Madeline (15 November 1900 - 15 January 1989) and her twin

Twin

A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...

 sister Marion Fairbanks (15 November 1900 - 20 September 1973) were stage and motion picture actresses active in the silent era. The two sisters were seemingly inseparable. However, their Thanhouser

Thanhouser Company

The Thanhouser Company was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser.-See also:...

 filmographies are slightly different, as on occasion one twin appeared in a film without the other.

Early life

Born in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, the twins were mainly educated by private tutors at home and while traveling. Their mother was actress Jennie M. Fairbanks, a.k.a. Jane Fairbanks, and their father was the son of Nathaniel Fairbanks, who served in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks

Jonathan Fairbanks

Jonathan Fairbanks was an American colonist born in Heptonstall, Halifax, Yorkshire, England who immigrated to New England in 1633...

, a Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 hero

Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...

 of the Revolution

Revolution

A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...

. Madeline and Marion had one sibling, Robert, an older brother.

Career

The twins began their career on the stage in such productions as Alias Jimmy Valentine, Mother, Salomy Jane, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, and countless others. Starting in 1909 they performed with Nora Bayes

Nora Bayes

Nora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...

 in The Jolly Bachelors. Madeline wrote a note to President William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

, who received the twins at a private reception when they performed in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. After the meeting, he presented them with an autographed picture. At first Marion desired to be an emotional actress while Madeline aspired to be a comedian.

They entered films with Biograph

American Mutoscope and Biograph Company

The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...

 circa 1910. They joined the "Thanhouser Film Corporation

Thanhouser Company

The Thanhouser Company was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser.-See also:...

 in 1912, where they were billed as "The Thanhouser Twins", and remained there until 1916. The Fairbanks sisters appeared with Teddie Gerard in the cast of the Florenz Ziegfeld

Florenz Ziegfeld

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...

 Midnight Frolic in August 1920.

In 1923, Madeline decided to pursue dramatic roles, while Marion continued in musical revues, touring in the title role with the "Little Nellie Kelly company". Madeline landed roles in Mercenary Mary, The Grab Bag, and The Ritz Revue. By 1924, the girls had felt their separation too keenly, and they rejoined on stage in George White's Scandals, followed in early 1927 by parts in Oh, Kay.

Later years

By 1932, Marion was on stage separately at the Waldorf Theatre, New York City. She succeeded Eleanor King

Eleanor King

Eleanor King was an American modern dancer, choreographer, and educator. She was a member of the original Humphrey-Weidman company, where she was a principal dancer in the pioneering modern dance movement in New York City, then moving on to choreography and founding her own dance company in...

 as leading lady

Leading lady

Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...

 in Whistling in the Dark. 1930s news accounts reported that she operated a beauty parlor and directed a branch of a cosmetics manufacturer. In her later years she knew much unhappiness and struggled with the temptations of alcohol.

Deaths

Marion Fairbanks died in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 in the mid-1970s. Her name was then Marion Fairbanks Delph. Childless, she had no survivors. Madeline married Leonard Sherman in 1937. The union ended in divorce in 1947. She lived in New York until early 1989, where she died of respiratory failure

Respiratory failure

The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...

.

Madeline

• Happy (1928)
• Allez-oop (1927)
• Oh, Kay!
  Oh, Kay!
  Oh, Kay! is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play La Presidente by Maurice Hanniquin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adventures of the Duke of Durham and his sister, Lady Kay, English...
  
   (1926)
• Mercenary Mary (1925)
• Hassard Short
  Hassard Short
  Hubert Edward Hassard Short , usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatrewho directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953...
  
  's Ritz Revue (1924)
• Two Little Girls in Blue
  Two Little Girls in Blue
  Two Little Girls in Blue is a musical theatre work composed by Paul Lannin and Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a libretto by Fred Jackson. The musical premiered at the George M...
  
