Mary Ella Dees (June 3, 1911 – August 4, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress who once served as a primary stand-in double for actress

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 ...

Biography and career

Born in Syracuse, New York on June 3, 1911, the daughter of a successful lawyer, Dees was for a time raised in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

. She worked for a short time as a typist before moving to Hollywood in 1932. She was named Miss America in Hollywood in 1932, an accomplishment that led director Jack Conway to give her a bit part in '' Red Headed Woman''. That film starred

, who befriended Dees. She advised the newcomer to study dancing, helped her to shop for "the right clothes" and helped to pay for Dees's gowns. Dees was a dancer when, in 1937, after the sudden death of Harlow, she was cast by MGM boss

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

as a four-minute stand-in for the star, who was acting opposite

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 ...

on the film '' Saratoga'', which was still in production.''The Guardian'' obituary for Mary Dees, September 22, 2005; accessed January 2, 2011.
/ref> Dees had parts in ''

The Last Gangster ''The Last Gangster'' (also called ''Another Public Enemy'') is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Rose Stradner, Lionel Stander and John C ...

'' (1937), '' The Women'' (1939), as well as a number of

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

shorts, which included ''

Hoi Polloi Hoi polloi (; ) is an expression from Greek that means "the many" or, in the strictest sense, "the people". In English, it has been given a negative connotation to signify the masses. Synonyms for ''hoi polloi'' include "the plebs" (plebeians) ...

'' (1935), and numerous

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

comedies.

Later career

Dees appeared in her last film role in 1946, in the

film ''

A Night in Casablanca ''A Night in Casablanca'' is a 1946 film starring the Marx Brothers: (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx). The picture was directed by Archie Mayo, and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. ...

''. She continued to act on stage in repertory theatre until 1985.

Death

Dees died on August 4, 2005 in

Lake Worth, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...

, aged 94, after a long illness.''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'' article with photo, August 10, 2004
/ref>

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dees, Mary 1911 births 2005 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Syracuse, New York People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women