Mae Busch

Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch, 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946)[1][2][3] was an Australian-born 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.

Mae Busch
Busch featured in The Blue Book of the Screen, 1923
Born	Annie May Busch (1891-06-18)18 June 1891 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	20 April 1946(1946-04-20) (aged 54) San Fernando Valley, California, U.S.
Resting place	Chapel of the Pines Crematory
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1912–1946
Spouse(s)	Francis McDonald ​ ( m. 1915; div. 1922) John Earl Cassell ​ ( m. 1926; div. 1929) Thomas C. Tate ​ ( m. 1936; her death 1946)
Signature

Early life and career

Busch in the film publication the Stars of the Photoplay, 1924

Busch was born in Melbourne, Victoria to popular Australian vaudeville performers Elizabeth Maria Lay and Frederick William Busch.[4] Her mother had been active since 1883 under the stage names Dora Devere and then Dora Busch; she toured India with Hudson's Surprise Party and toured New Zealand twice.[5] They continued to tour with various companies with short breaks when their two children were born, Dorothy in 1889 (who lived for only 4 months) and Annie May in 1891. Following a concert tour of New Zealand, the family left for the United States via Tahiti.[6] They departed on 8 August 1896 and arrived in San Francisco at the end of 1896 or in early 1897.

While her parents were touring the United States, 6-year-old Annie May was placed in a convent school in New Jersey. At the age of 12, she joined her parents as the Busch Devere Trio, which was active from 1903 until 1912. As Mae Busch she performed with her mother in Guy Fletch Bragdon's "The Fixer" to good reviews, and in 1911 they featured in Tom Reeves' "Big Show Burlesque". Mae's big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine as the lead female in "Over the River" with Eddie Foy.[7]

Mae's first film appearances were in The Agitator and The Water Nymph, both released in 1912. There is some doubt about Mae being in these films as the production of both films in California appears to clash with commitments in New York.[8] 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—who had actually been Busch's mentor and friend—when Normand walked in on the pair. According to some accounts, Busch, who was known for pinpoint throwing accuracy, inflicted a serious head injury on Normand by striking her with a vase.

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 after 1926, when she walked out on her contract at Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and suffered a nervous breakdown.[9] Afterwards, she found herself working for less prestigious studios such as Gotham and Tiffany, where she was relegated mostly to supporting roles.[9]

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 13 of their comedies, often as shrewish, gold-digging floozies (Chickens Come Home, Come Clean), a volatile wife of Oliver Hardy (Sons of the Desert, Their First Mistake), or more sympathetic roles (Them Thar Hills, Tit for Tat, The Fixer Uppers). Her last role in a Laurel and Hardy film was in The Bohemian Girl, again as a combative spouse of Hardy's, released in 1936. Her film roles after 1936 were often uncredited. Overall, she had roles in approximately 130 motion pictures between 1912 and 1946. Jackie Gleason later mentioned her name on his TV show as "the ever-popular Mae Busch".

In 2014, the believed-lost 1919 film. which was the first feature to star Harry Houdini, The Grim Game, was discovered and restored by Rick Schmidlin for Turner Classic Movies.[10] Busch appears, credited as Bush.

Personal life and death

Busch married three times: to actor Francis McDonald (1915–22); to John Earl Cassell (1926–29); and to civil engineer Thomas C. Tate (1936–her death).

Busch died on 20 April 1946, age 54, at a San Fernando Valley sanitarium where she had been ill for five months with colon cancer.[11]

For her contributions to the film industry, Busch was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.[12]

In the 1970s it was discovered that her ashes had remained unclaimed and the Way Out West Tent, a chapter of The Sons of the Desert (the international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society), paid for their interment at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.[13] The memorial plaque is incorrectly dated 1901.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1912	The Water Nymph	(uncredited?)[8]	Alternative title: The Beach Flirt
1915	Mabel and Fatty's Married Life	(uncredited)
1919	The Grim Game	Ethel Delmead	Credited as Mae Bush
1920	Her Husband's Friends	Clarice
	The Devil's Pass Key	La Belle Odera
1921	A Parisian Scandal	Mamselle Sari
1922	Foolish Wives	Princess Vera Petchnikoff
	Brothers Under the Skin	Flo Bulger
	Only a Shop Girl	Josie Jerome
1923	Souls for Sale	Robina Teele
	The Christian	Glory Quayle
1924	Name the Man	Bessie Collister
	Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model	Polly Joy
	Bread	Jeanette Sturgis
	Broken Barriers	Irene Kirby
	Married Flirts	Jill Wetherell
	The Triflers	Marjorie Stockton
1925	The Unholy Three	Rosie O'Grady
1925	Camille of the Barbary Coast	Camille
1926	Fools of Fashion	Enid Alden
1927	Love 'em and Weep	Old flame
	Husband Hunters	Marie Devere
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
	Dance Girl Dance	Lou Kendall
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
	The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand	Mrs. Gironda	15-episode serial
1938	Daughter of Shanghai	Lil	Uncredited Alternative title: Daughter of the Orient
	The Buccaneer	Bit Role	Uncredited
	Marie Antoinette	Madame La Motte	Uncredited
1940	Women Without Names	Rose
1941	Ziegfeld Girl	Jenny
1942	The Mad Monster	Susan
1946	The Blue Dahlia	Jenny – Maid	Uncredited
	The Bride Wore Boots	Woman	Uncredited
1947	Ladies' Man	Woman in Automat	Uncredited

References

Citations

1. Springer, John S.; Hamilton, Jack D. (1974). They Had Faces Then. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0300-9.
2. Gehring, Wes D. (1990). Laurel and Hardy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-25172-X.
3. Smith, Ronald L. (1993). Comic Support. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8065-1399-3.
4. The Age, 20 June 1891, P.5 Accessed 3/12/2016
5. Otago Witness (NZ) 24 January 1895 p.37
6. Auckland Star 8 August 1896
7. New York Herald 28 March 1912
8. "Mae Busch". IMDb.
9. Maltin 1973, p. 112
10. King, Susan (26 March 2015). "Classic Hollywood: Once thought lost, Harry Houdini's 'Grim Game' film reappears". Los Angeles Times.
11. State of California Death Certificate, County of Los Angeles, District 1801, Registrar's Number 7081
12. "Hollywood Walk of Fame – Mae Busch". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
13. "Mae Busch". Way Out West Tent.

Bibliography

• "Death Claims Mae Busch, 54". The Los Angeles Times. p. A1.
• Maltin, Leonard (1973). The Laurel and Hardy Book. New York: Curtis.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Works by or about Mae Busch at Internet Archive
• Mae Busch on IMDb
• Mae Busch at Find a Grave
• Mae Busch at Virtual History
• Mae Busch at the Way Out West Tent