Marguerite Clark facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marguerite Clark
Clark in 1919
Born	Helen Marguerite Clark (1883-02-22)February 22, 1883 Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 25, 1940(1940-09-25) (aged 57) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Metairie Cemetery
Nationality	American
Other names	Marguerite Clarke
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1900–1921
Spouse(s)	Harry Palmerston Williams ​ ​ (m. 1918; his death 1936)​

Helen Marguerite Clark (born February 22, 1883 – died September 25, 1940) was a famous American actress. She starred in both live plays and silent movies. At one point, Marguerite Clark was almost as popular as Mary Pickford, another huge movie star of her time. Sadly, most of the movies she made are now lost. Only five of her films still exist today.

Early Life and Stage Career

Hand-tinted postcard of Clark in the play Happyland

Clark in 1912, the year she starred in two Broadway plays: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Affairs of Anatol

Marguerite Clark was born in Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 22, 1883. She was the third child of Augustus and Helen Clark. She had an older sister named Cora and an older brother named Clifton. Her parents passed away when she was young. Her father owned a successful clothing store in Cincinnati.

After her father's death, Marguerite's older sister Cora became her legal guardian. Cora took her out of public school so she could study at Ursuline Academy. When Marguerite finished school at age 16, she decided to become an actress.

Broadway Debut

In 1900, at age 17, Marguerite made her first big performance on Broadway, a famous theater district in New York City. She performed in many different shows. In 1903, she acted alongside a very tall comedian named DeWolf Hopper in a play called Mr. Pickwick. Hopper was much taller than Clark, who was nearly 5 feet tall.

After this, she often played characters in adventure and fantasy stories. In 1909, Clark starred in a fun play with special costumes called The Beauty Spot. This play helped her become known for fantasy roles. In 1910, she appeared in The Wishing Ring, a play directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who later became a famous movie director. That same year, she was in Baby Mine, a popular play.

Starring in Snow White

In 1912, Clark had a main role in the play The Affairs of Anatol. This play was later made into a movie by the studio she would work for, Famous Players-Lasky. In the same year, she starred as Snow White in a stage version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The play was very popular and ran into 1913.

Because she was so popular, Marguerite Clark signed a contract in 1914 to make movies with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company. Over the next two years, she starred in more than a dozen long movies. She then played Snow White again in a movie version of the play in 1916. This movie helped define her image as an actress.

Movie Star

Advertisement for Wildflower in Moving Picture World (1918)

Silks and Satins (1916)

Marguerite Clark by Harrison Fisher, a red conte crayon drawing done for the March 24, 1918 edition of American Weekly

Marguerite Clark started her movie career at age 31, which was a bit late for an actress to begin starring in films. However, she had a youthful, little-girl look, much like Mary Pickford, that made her seem younger than she was. Also, long movies were still quite new when Clark was in her early 20s. Many big Broadway stars didn't want to make movies at first.

Her first movie was a short film called Wildflower in 1914. In 1915, Clark starred as "Gretchen" in a full-length movie called The Goose Girl, based on a popular book. She also appeared in The Seven Sisters (1915). She then played her famous stage role again in the first full-length movie version of Snow White (1916).

Clark in Molly Make-Believe (1916)

Clark worked with director J. Searle Dawley on many films. One notable role was when she played both "Little Eva St. Clair" and "Topsy" in the movie Uncle Tom's Cabin (1918).

Promotion in Moving Picture World, 1919

In 1919, Clark starred in Come Out of the Kitchen. That same year, she joined the naval reserves as a yeowoman, which was a type of naval assistant. Marguerite Clark made almost all of her 40 movies with Famous Players-Lasky. Her last film with them was Easy to Get in 1920, where she starred with silent film actor Harrison Ford.

Her next movie, Scrambled Wives, was made in 1921 by her own production company. It was distributed by First National Pictures. Marguerite Clark was one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses in the early 1920s. Her name alone was enough to make a movie successful. After Scrambled Wives, she retired from acting at age 38 to live with her husband.

Personal Life

Clark and Williams' former mansion on St. Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans now houses the Latter branch of the New Orleans Public Library

On August 15, 1918, Marguerite Clark married Harry Palmerston Williams. He was a millionaire businessman and plantation owner from New Orleans, Louisiana. Their marriage lasted until Williams died in an aircraft crash on May 19, 1936.

After her husband's death, Clark took over his company, Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation. This company built and flew racing planes, along with other aviation businesses. She owned it until she sold it in 1937.

Later Years and Legacy

After her husband passed away, Marguerite Clark moved to New York City. She lived there with her sister Cora. On September 20, 1940, she went into a hospital called LeRoy Sanitarium. She died five days later, on September 25, 1940, from pneumonia.

A private funeral was held for her. She was cremated and buried next to her husband in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. For her important work in the movie industry, Marguerite Clark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6304 Hollywood Boulevard.

Broadway Shows

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Marguerite Clark para niños