Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand
"Say anything you like, but don't say I love to work. That sounds like Mary Pickford, that prissy bitch. Just say I like to pinch babies and twist their legs. And get drunk."
Mabel Normand
Birth name:
Mabel Ethelreid Normand
Born:
9th November 1892, Staten Island, New York, USA
Died:
23rd February 1930, Monrovia, California, USA
Years active:
1910 - 1927
Mabel Normand was one of the founding figures of screen comedy. A major star at Keystone from its earliest days, she also directed and wrote much of her own material. However, scandal and ill health blighted her later career, depriving moviegoers of a unique talent far too soon.
Early life and entry into films
Like many stars of her era, Mabel Ethelreid Normand shrouded the place and date of her birth in mystery. Sometimes she claimed Boston as her birthplace, other times a plantation in Atlanta. Mack Sennett, her former boss and lover, believed she was born in Providence, but no trace of her birth exists there. She told her biographer she might have been born in Staten Island on 10th November 1895, but some believe she chose 1895 because it made her younger than rivals like Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish.
She was actually born in Staten Island on 9th November 1892, weighing only 5lb and with her head covered by a caul, to Claude and Mary Normand. The youngest of three, she was always known within her family as ‘Baby’.
By her mid-teens, Mabel was posing as an artist’s model for prominent illustrators such as Charles Dana Gibson and James Montgomery Flagg. When a male model told her of the good money he was earning making movies for Biograph, Mabel visited the studio and was immediately taken on by D. W. Griffith’s assistant, Wilfred Lucas. It was there that she met Sennett, whose professional and romantic partnership with her would shape both their careers.
When Griffith’s company decamped for California for the winter, leaving Mabel behind, she turned to Vitagraph for work. For them, she appeared in several shorts - often as “Betty”, and sometimes appearing opposite the studio’s resident funny man, John Bunny. She returned to Biograph in 1911, appearing in both dramas and comedies. Her performance in Her Awakening (1911), directed by D. W. Griffith, drew significant attention from critics and audiences.
In 1912, Sennett left Biograph to found Keystone in California, and Normand, by this time Sennett’s lover, went with him. She quickly became the company’s leading comedienne, developing a new type of comic female character. In films like The Water Nymph (1912) and Bangville Police (1913) Mabel proved she was as adept at pratfalls and slapstick as any man. In 1913 she also earned the distinction of becoming the first star to throw a custard pie in someone’s face (the unfortunate recipient was frequent on-screen collaborator, Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle in A Noise from the Deep).
As her popularity grew, Mabel’s name began appearing in her film’s titles, and she started directing and co-directing her own vehicles. She also wrote scenarios, carving out an unusually multifaceted creative role for a woman in the 1910s.
Collaboration with Chaplin and Arbuckle
From late 1913, Sennett teamed his new comic sensation Charlie Chaplin with Mabel, his biggest star. At first, Chaplin objected to taking direction from a woman, but soon he and Mabel were directing each other’s scenes and meeting each morning to bounce ideas off one another. They made eleven shorts together during Chaplin’s brief tenure. His iconic tramp character first appeared in Mabel’s Strange Predicament (1914), although Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) was released first. The couple also appeared together with Marie Dressler in Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914), the first feature-length movie.
Mabel’s primary screen partner at Keystone, however, was Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, with whom she made thirty-six films between June 1913 and May 1916. The duo also became close friends; she christened the roly-poly comic Big Otto, and would spend each Sunday with him and his wife, Minta Durfee, at their Santa Monica home. During her Keystone period, Mabel made approximately 167 shorts and over 20 features, making her one of the most prolific comic performers of the 1910s.
Mabel Normand in Bangville Police (1913)
Independent production and Goldwyn
By the mid-1910s, Normand’s popularity rivalled that of Mary Pickford, although her relationship with Sennett had ended. She left Keystone in 1916 but soon returned under the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company banner. Sennett constructed a studio facility for her in Culver City, and she embarked on the feature Mickey (1918), intended as the flagship of her independent output.
Mickey was shot in 1916 but not released until 1918. It became one of Mabel’s biggest commercial successes, but by the time of its release she had moved on from Keystone. She signed with the newly formed Goldwyn Pictures Corporation as one of its marquee stars, earning $2,500 per week. Mabel made around sixteen features for Goldwyn between 1917 and 1920. Goldwyn attempted to soften her Keystone image and mould her into a more conventional star, but her films for him never achieved the success of her earlier output.
