Mary Carlisle

Blue-eyed blonde Mary Carlisle was born on February 3, 1914, in Los Angeles, CA. She was brought to Hollywood in 1918, at age 4, by her mother after her father passed away. The story goes that the 14-year-old and her mother were having lunch at the Universal commissary when she was noticed by producer Carl Laemmle Jr., who immediately gave her a screen test. Mary started out typically as an extra and bit player in such films as “Madam Satan” (1930), “The Great Lover” (1931) and in “Grand Hotel” (1932). The glamorous, vibrant beauty's career was given a build-up as a "Wampas Baby Star" in 1933 and soon she began finding work in films playing stylish, well-mannered young co-eds. Although she performed as a topline actress in a number of lightweight pictures such as “Night Court” (1932), “Murder in the Private Car” (1934) and “It's in the Air” (1935), she is perhaps best remembered as a breezy co-star to Bing Crosby in three of his earlier, lightweight '30s musicals: “College Humor” (1933), “Double or Nothing” (1937) and “Doctor Rhythm” (1938). Disappointed with the momentum of her career and her inability to extricate herself from the picture-pretty stereotype, Mary travelled and lived in London for a time in the late '30s. Following her damsel-in-distress role in the horror opus “Dead Men Walk” (1943), Mary retired from the screen, prompted by her marriage to James Blakeley, a flying supervisor, the year before. In later years Mary managed an Elizabeth Arden Salon in Beverly Hills and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her husband passed away in 2007 and Mary herself lived to the ripe old age of 104 on August 1, 2018.

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