1931, Harris won the role of "Little Maria" in the horror film ''

''. In arguably the film's most memorable scene, Maria meets the fugitive monster (played by

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

) beside a lake and charms the monster with her innocence, humanity and friendship. These were qualities that he had not experienced with hostile, untrusting adults. A children's game is tragically misinterpreted by the monster, and he throws Little Maria into the lake, unintentionally drowning her and turning the surrounding village's population into a lynch mob, seeking revenge after the child's body is found. The shot of Maria being thrown into the water was cut from original prints, and was restored in the 1980s. After appearing in ''Frankenstein'', Harris continued her career in small film roles. She left acting at the age of 19 shortly after marrying Wally Watkins, a bouncer she met while working as a cashier at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

. The couple had a son the following year. After Harris' husband died in 1981, she remarried. Harris' second husband, Carl, died in 1988.Mank 1999 p.80 In 1983, 52 years after the film, Harris resumed a friendship with Frankenstein actress

Mae Clarke Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...

who resided at 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 ...

. Clarke had made a televised request to locate Harris during an interview with LA movie host Tom Hatton.

Death

During her final years, Harris struggled with ill health. On December 1, 1999, she died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

in Los Angeles at the age of 75. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving cast member of ''

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris 1924 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American adoptees American child actresses American film actresses Deaths from cancer in California