During this period, Mabel’s escalating reliance on alcohol and cocaine made her increasingly unreliable. The situation became so untenable that Goldwyn released her from her contract in 1920.
Return to Sennett and major scandals
Mabel returned to Sennett and tried to recapture the energy and appeal of her earlier screen persona with films such as Molly O’ (1921), Suzanna (1923) and The Extra Girl (1923). However, her off-screen life began to overshadow her films, earning her an unenviable reputation.
On 1st February 1922, Mabel’s close friend, director William Desmond Taylor, was murdered at his Los Angeles home. Police quickly established that the actress was the last known person to see him alive, having left him just minutes before he died. The ensuing press speculation about Hollywood morals, drug use, and romantic entanglements created damaging and unwelcome publicity for the star, even though the police never named her as a suspect.
A second incident in 1924 damaged her reputation even further. After a New Year’s gathering attended by Normand and other film figures, her chauffeur shot and wounded Denver oilman Courtland S. Dines. The pistol he used belonged to Normand. Again, no charges were made against her, but her involvement in another high-profile scandal only damaged her image further. These incidents, combined with her ongoing substance issues, contributed to the decline of her popularity and employability in the mid-1920s.
Final films, illness and death
Normand’s health, always fragile, had deteriorated noticeably by the mid-1920s. Despite a recurrence of tuberculosis around 1923, she returned to the screen in a series of short films for Hal Roach. The last of these, One Hour Married (1927), was to be her final screen appearance. As her illness worsened, she retired from the screen.
She died of tuberculosis in the early hours of 23rd February 1930 at Pottenger’s Sanatorium in Monrovia at the age of 37.
Legacy and historical significance
Mabel Normand’s filmography encompasses over 200 shorts and around 24 features. She was among the first women to write and direct for the screen, the first actress to direct herself in a picture, and one of the earliest performers to have a studio and production company bearing her own name. Her work at Keystone helped define slapstick comedy and shape the careers of Chaplin and Arbuckle. Recent projects such as Columbia University’s Women Film Pioneers Project and retrospectives by institutions like the American Film Institute have done much to restore her status as a trailblazing figure in early film comedy.
Sources: Mabel: Hollywood's First I Don't Care Girl, Betty Harper Fussell; Mabel Normand, Timothy Dean Lefler.
Mabel Normand filmography
Indiscretions of Betty (1910), short, Vitagraph; Over the Garden Wall (1910), short, Vitagraph; With Maurice Costello, Florence Turner.
Betty Becomes a Maid (1911), short, Vitagraph. With John Bunny, Ralph Ince. Normand appears as Betty; Troublesome Secretaries (1911), short, Vitagraph, Dir: Ralph Ince. With John Bunny, Alec B. Francis, Ralph Ince; Picciola (1911), short, Vitagraph. With William Humphrey; His Mother (1911), short, Vitagraph, Dir: Genevieve Baird. With Mary Maurice, Maurice Costello, Hazel Neason; When a Man is Married His Trouble Begins (1911), short, Vitagraph. With James Morrison, Edwin R. Phillips, Hazel Neason; A Dead Man’s Honor (1911), short, Vitagraph. With Maurice Costello, Julia Swayne Gordon; The Changing of Silas Warner (1911), short, Vitagraph. With Maurice Costello; Two Overcoats (1911), short, Vitagraph. With John Bunny, Flora Finch, William Shea; The Subduing of Mrs. Nag (1911), short, Vitagraph, Dir: George D. Baker. With John Bunny, Flora Finch, James Morrison; The Diving Girl (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, William J. Butler, Verner Clarges. Normand’s first film for Biograph since appearing as an extra; How Betty Won the School (1911), short, Vitagraph; The Baron (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Dell Henderson, Joseph Graybill, Grace Henderson; Her Awakening (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Harry Hyde, Kate Bruce; The Squaw’s Love (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Alfred Paget, Dark Cloud, Dorothy West; The Making of a Man (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Dell Henderson, Blanche Sweet, William J. Butler; The Unveiling (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Robert Harron, Grace Henderson, William J. Butler; Through His Wife’s Picture (1911) short, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Eddie Dillon; Why He Gave Up (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: Henry Lehrmann, Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Eddie Dillon, William J. Butler; Saved from Himself (1911), short, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Joseph Graybill, Charles Hill Mailes, William J. Butler.