    (1921)
• Ziegfeld 9 O'clock Frolic (1921)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 (1919)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 (1918)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1917 (1917)
• The Century Girl (1916)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912)

Marion

• Oh, Kay!
  Oh, Kay!
  Oh, Kay! is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play La Presidente by Maurice Hanniquin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adventures of the Duke of Durham and his sister, Lady Kay, English...
  
   (1926)
• The Grab Bag (1924)
• Two Little Girls in Blue (1921)
• Ziegfeld 9 O'clock Frolic (1921)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 (1919)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 (1918 )
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1917 (1917)
• The Century Girl (1916)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912)

Madeline

• On with the Show! (1929)
• The Beauty Shop (1922)
• The Heart of a Doll (1916)
• The Answer (1916)
• A Bird of Prey (1916) .
• The Burglars' Picnic (1916)
• Bubbles in the Glass (1916)
• An Innocent Traitor (1915)
• The Twins of the G.L. Ranch (1915)
• The Flying Twins (1915)
• Which Shall It Be? (1915)
• Through Edith's Looking Glass (1915)
• Fairy Fern Seed (1915)
• Their One Love (1915)
• $1,000 Reward (1915)
• When Fate Rebelled (1915)
• Shadows and Sunshine (1914)
• Shep's Race with Death (1914)
• The Benevolence of Conductor 786 (1914)
• In Danger's Hour (1914)
• In Peril's Path (1914)
• The Widow's Mite (1914)
• The Million Dollar Mystery (1914)
• In Her Sleep (1914)
• Beating Back (1914)
• The Tin Soldier and the Dolls (1914)
• Guilty or Not Guilty (1914)
• Twins and a Stepmother (1914)
• Lawyer, Dog and Baby (1913)
• Uncle's Namesakes (1913)
• Their Great Big Beautiful Doll (1913)
• The Children's Hour (1913)
• The Twins and the Other Girl (1913)
• Life's Pathway (1913)
• An Unfair Exchange (1913)
• The Little Girl Next Door
  The Little Girl Next Door
  The Little Girl Next Door is a 1912 American silent short drama directed by Lucius Henderson and written by Philip Lonergan. The film starred William Garwood and Marguerite Snow in the lead roles.-Cast:* William Garwood as The Husband...
  
   (1912)
• As Others See Us (1912)
• Cousins (1912)
• The Twins (1912)

Marion

• On with the Show! (1929)
• The Beauty Shop (1922)
• The Heart of a Doll (1916)
• The Answer (1916/II)
• The Burglars' Picnic (1916)
• An Innocent Traitor (1915)
• The Baby and the Boss (1915)
• The Twins of the G.L. Ranch (1915)
• The Flying Twins (1915)
• Which Shall It Be? (1915)
• Through Edith's Looking Glass
• Fairy Fern Seed (1915)
• Their One Love (1915)
• $1,000 Reward (1915)
• When Fate Rebelled (1915)
• A Hatful of Trouble (1914)
• Shadows and Sunshine (1914)
• Shep's Race with Death (1914)
• The Benevolence of Conductor 786 (1914)
• In Danger's Hour (1914)
• In Peril's Path (1914)
• The Widow's Mite (1914)
• The Million Dollar Mystery (1914)
• The Girl Across the Hall (1914)
• The Legend of Snow White (1914)
• The Tin Soldier and the Dolls (1914)
• Twins and a Stepmother (1914)
• Lawyer, Dog and Baby (1913)
• Uncle's Namesakes (1913)
• Their Great Big Beautiful Doll (1913)
• The Children's Hour (1913)
• The Twins and the Other Girl (1913)
• Life's Pathway (1913)
• An Unfair Exchange (1913)
• The Little Girl Next Door
  The Little Girl Next Door
  The Little Girl Next Door is a 1912 American silent short drama directed by Lucius Henderson and written by Philip Lonergan. The film starred William Garwood and Marguerite Snow in the lead roles.-Cast:* William Garwood as The Husband...
  
  (1912)
• As Others See Us (1912)
• Cousins (1912)
• The Twins (1912)