Marie Dressler

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Marie Dressler born Leila Marie Koerber November 9 1868 July 28 1934 was a CanadianAmerican stage and screen actress comedian and early silent film and Depressionera film star Successful on stage in vaudeville and comic operas she was also successful in film Leaving home at the age of 14 Dressler built a career on stage in traveling theatre troupes where she learned to appreciate her talent in making people laugh In 1892 she started a career on Broadway that lasted into the 1920s performing comedic roles that allowed her to improvise to get laughs From one of her successful Broadway roles she played the titular role in the first fulllength screen comedy Tillies Punctured Romance 1914 opposite Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand She made several shorts but mostly worked in New York City on stage Her career declined in the 1920s In 1927 Dressler returned to films at the age of 59 and experienced a remarkable string of successes She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 193031 for Min and Bill and was named the top film star for 1932 and 1933 Marie Dressler died of cancer in 1934