Pauline Garon
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
From Wikipedia
Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a
Canadian-born American silent film, feature film and stage actress.
She was associated with D.W. Griffith when she first came to
Hollywood in 1920. Garon's first important role came in 1921's The Power
Within. She also played the body double for Sylvia Breamer in Doubling for
Romeo (1921).
In 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new
discovery. He cast her in only two films. One was Adam's Rib (1923). She was
selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. Even before her
"discovery", Garon had been a steadily rising star. She appeared
opposite Owen Moore in Reported Missing (1922). Garon received much praise for
her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny (1922 film) (1922). She had been
chosen for this role by King after he saw her portray the role in the stage
production on Broadway.
In 1922 she played with Richard Barthelmess in the First
National Pictures release, Sonny. Her role as Florence Crosby brought her to
the brink of stardom. However the ingénue professed no real desire to be a
celebrity. Garon admitted that the thought of the responsibilities of being a
star frightened her.
Garon was making at least five films a year after her
popularity soared. She was playing many lead roles in B movies and supporting
roles in more glamorous films. The 1920s was a wonderful decade for the
actress. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya
which opened the lavish Roxy Theatre in New York City on March 11, 1927.
By 1928 Garon's career began to decline dramatically. By the
end, She appeared mostly in French renditions of Paramount Pictures movies. She
was cast in less popular English films as well.
By the early 1930s, Garon was given very small uncredited
roles. By 1934 she had vanished from film. Garon played a bit part in How Green
Was My Valley (1941). She was in two westerns, Song Of The Saddle (1936) and
The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941).
Garon married three times. She wed actor Lowell Sherman in
February 1926. Sherman's influence led Garon to refuse a long-term contract
with Paramount. In February 1928 Garon became a citizen of the United States.
She separated from Sherman in August 1927. In February 1940 she eloped with
radio star and actor, Clyde Harland John Alban, to Yuma, Arizona. Garon and
Alban divorced in 1942. She wed comedian Ross Forester and remained with him
until she died.
Garon died at Patton State Hospital, a psychiatric
institution in San Bernardino, California, in 1965. The cause of death was a
brain disorder. She was 63 years old.
