Mabel Normand | |
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 Normandc. 1920 | |
| Born | Amabel Ethelreid Normand (1893-11-09)November 9, 1893 New Brighton,New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1930(1930-02-23) (aged 36) Monrovia,California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1910–1927 |
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Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 — February 23, 1930), better known asMabel Normand, was an Americansilent film actress, comedienne, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator ofMack Sennett in theirKeystone Studios films,[1] and at the height of her career in the late 1910s and early 1920s had her ownfilm studio and production company,[2] the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company.[3] On screen, she appeared in twelve successful films withCharlie Chaplin and seventeen withRoscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, sometimes writing and directing (or co-writing and directing) films featuring Chaplin as herleading man.[4][5]
Normand's name was repeatedly linked withgun violence, including the 1922 murder of her friend, directorWilliam Desmond Taylor, and the non-fatal 1924 shooting of Courtland S. Dines by Normand'schauffeur, Joe Kelly.[6][a] After police interrogation, she was ruled out as a suspect in Taylor's murder.
Normand was a heavy smoker who may have suffered lung cancer, and/or a recurrence oftuberculosis in 1923, which led to a decline in her health, an early retirement from films in 1926 and her death in 1930 at age 36.[7][8]
Amabel Ethelreid Normand was born inNew Brighton,New York, (before it was incorporated intoNew York City as part ofStaten Island) on November 9, 1893. She took her name from her father's only sibling, who had died before her birth in 1892. Normand's mother, Mary "Minnie" Drury, ofProvidence,Rhode Island,[9] was ofIrish heritage; while her father, Clodman "Claude" George Normand, wasFrench Canadian, with his ancestral lineage dating back toNormandy in France and their surname originally beingLeNormand orLe Normand.[10]
For a short time at the start of her career, Normand worked forVitagraph Studios in New York City for $25 per week (equivalent to $470 in 2024), but Vitagraph founderAlbert E. Smith admitted she was one of several actresses about whom he made a mistake in estimating their "potential for future stardom."[11] Normand's intensely beguiling lead performance in the 1911 dramatic short filmHer Awakening, directed byD. W. Griffith, drew her attention and led to her meeting directorMack Sennett while at Griffith'sBiograph Company. The two subsequently embarked on a chaotic relationship. Sennett later brought Normand toCalifornia when he foundedKeystone Studios in 1912.[12]
Normand appeared withCharlie Chaplin andRoscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in many short films. With the 1913 filmA Noise from the Deep, Normand is credited as being the first film star to receive apie thrown in the face.[13]She played a key role in starting Chaplin's film career and acted as his leading lady and mentor in a string of films in 1914, collaborating with him as a director, co-director or co-writer.[12] Chaplin had considerable initial difficulty adjusting to the demands of film acting, and his performance suffered for it. After his first film appearance inMaking a Living, Sennett felt he had made a costly mistake.[14] However, Normand persuaded Sennett to give Chaplin another chance,[15] and she and Chaplin appeared together in a dozen subsequent films, almost always as a couple in the lead roles. At the start of 1914, Chaplin first played hisTramp character inMabel's Strange Predicament,[12] although it wound up being the second Tramp film released; Normand directed Chaplin and herself in the film.[16] Later that year, Normand starred with Chaplin andMarie Dressler inTillie's Punctured Romance, the first feature-length comedy.
Normand opened her own film company in partnership with Sennett in 1916,[12] based inCulver City, California. She lost the company in 1918 when its parent company, Triangle Film Corporation, experienced a massive shakeup which also had Sennett lose Keystone Studios and establish his own independent company. In 1918, as her relationship with Sennett came to an end, Normand signed a $3,500-per-week contract (equivalent to $65,749 in 2024) withSamuel Goldwyn. Around that same time, Normand allegedly had amiscarriage (orstillbirth) with Goldwyn's child.[17][18]
Arbuckle, Normand's co-star in many films, was the defendant in three widely publicized trials formanslaughter in the 1921 death of actressVirginia Rappe. Although Arbuckle wasacquitted, the scandal damaged his career and his films were banned from exhibition for a short time. Since she had made some of her most notable works with him, much of Normand's output was withheld from the public as a result.[12] Arbuckle later returned to the screen as a director and actor, but did not attain his previous popularity despite being exonerated in court.
