June Marlowe (born Gisela Valaria Goetten, November 6, 1903 – March 10, 1984) was an American film actress who began her career during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era. She was best known for her performance of "Miss Crabtree" in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

Career

Marlowe was born to German parents in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was a prolific actress in

s during the 1920s, appearing in films opposite

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and Rin Tin Tin. She began her acting career shortly after her 1923 graduation from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...

, and was signed to a contract by Warner Brothers in 1924. In 1925, she became one of the

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

. In 1928, she was an actress under contract with Universal Studios. Her career did well until the introduction of

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

. Marlowe did not make an easy transition, and by 1930 she was starting to drift away from acting. By chance, she happened to meet director Robert F. McGowan one day in a

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...

. McGowan was searching for an actress to portray the schoolteacher in the ''Our Gang'' series of children's comedies. After producer

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

suggested that brunette Marlowe don a blonde wig to match the hair of the lead kid in the series,

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

, she was given the part of Miss Crabtree. Marlowe and Cooper were paired together in three ''Our Gang'' films, '' Teacher's Pet'', '' School's Out'' and ''

Love Business ''Love Business'' is a 1931 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 104th (16th talking episode) ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot Jackie is hopelessly in love with Miss Crabtree. At the same time, hi ...

''. She also had a small role in 1931's '' Little Daddy''. In addition to her work in ''Our Gang'', Marlowe appeared in fellow Roach stars

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

's first feature film, ''

Pardon Us ''Pardon Us'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Laurel and Hardy film. It was the duo's first starring feature-length comedy film, produced by Hal Roach and Stan Laurel, directed by James Parrott, and originally distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1 ...

''. Marlowe's Miss Crabtree character was used in only two more shorts, 1931's ''

Shiver My Timbers ''Shiver My Timbers'' is a 1931 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 109th (21st talking) ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot A loud sea captain (Billy Gilbert) tells violent stories about adventure ...

'' and 1932's '' Readin' and Writin'''. After Cooper left ''Our Gang'' in 1931 she appeared in MGM features.

Later years and death

In an October 1931 notice, Washington's ''Evening Star'' newspaper announced that the Superior Court in Los Angeles "returned a verdict of $100 damages to Henry M. Oviatt against June Marlowe, film actress, and her brother, Armour Marlowe, as the outgrowth of a motor car collision," adding that their automobile had "collided with one containing Oviatt and Mrs. Nellie McLaren, who sued for $5,000 each, alleging injuries", and that "Mrs. McLaren was denied damages." On July 2, 1933, Marlowe married

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

businessman Rodney Sprigg and retired from motion pictures to become a housewife. The couple remained married until Sprigg's death in 1982. In her later years, she suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...

, dying from complications on March 10, 1984. June Marlowe Grave

Marlowe was originally buried at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. She was later re-interred in the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles), informally known as COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2 ...

In popular culture

The name of schoolteacher

Edna Krabappel Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...

, a cartoon character from the animated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'', was chosen by early ''Simpsons'' writers Wallace Wolodarsky and Jay Kogen in 1990 as a play on the fruit "

crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zon ...

" and as a reference to Miss Crabtree from the ''Our Gang'' shorts.Groening, Matt; Wolodarsky, Wallace (2001). Commentary for the episode "

Homer's Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete First Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. June Marlowe's ''

'' character Miss Crabtree was mentioned in " Buddy", a track on

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternati ...

's album ''

3 Feet High and Rising ''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on March 3, 1989 by Tommy Boy Records. It is the first of three collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and c ...

''.https://genius.com/De-la-soul-buddy-lyrics

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marlowe, June 1903 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Minnesota American film actresses American people of German descent American silent film actresses Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Neurological disease deaths in California Deaths from Parkinson's disease Film serial actresses Hal Roach Studios actors People from St. Cloud, Minnesota Western (genre) film actresses WAMPAS Baby Stars