Maryland Morne

Maryland Morne (sometimes credited as Mary Morne; During her life and after her death, she was believed to have inspired the depiction of Lady Liberty on the peace dollar, earning her the nickname of "Peace Dollar Girl."

Early life Morne was born Mae Jones around the year 1900 in Baltimore, Her paternal ancestry was French, and contemporary media claimed that she was also a relative of Stonewall Jackson through her maternal line.

Career Morne began her career as a professional model. Her first known screen role was as Ann Montgomery in The Boomerang (1919), directed by Bertram Bracken. The next year, she was cast by Allan Dwan in his now-lost movie, In the Heart of a Fool.

In 1921, Morne appeared as Ariel in a stage production of The Tempest at the Hollywood Bowl, having studied under Gwendolyn Logan. Her casting as Jane McKaye in Kindred of the Dust the next year, playing the sister of Ralph Graves, marked her third appearance on screen. The film's production, which also starred Walsh's wife Miriam Cooper, was complicated for its cast and crew by the clear breakdown of Walsh and Cooper's relationship during filming. Later that year, she played at the Ritz Theatre alongside Robert Strange in a production of In Love With Love. The production, which also featured Lynn Fontanne, Henry Hull, and Berton Churchill, was deemed one of the best plays of the 1923–24 season by Burns Mantle.

In 1930, Morne was cast in the mystery film The Last of the Lone Wolf, starring Bert Lytell and Patsy Ruth Miller. She played the Queen of Saxonia opposite on-screen partner Alfred Hickman. The winner, Anthony de Francisci, submitted a design featuring the Goddess of Liberty in profile. leading to speculation that another influence for the coin had been Maryland Morne. The media referred to Morne by variations of the moniker "peace dollar girl," such as "million dollar girl."

Other creative endeavours Morne enjoyed writing. Over the course of filming In the Heart of a Fool, she met William Allen White, the writer whose novel formed the basis of director Dwan's screenplay. Her second husband was Joel Benito Revira; they married on July 28, 1924.

Morne married actor Eugene Strong in December 1934, shortly before she died from tuberculosis complications in Los Angeles in July 1935. She was survived by her daughter, Barbara Rovira.

Filmography

Extant media Ann Montgomery in The Boomerang (1919) The Queen of Saxonia in The Last of the Lone Wolf'' (1930)