DirectorWilliam Desmond Taylor formed a close relationship with Normand based on their shared interest in books. AuthorRobert Giroux claims that Taylor was deeply in love with Normand, who had originally approached him for help in dealing with an allegedcocaine dependency, and that Taylor met with federal prosecutors shortly before his death with an offer to assist them in filing charges against her drug dealers, theorizing that this meeting caused the dealers to hire acontract killer. According to Giroux, Normand suspected the reasons for Taylor's murder but did not know the identity of the man who killed him.[19] According to Kevin Brownlow and John Kobal in their bookHollywood: The Pioneers, the idea that Taylor was murdered by drug dealers was invented byParamount Studios for publicity purposes.[20] On the night of his murder, February 1, 1922, Normand left Taylor'sbungalow at 7:45 pm in a happy mood, carrying a book he had lent her. They blew kisses to each other as her limousine drove away. Normand was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive. TheLos Angeles Police Department subjected Normand to a grueling interrogation but ruled her out as a suspect.[21][b] Most subsequent writers have done the same. However, Normand's career had already slowed, and her reputation was tarnished. According toGeorge Hopkins, who sat next to her at Taylor's funeral, Normand wept inconsolably.[22]
In 1924, Normand's chauffeur Joe Kelly shot and wounded millionaire oil broker and amateur golfer Courtland S. Dines with herpistol.[12][23][24] In response, several theaters pulled Normand's films, which were also banned inOhio by the state film censorship board.[25] However, Dines was not fatally injured; he died of a heart attack in 1945, over two decades after the shooting.[26]
Normand continued her film career and joinedHal Roach Studios in 1926 after conversations with director and producerF. Richard Jones, who had previously worked with her at Keystone.The films she made at Roach includedRaggedy Rose,The Nickel-Hopper, andOne Hour Married — the latter being her last film—all co-written alongsideStan Laurel.In another Roach film, she was directed byLeo McCarey in the filmShould Men Walk Home?.
On the 17 September 1926, she married actorLew Cody, with whom she had appeared inMickey in 1918.[27] They lived separately in nearby houses inBeverly Hills. Normand's health was in decline due totuberculosis.[12] After an extended stay inPottenger Sanitorium, she died from pulmonary tuberculosis on February 23, 1930, inMonrovia, California, at the age of 36.[28] She was interred as Mabel Normand-Cody atCalvary Cemetery, Los Angeles. The date of birth listed on her crypt is incorrect. Her mother was buried in the crypt above.
"We used to go to the park with a stepladder, a bucket of whitewash, and Mabel Normand, and make a picture." —Charlie Chaplin, recalling the early days of silent filmmaking.[29]
Normand has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.[30]
Her filmMabel's Blunder (1914) was added to theNational Film Registry in December 2009.[31]
In June 2010, the New Zealand Film Archive reported the discovery of a print of Normand's filmWon in a Closet (exhibited in New Zealand under its alternate titleWon in a Cupboard), a short comedy previously believed lost. This film is a significant discovery, as Normand directed the film and starred in the lead role, displaying her talents on both sides of the camera.[32]
In 2025, Mabel Normand was announced as an inductee in theVisual Effects Society Hall of Fame.[33]
The 1974Broadway musicalMack & Mabel (Michael Stewart andJerry Herman) fictionalized the romance between Normand and Mack Sennett. Normand was played byBernadette Peters andRobert Preston portrayed Sennett.
Normand is played by actressMarisa Tomei in the 1992 filmChaplin oppositeRobert Downey, Jr. as Charles Chaplin; byPenelope Lagos in the first biopic about Normand's life, a 35-minute dramatic short film entitledMadcap Mabel (2010); and by Morganne Picard in the motion pictureReturn to Babylon (2013).
