Mary Carlisle

Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s musical-comedy films.

Carlisle starred in more than 60 Hollywood films, moving beyond bit parts after coming to attention, alongside the likes of Gloria Stuart and Ginger Rogers, as one of 15 girls selected by the Western Association of Motion pictures as their WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1932. Her first major role was in the 1933 film College Humor with Bing Crosby. The two performers worked together in two additional films, Double or Nothing (1937) and Doctor Rhythm (1938). After her marriage in 1942 and a starring role in Dead Men Walk (1943), she retired from acting.

Early life Carlisle was born Gwendolyn Witter in Boston, Massachusetts on February 3, 1914, to Arthur William and Leona Ella (Wotton) Witter. Born into a religious family, she was educated in a convent in Back Bay, Boston, after her family moved to that neighborhood when she was six months old.

Some time after her father's death, when she was 4, Carlisle and her mother relocated to Los Angeles. Through her uncle Robert Carlisle, who was a film editor and producer, she learned of a casting call at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Hollywood career

Carlisle's uncle, who lived in California, gave Carlisle the opportunity to appear in the Jackie Coogan silent movie Long Live the King in 1923, a performance for which she was uncredited. She was praised for her angelic looks, and Laemmle offered her a screen test. Though she passed the test and started doing extra work at Universal, she was stopped by a welfare officer who noticed that she was underage and had to finish school first. She also had a role in Grand Hotel (1932), as a bride named Mrs. Hoffman.

Her major acting break came when Paramount Pictures "loaned" her out to star in the musical comedy College Humor (1933) alongside Bing Crosby. She made two more movies with Crosby, Double or Nothing in 1937, and retired after co-starring as the doctor's wife in Dead Men Walk (1943).

Personal life In 1942, Carlisle married British-born actor James Edward Blakeley, who later became an executive producer at 20th Century Fox. She retired from films shortly after. She died on August 1, 2018, at the Motion Picture & Television Fund, a retirement community for actors in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles;

Filmography

Year Title Role Source 1923 Long Live the KingBit part (uncredited) 1930 Children of Pleasure Secretary (uncredited) Madam Satan Little Bo Peep (uncredited) Passion Flower Blonde party guest (uncredited) Hotel Continental Alicia Grand Hotel Mrs. Hoffman (uncredited) Down to Earth Jackie Harper Saturday's Millions Thelma Springer The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi Vivian 1934 Palooka Anne Howe Murder in the Private Car Ruth Handy Andy Janice Yates 1935 Grand Old Girl Gerry Killaine The Great Hotel Murder Olive Temple One Frightened Night Doris Waverly The Old Homestead Nancy Abbott It's in the Air Grace Gridley Lady Be Careful Billie 'Stonewall' Jackson 1937 Hotel Haywire Phyllis Double or Nothing Vicki Clark Touchdown, Army Toni Denby Say It in French Phyllis Carrington 1939 Fighting Thoroughbreds Marian Inside Information Crystal Call a Messenger Marge Hogan Beware Spooks! Betty Lou Winters Rovin' Tumbleweeds Mary Ford 1940 Dance, Girl, Dance Sally 1941 Rags to Riches Carol Patrick 1942 Torpedo Boat Jane Townsend Baby Face Morgan Virginia Clark 1943 Dead Men Walk Gayle Clayton