Pauline Garon


Marie Pauline Garon was a Canadian silent film, feature film, and stage actress.

Early life

Marie Pauline Garon was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the youngest of 11 children of Pierre-Auguste Garon and Victoria Connick. She was of French and Irish descent. Her father first worked for the Canadian postal department, then worked at an insurance agency.
She did not learn English until she was ten years old. Her parents managed to afford to send her to the Couvent Sacré-Coeur in Montreal, one of the most prestigious schools in the city, for seven years. She was the first graduate of the institution to perform in the theatre.

Career

At around 20 years old, she ran away to New York City where she began work on Broadway.
Garon made her film debut in Remodeling Her Husband as a body double for Dorothy Gish. 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.
A steadily rising star, she appeared opposite Owen Moore in Reported Missing. Garon received much praise for her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny. King chose her after seeing her perform in the stage production on Broadway. She co-starred with Richard Barthelmess in the First National Pictures release. However, in 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new discovery. He cast her in two films, including Adam's Rib. She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. 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. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya.
By 1928, Garon's career began to decline dramatically. 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 small uncredited roles. By 1934, she had vanished from film. Garon played a bit part in How Green Was My Valley and appeared briefly in two westerns, Song of the Saddle and The Cowboy and the Blonde.

Personal life

Garon became an American citizen on February 20, 1928.
While filming The Average Woman in 1924 rumors began to spread that Garon had become engaged to Gene Sarazen, a professional golfer. In March 1924 she issued a complete denial of the rumors.
She married three times. She wed Lowell Sherman on February 15, 1926. Sherman's influence led Garon to refuse a long-term contract with Paramount. They separated in August 1927. In February 1940, she eloped to Yuma, Arizona, with radio star and actor Clyde Harland Alban. They divorced in 1942.
She married Ross Forrester, widower of actress Marion Aye, in May 1953 and remained with him until he died.
Garon's health had been precarious many years before her death. She collapsed at the 20th Century Fox studios on June 5, 1952. She was a patient at Patton State Hospital, a psychiatric institution in San Bernardino, California. On August 30, 1965, ten days before her 65th birthday she died from a brain disorder.

Selected filmography

A Manhattan Knight – The DaughterThe Power Within – PaulinePolly of the Follies – Ziegfeld Beauty Chorus Girl Reported Missing – Pauline BlakeSonny – Florence CrosbyManslaughter – The Man from Glengarry – Mamie St. ClairYou Can't Fool Your Wife – Vera RedellChildren of Dust – Helen RaymondGlengarry School Days – Margie BairdForgive and Forget – Virginia ClarkAdam's Rib – Mathilda RamsayThe Marriage Market – Theodora BlandThe Average Woman – Sally WhipplePal o' Mine – Babette HermannThe Spitfire – Marcia WalshWine of Youth – Tish TatumThe Turmoil – Edith SheridanThe Painted Flapper – Arline WhitneyWhat the Butler Saw – Joan WyckhamSpeed – Wiletta WhipplePassionate Youth – Henrietta RandFighting Youth – Jean ManleyWhere Was I? – ClaireThe Love Gamble – Jennie HowardThe Great Sensation – Peggy HowellSatan in Sables – Colette BretonThe Farmer from Texas – Miss Abby GrantCompromise – NathalieRose of the World – Edith RogersThe Splendid Road – Angel AllieFlaming Waters – Doris LaidlawThe Virgin Wife – Mary JordanChristine of the Big Tops – ChristineDriven from Home The Love of Sunya – Anna HaganThe Princess on Broadway – Mary RyanEager Lips – Mary LeeNaughty – The BrideLadies at Ease – PollyThe College Hero – Vivian SaundersTemptations of a Shop Girl – Betty HarringtonThe Heart of Broadway – Roberta ClemmonsThe Girl He Didn't Buy – Ruth MontaigneDugan of the Dugouts – BettyThe Devil's Cage – EloiseRiley of the Rainbow Division – Gertie BowersMust We Marry? – Betty JeffersonThe Candy Kid Redskin – Party Girl The Gamblers – Isabel EmersonIn the Headlines – BlondieThe Show of Shows – Performer in 'Bicycle Built for Two' NumberLe spectre vert – Lady VioletteThe Thoroughbred – MargieGarde la bombe Échec au roi – Princess AnneLe fils de l'autre The Phantom Broadcast – NancyEasy Millions By Appointment Only – Gwen ReidOne Year Later – Vera MarksWonder Bar – Telephone Operator The Merry Widow – Lola Lost in the Stratosphere – Hilda GaronThe White Cockatoo – MarianneFolies Bergère de Paris – LuluBecky Sharp – FifineGoing Highbrow – Josephine – French Maid Dangerous – Betty – Gail's Maid It Had to Happen – French Maid Song of the Saddle – Settler's wife Colleen – Maid King of Hockey – Marie Her Husband's Secretary – Louise, Carol's Maid Shall We Dance – Bluebeard's Eighth Wife – Customer Lillian Russell The Cowboy and the Blonde – Office Worker How Green Was My Valley Bunco Squad – Mary