The Eternal Mother (1912), 17m, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Edwin August, Blanche Sweet, Charles Hill Mailes; The Mender of Nets (1912), 16m, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Mary Pickford, Charles H. West, Marguerite Marsh; The Fatal Chocolate (1912), 6m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Charles H. West, Dell Henderson; A Spanish Dilemma (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Mack Sennett, Dell Henderson; The Engagement Ring (1912), 8m, Biograph. Dir: Mack Sennett. With Dell Henderson, Edward Dillon; Hot Stuff (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Dell Henderson, William Beaudine; Oh, Those Eyes! (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Dell Henderson, Edward Dillon, J. Liquel Lanoe; Help! Help! (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Edward Dillon, Dell Henderson; The Brave Hunter (1912), 7m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Dell Henderson, William J. Butler; The Fickle Spaniard (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With William J. Butler, Fred Mace, Claire McDowell; The Furs (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Dell Henderson, Kate Bruce, William J. Butler; When Kings Were the Law (1912), 17m, Biograph, Dir: D. W. Griffith. With Wilfred Lucas, Edwin August, Dorothy Bernard. Normand appeared as an extra in a royal court scene; Helen’s Marriage (1912), 7m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Edward Dillon, Frank Opperman, Grace Henderson; Tomboy Bessie (1912), 9m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Kate Toncray, William J. Butler; Neighbors (1912), 6m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Frank Evans, Sylvia Ashton; Katchem Kate (1912), 11m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Jack Pickford, Vivian Prescott. A Dash Through the Clouds (1912), 12m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Philip Parmalee, Sylvia Ashton. The Tourists (1912), Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Charles H. West, William J. Butler, Grace Henderson; What the Doctor Ordered (1912), Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Kate Toncray, Jack Pickford; An Interrupted Elopement (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Edward Dillon, William J. Butler, Ford Sterling; The Tragedy of a Dress Suit (1912), 8m, Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Dell Henderson, Edward Dillion, Ford Sterling; He Must Have a Wife (1912), Biograph, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Gus Pixley, William J. Butler, Ford Sterling; Cohen Collects a Debt (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Ford Sterling, Mack Sennett, Fred Mace. The first ever Keystone release, issued on a split reel with The Water Nymph. The Water Nymph (1912), 8m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Ford Sterling, Gus Pixley; The New Neighbor (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Ford Sterling, Mack Sennett; Riley and Schulz (1912), short, Keystone, Dire: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fred Mace, Ford Sterling; The Beating He Needed (1912), 6m, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Ford Sterling, Frank Opperman; Pedro’s Dilemma (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fred Mace, Ford Sterling; The Ambitious Butler (1912), 6m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Ford Sterling, Victoria Forde; The Flirting Husband (1912), 4m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Ford Sterling, Fred Mace, Mack Sennett; At Coney Island (1912), 6m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sednnett, Ford Sterling, Gus Pixley. Reportedly the first Keystone film produced (around 4th July 1912) but not released until 28th October. Mabel’s Lovers (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Ford Sterling, Alice Davenport. The earliest film to use Normand’s name in the title; At It Again (1912), 6m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Mack Sennett, Ford Sterling. Apparently the first Keystone picture to feature a group of comic cops (although not generally considered to be the first appearance of the Keystone Kops). The Deacon’s Troubles (1912), 5m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Ford Sterling, Fred Mace, Mack Sennett; A Temperamental Husband (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Ford Sterling, Henry Lehrman, Laura Oakley; The Rivals (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fred Mace, Ford Sterling; Mr Fix-It (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fred Mace, Ford Sterling; A Desperate Lover (1912), 6m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace; Pat’s Day Off (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fred Mace. Working title: Sewercide; Brown’s Séance (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Fred Mace. With Fred Mace; A Family Mixup (1912), 5m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Mack Sennett; Mable’s Adventures (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Ford Sterling. Title spelling as per NYMPC negative record; The Duel (1912), short, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Mack Sennett, Fido the dog; Mabel’s Stratagem (1912), 6m, Keystone, Dir: Mack Sennett. With Fred Mace, Alice Davenport, Arthur Tavares.