In 2014, Normand was played on television byAndrea Deck in series 2, episode 8 ofMr Selfridge and by Kristina Thompson in the short filmMabel's Dressing Room.[37][38]
The character played byAlice Faye inHollywood Cavalcade (1939) was reputed to have been based partly on Normand.[39]
Some of her early roles are credited as "Mabel Fortesque".[40]
| † | Denotes alost or presumed lost film. |
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Co-Star | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Indiscretions of Betty † | ||||
| Over the Garden Wall † | |||||
| 1911 | Fate's Turning | A Diner At The Hotel | D. W. Griffith | ||
| The Diamond Star † | Guest At Dinner Party | ||||
| A Tale of Two Cities | Uncredited | William J. Humphrey | |||
| Betty Becomes a Maid † | Betty | ||||
| Troublesome Secretaries | Betty Harding | Ralph Ince | |||
| Picciola; or, The Prison Flower † | Theresa Girhardi | ||||
| His Mother † | Donald's Fiancée | ||||
| When a Man's Married His Trouble Begins † | Mabel - Jack's Wife | James Morrison | |||
| A Dead Man's Honor † | Helen | ||||
| The Changing of Silas Warner † | |||||
| Two Overcoats † | |||||
| The Subduing of Mrs. Nag † | Miss Prue | George D. Baker | |||
| The Strategy of Anne † | |||||
| The Diving Girl † | The Niece | Mack Sennett | Fred Mace | ||
| How Betty Won the School † | Betty's Rival | Edith Storey | |||
| The Baron † | The Heiress | Mack Sennett | Dell Henderson |
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Co-Star | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Cohen Collects a Debt | Mack Sennett | Ford Sterling | ||
| The Water Nymph | Diving Venus | Mack Sennett Ford Sterling | Alternative title:The Beach Flirt First Keystone comedy | ||
| The New Neighbor † | |||||
| Riley and Schultz | |||||
| The Beating He Needed † | Fred Mace Ford Sterling | ||||
| Pedro's Dilemma † | Mack Sennett Fred Mace Ford Sterling | ||||
| Ambitious Butler † | Mack Sennett Fred Mace Ford Sterling | ||||
| The Flirting Husband † | Mrs. Smith | Ford Sterling | |||
| At Coney Island † | The Girl | Ford Sterling Fred Mace | Alternative title:Cohen at Coney Island | ||
| At It Again † | Mrs. Smith | Mack Sennett Fred Mace Ford Sterling | |||
| Mabel's Lovers † | Mabel | Fred Mace Ford Sterling Alice Davenport | |||
| The Deacon's Troubles † | Fred Mace Ford Sterling | ||||
| A Temperamental Husband † | Gladys | Fred Mace Ford Sterling | |||
| Mr. Fix-It | Mabel | ||||
| The Rivals † | |||||
| A Desperate Lover † | Fred Mace | ||||
| Brown's Séance † | Mrs. Brown | Fred Mace | Fred Mace Alice Davenport | ||
| Pat's Day Off † | Bridget, Pat's Wife | Mack Sennett | Fred Mace Alice Davenport Ford Sterling | ||
| A Family Mixup † | A Wife | Mack Sennett Fred Mace | |||
| A Midnight Elopement † | |||||
| Mabel's Adventures | Mabel | Fred Mace Ford Sterling | |||
| The Drummer's Vacation † | |||||
| The Duel † | Mabel | ||||
| Mabel's Stratagem | Fred Mace Alice Davenport Mack Sennett | ||||
| Kings Court † | |||||
| 1913 | The Bangville Police | Farm Girl | Henry Lehrman | Fred Mace theKeystone Cops | |
| A Noise from the Deep | Mabel | Mack Sennett | Roscoe Arbuckle the Keystone Cops | ||
| A Little Hero | George Nichols | ||||
| Mabel's Awful Mistakes † | Mabel | Mack Sennett | Mack Sennett Ford Sterling | Alternative title:Her Deceitful Lover | |
| Passions, He Had Three † | Henry Lehrman | Roscoe Arbuckle | Alternative title:He Had Three | ||
| For the Love of Mabel † | Mabel | Roscoe Arbuckle Ford Sterling | |||
| Mabel's Dramatic Career | Mabel, the kitchen maid | Mack Sennett | Mack Sennett Ford Sterling | Alternative title:Her Dramatic Debut | |
| The Gypsy Queen † | Roscoe Arbuckle | ||||
| Cohen Saves the Flag | Rebecca | Ford Sterling | |||
| 1914 | Mabel's Stormy Love Affair † | Mabel | Mabel Normand | Alice Davenport | |
