Mary Fuller
Encyclopedia
Mary Claire Fuller was an American
stage
and silent film
actress and screenwriter
.
, to Nora Swing and attorney
Miles Fuller, she spent her childhood on a farm. As a child, she was interested in music, writing and art. Her father died in 1902, and by 1906, she was working in the theater under the name Claire Fuller. She worked briefly with the Lyceum Stock Company in Toledo, Ohio
.
and in 1907 she signed with Vitagraph Studios
in Brooklyn, NY where she made films such as a one-reel adaptation of Elektra
(released in April 1910). Later Fuller joined the Edison Film Company
in 1910. That year, she appeared in the first film version of Frankenstein
based on the Mary Shelley novel
.
Fuller became a major early movie star who, by 1914, rivaled Mary Pickford
in popularity. She appeared in a wide variety of roles, and starred in such melodramas as The Witch Girl, A Daughter of the Nile, The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies
(1914), and Under Southern Skies, her first feature-length production. Also, Fuller authored a number of screenplays, eight of which were made into films between 1913 and 1915.
Fuller's career, however, was over by 1917. As quoted in Sally Dumaux's King Baggot: A Biography and Filmography of the First King of the Movies, an August 18, 1917 article in Variety stated though Fuller was "one of the best drawing cards of the Universal for a long time ... her last few pictures were both financial and productional disappointments ... and at the expiration of her contract she was allowed to depart. ... Miss Fuller has offered her services to several concerns along Broadway, but it is understood that they were turned down with the remark, 'You are no longer [a] film type.'" Following this episode, Fuller disappeared from public view and her whereabouts remained a mystery for decades.
following a failed affair with a married opera
singer. She retired from the film business, and went to live in her mother's home. In her early years, Fuller had talked about a constant feeling of loneliness that film stardom never filled; however, in 1926, she returned to Hollywood and unsuccessfully attempted to resume her screen career.
The death of her mother in 1940 brought a second nervous breakdown; after being cared for by her sister, on July 1, 1947, Fuller was admitted to Washington's St. Elizabeths Hospital
, where she remained for 25 years. When Fuller died, the hospital was unable to locate any relatives. She is buried in Congressional Cemetery
in an unmarked grave.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Early life
Born 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....
, to Nora Swing and attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Miles Fuller, she spent her childhood on a farm. As a child, she was interested in music, writing and art. Her father died in 1902, and by 1906, she was working in the theater under the name Claire Fuller. She worked briefly with the Lyceum Stock Company in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
Career
Fuller began her acting career as a stage actress. At age 18 she was working in live theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and in 1907 she signed with Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
in Brooklyn, NY where she made films such as a one-reel adaptation of Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
(released in April 1910). Later Fuller joined the Edison Film Company
Edison Studios
Edison Studios was an American motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films as the Edison Manufacturing Company and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. until the studio's closing in 1918...
in 1910. That year, she appeared in the first film version of Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1910 film)
Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley.It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr...
based on the Mary Shelley novel
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
.
Fuller became a major early movie star who, by 1914, rivaled Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in popularity. She appeared in a wide variety of roles, and starred in such melodramas as The Witch Girl, A Daughter of the Nile, The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies
The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies
The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies is a 1914 drama film serial directed by Walter Edwin. The serial was considered to be lost in entirety, until a copy of the fifth episode was discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive in 2010.-Cast:...
(1914), and Under Southern Skies, her first feature-length production. Also, Fuller authored a number of screenplays, eight of which were made into films between 1913 and 1915.
Fuller's career, however, was over by 1917. As quoted in Sally Dumaux's King Baggot: A Biography and Filmography of the First King of the Movies, an August 18, 1917 article in Variety stated though Fuller was "one of the best drawing cards of the Universal for a long time ... her last few pictures were both financial and productional disappointments ... and at the expiration of her contract she was allowed to depart. ... Miss Fuller has offered her services to several concerns along Broadway, but it is understood that they were turned down with the remark, 'You are no longer [a] film type.'" Following this episode, Fuller disappeared from public view and her whereabouts remained a mystery for decades.
Later life
After the demise of the first stage of her film career, Fuller apparently suffered a nervous breakdownNervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
following a failed affair with a married opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer. She retired from the film business, and went to live in her mother's home. In her early years, Fuller had talked about a constant feeling of loneliness that film stardom never filled; however, in 1926, she returned to Hollywood and unsuccessfully attempted to resume her screen career.
The death of her mother in 1940 brought a second nervous breakdown; after being cared for by her sister, on July 1, 1947, Fuller was admitted to Washington's St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. It was the first large-scale, federally-run psychiatric hospital in the United States. Housing several thousand patients at its peak, St. Elizabeths had a fully functioning...
, where she remained for 25 years. When Fuller died, the hospital was unable to locate any relatives. She is buried in Congressional Cemetery
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...
in an unmarked grave.
External links
- Mary Fuller portraits at NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection