Marie Prevost

Lore & Background

Marie Prevost was born in Sarnia, Ontario, to Hughina Marion (née Bickford) and Arthur "Teddy" Dunn, a railway conductor who died when she was an infant. Her mother later married Frank Prevost, a miner and surveyor, and the family moved frequently before settling in Los Angeles. Prevost attended Manual Arts High School and worked as a secretary at a law firm representing Keystone Film Company. While running an errand at Keystone Studios, she was asked to appear in a bit part for the film His Father's Footsteps. Mack Sennett, impressed, signed her to a contract as one of his Bathing Beauties at $15 per week.

Her career rose with lead roles in Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919) and Love, Honor, and Behave (1920). She moved to Universal in 1921, where Irving Thalberg promoted her, and then to Warner Bros. in 1922. At Warner Bros., she starred in The Beautiful and Damned and became a favorite of director Ernst Lubitsch, who cast her in The Marriage Circle (1924), Three Women (1924), and Kiss Me Again (1925). After Warner Bros. let her go in early 1926, her career declined. She faced personal losses, including her mother's death in a car accident in 1926 and the end of her marriage to actor Kenneth Harlan in 1927. She turned to alcohol and binge eating, gained weight, and by 1935 could only secure bit parts. Her last onscreen appearance was in Ten Laps to Go (1936).

Reader's Guide

Marie Prevost's significance lies in her trajectory from a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty to a leading lady in the silent era, particularly through her work with Ernst Lubitsch, who praised her ability to underplay comedy. Her career illustrates the volatility of Hollywood stardom: after a peak at Warner Bros., she was dropped in 1926 and never regained her former status. Her personal struggles—alcoholism, depression, weight gain—and her death at 40 with an estate valued at $300 prompted the Hollywood community to establish the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital. Prevost's story serves as a cautionary tale about the pressures of early Hollywood and the fragility of fame. Her legacy is preserved in her 121 films and in the institution created in her memory.

Did You Know?

• Prevost was discovered while running an errand at Keystone Studios and signed to a contract at $15 per week.
• She burned her bathing suit at Coney Island in 1921 to symbolize the end of her Bathing Beauty days.
• Her first marriage to Henry Charles Gerke was kept secret until a newspaper exposed it, nearly causing a bigamy scandal.
• Her death at age 40 with an estate of $300 led to the creation of the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.