| Won in a Closet[41] | Alternative title:Won in a Cupboard | ||||
| In the Clutches of the Gang † | Roscoe Arbuckle Keystone Cops | ||||
| Mack at It Again † | Mack Sennett | Mack Sennett | |||
| Mabel's Strange Predicament | Mabel | Mabel Normand | Charles Chaplin | Alternative title:Hotel Mixup First film with Chaplin as theTramp although the second released. | |
| Mabel's Blunder | Charley Chase Al St. John | Added to theNational Film Registry in 2009[31] | |||
| A Film Johnnie | George Nichols | Charles Chaplin Roscoe Arbuckle | |||
| Mabel at the Wheel | Mabel Normans Mack Sennett | Charles Chaplin | |||
| Caught in a Cabaret | Mabel Normand | Charles Chaplin | Writer | ||
| Mabel's Nerve † | George Nichols | ||||
| The Alarm † | Roscoe Arbuckle Edward Dillon | Roscoe Arbuckle Minta Durfee | Alternative title:Fireman's Picnic | ||
| Her Friend the Bandit † | Mabel | Mabel Normand Charles Chaplin | Charles Chaplin | ||
| The Fatal Mallet | Mack Sennett | Charles Chaplin Mack Sennett | |||
| Mabel's Busy Day | Mabel Normand | Charles Chaplin Chester Conklin | Writer | ||
| Mabel's Married Life | Charles Chaplin | Charles Chaplin | Co-written by Normand and Chaplin | ||
| Mabel's New Job † | Mabel Normand George Nichols | Chester Conklin Charley Chase | Writer | ||
| The Sky Pirate † | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle Minta Durfee | |||
| The Masquerader | Actress | Charles Chaplin | Uncredited | ||
| Mabel's Latest Prank † | Mabel | Mabel Normand Mack Sennett | Mack Sennett Hank Mann | Alternative title:Touch of Rheumatism | |
| Hello, Mabel | Mabel Normand | Charley Chase Minta Durfee | Alternative title:On a Busy Wire | ||
| Gentlemen of Nerve | Charles Chaplin | Charles Chaplin Chester Conklin | Alternative titles:Charlie at the Races Some Nerve | ||
| His Trysting Place | Mabel, The Wife | Charles Chaplin | |||
| Shotguns That Kick † | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle Al St. John | |||
| Getting Acquainted | Ambrose's Wife | Charles Chaplin | Charles Chaplin Phyllis Allen | ||
| Tillie's Punctured Romance | Mabel | Mack Sennett | Marie Dressler Charles Chaplin | Feature-Length film First feature-length comedy | |
| 1915 | Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle | ||
| Fatty and Mabel's Simple Life | Roscoe Arbuckle | Alternative title:Mabel and Fatty's Simple Life | |||
| Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco | Mabel Normand Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle | |||
| Mabel and Fatty's Married Life | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle | |||
| That Little Band of Gold | Wifey | Uncredited Alternative title:For Better or Worse | |||
| Wished on Mabel | Mabel | Mabel Normand | Roscoe Arbuckle | ||
| Mabel's Wilful Way | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle | |||
| Mabel Lost and Won | Mabel Normand | Owen Moore Mack Swain | |||
| The Little Teacher | The Little Teacher | Mack Sennett | Roscoe Arbuckle, Mack Sennett | Alternative title:A Small Town Bully | |
| 1916 | Fatty and Mabel Adrift | Mabel | Roscoe Arbuckle | Roscoe Arbuckle Al St. John | Alternative title:Concrete Biscuits |
| He Did and He Didn't | The Doctor's Wife | Roscoe Arbuckle Al St. John |
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Co-Star | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Raggedy Rose | Raggedy Rose | Richard Wallace | Carl Miller Max Davidson | Feature-length film |
| The Nickel-Hopper | Paddy, the nickel hopper | F. Richard Jones Hal Yates | |||
| 1927 | Should Men Walk Home? | The Girl Bandit | Leo McCarey | Eugene Pallette Oliver Hardy | |
| One Hour Married † | Jerome Strong | Creighton Hale James Finlayson |
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