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Mary Philbin was born on July 16, 1903 in Chicago,
IL. Brought to Hollywood via a beauty contest sponsored by Universal
Pictures, Mary Philbin was a gorgeous child of 17 when she made her
first screen appearance in 'The Blazing Trail (1921)'. She rose to
stardom under the tutelage of Erich Von Stroheim in the 1923
melodrama Merry-Go-Round. Her best-known screen role was as Christine
Daas, the terrified heroine in Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera
(1925). Even more effective was her thoughtful performance as a blind
girl in The Man Who Laughs (1928), in which she co-starred with
Conrad Veidt. D.W. Griffith directed Mary in his film 'Drums of Love
(1928)'. Mary Philbin retired from films when sound came to film,
briefly returning to dub in her voice for the 1930 reissue of Phantom
of the Opera. Mary died May 7, 1993 in Huntingdon Beach, CA. |
