- Mae Busch
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Mae Busch 
Born Annie May Busch
18 June 1891
Melbourne, AustraliaDied 20 April 1946 (aged 54)
San Fernando Valley, CaliforniaOccupation Actress Years active 1912–1946 Spouse Francis McDonald (m. 1915–1922) divorced
John Earl Cassell (m. 1926–1929) divorced
Thomas C. Tate (m. 1936–1946) her deathMae Busch (18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife.
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Early life and career
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Busch was a member of a musical family. Her father was a conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and her mother was a singer.[1] In 1900 her family moved to America, where she was placed in a convent.[1] Upon her graduation Busch decided to pursue a career in theatre, and appeared on stage and then in vaudeville. She first appeared in films in The Agitator and The Water Nymph, both released in 1912. In 1915 she began working at Keystone Studios, where she appeared in comedy two-reelers. Her dalliance with studio chief Mack Sennett famously ended his engagement to actress Mabel Normand when Normand allegedly walked in on the pair. Normand had been Busch's friend and mentor prior to the incident. According to some accounts, Busch inflicted a serious head injury on Normand by striking her with a vase (she was known for pinpoint throwing accuracy); Normand died a few years later at age 37 from health problems, principally tuberculosis.
At the pinnacle of her film career, Busch was known as the versatile vamp. She starred in such feature films as The Devil's Pass Key (1920) and Foolish Wives (1923), both directed by Erich von Stroheim, and in The Unholy Three (1925), with Lon Chaney. Her career declined abruptly in 1926, when she walked out on her contract at Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and suffered a nervous breakdown.[2] Afterwards, she found herself working for less prestigious studios such as Gotham and Tiffany, and she was relegated mostly to supporting roles.[2]
In 1927, she was offered a leading role in a Hal Roach two-reeler, Love 'em and Weep, which began her long association with Laurel and Hardy. She appeared in thirteen of their comedies, the last being The Bohemian Girl, released in 1936. Her film roles after 1936 were often uncredited. Overall, she had roles in approximately one hundred and thirty motion pictures between 1912 and 1946. Jackie Gleason later mentioned her name on his television show as "the ever-popular Mae Busch".
Personal life and death
Busch married three times: to actor Francis McDonald from 1915–1922; to John Earl Cassell from 1926–29; and to civil engineer Thomas C. Tate from 1936 until her death.
Busch died in 1946, age 54, at a San Fernando Valley sanitarium where she had been ill for five months with colon cancer. Her grave is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Mae Busch has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1912 The Water Nymph Alternative title: The Beach Flirt 1919 The Grim Game Ethel Delmead 1920 Her Husband's Friends Clarice 1922 Foolish Wives Princess Vera Petchnikoff Brothers Under the Skin Flo Bulger 1923 Souls for Sale Robina Teele 1924 Name the man Bessie Collister Bread Jeanette Sturgis Broken Barriers Irene Kirby Married Flirts Jill Wetherell 1925 The Unholy Three Rosie O'Grady 1927 Love 'em and Weep Old flame 1928 While the City Sleeps Bessie 1929 Alibi Daisy Thomas Unaccustomed As We Are Mrs. Hardy 1931 Chickens Come Home Ollie's Old Time Flame Uncredited Fly My Kite Dan's new wife Come Clean Kate 1932 Their First Mistake Mrs. Arabella Hardy Doctor X Cathouse Madame 1933 Blondie Johnson Mae Lilly Turner Hazel Sons of the Desert Mrs. Lottie Hardy Alternative title: Fraternally Yours 1934 Oliver the Eighth Widow Alternative title: The Private Life of Oliver the Eighth The Road to Ruin Mrs. Monroe Uncredited Going Bye-Bye! Butch's girlfriend Them Thar Hills Mrs. Hall The Live Ghost Maisie the Vamp, Blonde Floozy 1935 Tit for Tat Grocer's wife The Fixer Uppers Madame Pierre Gustave 1936 The Bohemian Girl Mrs. Hardy 1938 Daughter of Shanghai Lil Uncredited
Alternative title: Daughter of the OrientThe Buccaneer Bit Role Uncredited Marie Antoinette Madame La Motte Uncredited 1941 Ziegfeld Girl Jenny 1942 The Mad Monster Susan 1946 The Blue Dahlia Jenny – Maid Uncredited The Bride Wore Boots Woman Uncredited Notes
References
- The Los Angeles Times, Death Claims Mae Busch, 54, Page A1.
- Mae Busch at the Laurel and Hardy Society Website
- Maltin, Leonard (1973). The Laurel and Hardy Book. New York: Curtis.
External links
- Mae Busch at the Internet Movie Database
- Mae Busch at Find a Grave
- Mae Busch at Virtual History
Categories:- Actors from Melbourne
- Australian expatriate actors in the United States
- Australian film actors
- Australian silent film actors
- Australian stage actors
- Hal Roach Studios actors
- People from the San Fernando Valley
- Cancer deaths in California
- Vaudeville performers
- 1891 births
- 1946 deaths
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