Mary Carlisle


Mary Carlisle was an American actress, singer, and dancer, she was best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s musical-comedy films.
She 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 and Doctor Rhythm. After her marriage in 1942 and a starring role in Dead Men Walk, she retired from acting.

Early life

Carlisle was born Gwendolyn Witter in Boston, Massachusetts, to Arthur William and Leona Ella 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. Carlisle was discovered by studio executive Carl Laemmle Jr. at the age of 14 while she was eating lunch with her mother at the Universal Studios canteen. 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.
After completing her education two years later, she headed to MGM. Carlisle, who had lied about her dancing ability, took a one-day basic tap-dancing lesson, won a part along with future star Ann Dvorak, and appeared briefly in one film. Carlisle signed a one-year contract with MGM in 1930, and was used as a back-up dancer. At the start of her movie career, Carlisle had small parts in movies such as Madam Satan and Passion Flower. She also had a role in Grand Hotel, as a bride named Mrs. Hoffman. She gained recognition when, in 1932, she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars.
Her major acting break came when Paramount Studios "loaned" her out to star in the musical comedy College Humor alongside Bing Crosby. The performance was well regarded by critics, and catapulted Carlisle to leading-actress status. She made two more movies with Crosby, Double or Nothing in 1937, and Doctor Rhythm. She continued working for different studios, mainly in B-movies as a leading lady. One of Carlisle's few appearances in an A-movie was in Dance, Girl, Dance, opposite Lucille Ball and Maureen O'Hara. B
She acted in more than 60 movies in a career that spanned about a dozen years, and retired after co-starring as the doctor's wife in Dead Men Walk.

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. The couple had one son, James, and two grandchildren during their nearly 65-year marriage. In later life, Carlisle was the manager of the Elizabeth Arden Salon in Beverly Hills, California.
A Democrat, she supported Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.
After the death of Barbara Kent in 2011, Carlisle became the last surviving WAMPAS Baby Star. She died on August 1, 2018, at the Motion Picture & Television Fund, a retirement community for actors in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles; no cause of death was reported. She was believed to be 104, but never personally confirmed her age or birth date during her life. Carlisle is buried in Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.
Her mother's twin sister, Leotta Whytock, was a film editor.

Accolades

On February 8, 1960, Carlisle received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6679 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleSource
1923Long Live The KingBit part
1930Children of PleasureSecretary
1930Madam SatanLittle Bo Peep
1930Passion FlowerBlonde party guest
1931The Great LoverBlonde autograph-seeker
1932This Reckless AgeCassandra Phelps
1932Hotel ContinentalAlicia
1932Grand HotelMrs. Hoffman
1932Night CourtElizabeth Osgood
1932Down to EarthJackie Harper
1932Smilin' ThroughYoung party guest
1932Her Mad NightConstance 'Connie' Kennedy
1933College HumorBarbara Shirrel
1933Ladies Must LoveSally Lou Cateret
1933Saturday's MillionsThelma Springer
1933The Sweetheart of Sigma ChiVivian
1933Should Ladies BehaveLeone Merrick
1934PalookaAnne Howe
1934This Side of HeavenPeggy Turner
1934Once to Every WomanDoris Andros
1934Murder in the Private CarRuth
1934Handy AndyJanice Yates
1934Kentucky KernelsGloria
1934Girl o' My DreamsGwen
1935The Great Hotel MurderOlive Temple
1935One Frightened NightDoris Waverly
1935Champagne for BreakfastEdie Reach
1935The Old HomesteadNancy Abbott
1935It's in the AirGrace Gridley
1935Kind LadyPhyllis
1936Love in ExileEmily Stewart
1936Lady Be CarefulBillie 'Stonewall' Jackson
1937Hotel HaywirePhyllis
1937Double or NothingVicki Clark
1937That Navy SpiritJudy Hollan
1938Tip-Off GirlsMarjorie Rogers
1938Doctor RhythmJudy Marlowe
1938Hunted MenJane Harris
1938Touchdown, ArmyToni Denby
1938Illegal TrafficCarol Butler
1938Say It in FrenchPhyllis Carrington
1939Fighting ThoroughbredsMarian
1939Inside InformationCrystal
1939Call a MessengerMarge Hogan
1939Beware, Spooks!Betty Lou Winters
1939Rovin' TumbleweedsMary Ford
1940Dance, Girl, DanceSally
1941Rags to RichesCarol Patrick
1942Torpedo BoatJane Townsend
1942Baby Face MorganVirginia Clark
1943Dead Men WalkGayle Clayton