Mary Eaton
Encyclopedia
Mary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies
and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl
and The Cocoanuts
, but found her career in sharp decline by the mid 1930s. A battle with alcoholism
led to her death in 1948 from liver failure.
, Virginia
, began attending dance lessons in Washington D.C., along with her sisters Doris
and Pearl
, at the age of seven. In 1911, all three sisters were hired for a production of Maurice Maeterlinck
's fantasy play The Blue Bird at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington. While Eaton had a minor role in the show, it marked the beginning of her career in professional theatre.
After The Blue Bird ended, in 1912, the three Eaton sisters and their younger brother Joe began appearing in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable, and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work.
In 1915, all three sisters appeared in a new production of The Blue Bird for Poli; Doris and Mary were given the starring roles of Mytyl and Tytyl. The siblings were subsequently invited to reprise their roles for a New York and road tour of the play, produced by the Shubert Brothers. When the show closed, on the recommendation of the Shuberts, Mary began studying ballet in earnest with Theodore Kosloff
.
and Adele Astaire
. Throughout the 1920s, Eaton was a constant presence on Broadway, appearing in eight different productions.
She was featured in three editions of the Ziegfeld Follies
, those of 1920, 1921, and 1922. Eaton's trademark dance routine, which she performed in the Follies, involved a complicated sequence of pirouettes around the stage en pointe.
Eaton also had a successful film career, appearing in several important early talkies. Among her credits were The Cocoanuts
(1929) with the Marx Brothers
(in which she reprised her role from the Broadway version) and Glorifying the American Girl
(1929). The latter film, which included a brief Technicolor
sequence, was produced by Flo Ziegfeld, included a cast of stage notables, and was shot on location in New York. Eaton's singing and dance routines, including her signature pirouette sequence, were featured in the movie.
. Although her siblings tried to intervene on numerous occasions and she entered rehabilitation programs several times, she was unable to overcome her addiction.
Eaton died of liver failure at the age of 47 in Hollywood, California
. She was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Los Angeles
alongside other members of the Eaton family.
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl
Glorifying the American Girl
Glorifying the American Girl is a 1929 musical comedy film produced by Florenz Ziegfeld that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film is basically a Follies production, with cameo appearances by Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan and Eddie Cantor.The script for the film was...
and The Cocoanuts
The Cocoanuts
The Cocoanuts is the first feature-length Marx Brothers film, produced by Paramount Pictures. The musical comedy stars the four Marx Brothers, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, and Margaret Dumont. Produced by Walter Wanger and the first sound movie to credit more than one director , and was adapted to the...
, but found her career in sharp decline by the mid 1930s. A battle with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
led to her death in 1948 from liver failure.
Early life and career
Eaton, a native of NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, began attending dance lessons in Washington D.C., along with her sisters Doris
Doris Eaton Travis
Doris Eaton Travis was a Broadway and film performer, dance instructor, and author. She was also the last surviving Ziegfeld girl.Travis began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13...
and Pearl
Pearl Eaton
Pearl Eaton was a Broadway performer, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.-Early life and career:...
, at the age of seven. In 1911, all three sisters were hired for a production of Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
's fantasy play The Blue Bird at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington. While Eaton had a minor role in the show, it marked the beginning of her career in professional theatre.
After The Blue Bird ended, in 1912, the three Eaton sisters and their younger brother Joe began appearing in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable, and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work.
In 1915, all three sisters appeared in a new production of The Blue Bird for Poli; Doris and Mary were given the starring roles of Mytyl and Tytyl. The siblings were subsequently invited to reprise their roles for a New York and road tour of the play, produced by the Shubert Brothers. When the show closed, on the recommendation of the Shuberts, Mary began studying ballet in earnest with Theodore Kosloff
Theodore Kosloff
Theodore Kosloff was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer and film and stage actor. He was occasionally credited as Theodor Kosloff.-Career:...
.
Success onstage and onscreen
Of all of the Eatons, Mary was perhaps the most famous and the most popular. An exceptionally talented dancer, she earned raves in a production of Intime in Washington DC in 1917. The same year, she made her Broadway debut in the Shubert Brothers' Over the Top with FredFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Adele Astaire
Adele Astaire
Lady Charles Cavendish , better known as Adele Astaire, was an American dancer and entertainer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister. Her birthdate was often given as 1897 or 1898, but the 1900 U.S...
. Throughout the 1920s, Eaton was a constant presence on Broadway, appearing in eight different productions.
She was featured in three editions of the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
, those of 1920, 1921, and 1922. Eaton's trademark dance routine, which she performed in the Follies, involved a complicated sequence of pirouettes around the stage en pointe.
Eaton also had a successful film career, appearing in several important early talkies. Among her credits were The Cocoanuts
The Cocoanuts
The Cocoanuts is the first feature-length Marx Brothers film, produced by Paramount Pictures. The musical comedy stars the four Marx Brothers, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, and Margaret Dumont. Produced by Walter Wanger and the first sound movie to credit more than one director , and was adapted to the...
(1929) with the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
(in which she reprised her role from the Broadway version) and Glorifying the American Girl
Glorifying the American Girl
Glorifying the American Girl is a 1929 musical comedy film produced by Florenz Ziegfeld that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film is basically a Follies production, with cameo appearances by Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan and Eddie Cantor.The script for the film was...
(1929). The latter film, which included a brief Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
sequence, was produced by Flo Ziegfeld, included a cast of stage notables, and was shot on location in New York. Eaton's singing and dance routines, including her signature pirouette sequence, were featured in the movie.
Decline
Many of the Eaton siblings, including Mary, found their careers in sharp decline in the early 1930s. She made her final stage appearance in 1932. Beset by career woes and three consecutive difficult marriages, Eaton struggled with alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Although her siblings tried to intervene on numerous occasions and she entered rehabilitation programs several times, she was unable to overcome her addiction.
Eaton died of liver failure at the age of 47 in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
alongside other members of the Eaton family.
See also
- Charles EatonCharles Eaton (actor)Charles Eaton was an American juvenile stage and film performer, and the most important performing male member of the clan once referred to as The Seven Little Eatons. The siblings, all appeared, at one time or another, in The Ziegfeld Follies each year between 1918 through 1923.-Career:On stage...
- Doris Eaton TravisDoris Eaton TravisDoris Eaton Travis was a Broadway and film performer, dance instructor, and author. She was also the last surviving Ziegfeld girl.Travis began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13...
- Pearl EatonPearl EatonPearl Eaton was a Broadway performer, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.-Early life and career:...
- The Seven Little EatonsThe Seven Little EatonsThe Seven Little Eatons was a family of American stage performers in the early part of the twentieth century.The Eatons, from Norfolk, Virginia, began their careers in show business in 1911, when three of the children,...
- Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....