Athole Dane Shearer Hawks (November 20, 1900 – March 17, 1985) was a Canadian-American actress and socialite, who was the sister of motion picture star

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...

and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film sound engineer

Douglas Shearer Douglas Graham Shearer (November 17, 1899 – January 5, 1971) was a Canadian American pioneering sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures. The elder brother of a ...

Early life

Athole Dane Shearer was born in 1900 in Montreal, Quebec. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager, her brother Douglas remained with their father

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

in Canada, and she and her sister Norma moved to New York City with their mother Edith. The latter hoped to get her daughters into show business.

Film career

In 1920, the sisters appeared as extras and in bit parts in productions filmed in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, but Edith moved with them to California with the intention of securing contracts with one of the studios in Hollywood. Shearer's appearances in productions in the eastern United States consisted of only small uncredited roles in three films, the first being as a schoolgirl in ''

The Flapper ''The Flapper'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film starring Olive Thomas. Directed by Alan Crosland, the film was the first in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle, which became a cultural craze or fad in the 1920s. Plot Si ...

'', a silent comedy released by Selznick Pictures Corporation. In California, Athole's acting career essentially ended, never achieving the success experienced by Norma at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Bipolar disorder

A contributing factor to Shearer's limited work in motion pictures was her persistent medical issues, most notably her long struggle with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, from which her father most likely also suffered. Her condition and personal problems associated with the illness proved to be detrimental to her film career. Ultimately, Shearer spent many years in mental institutions until her disorder was diagnosed.

Personal life

In 1923, Shearer married John Ward, with whom she had a son, Peter."Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940"
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, April 1940; digital image of federal census page listing the family of "Howard W. Hawkes", identified as a director of motion pictures.

FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is part of the Church's Family History Department (FHD). The Fami ...

, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved August 25, 2018. In the cited census, Barbara "Hawkes" is documented to be 5-years-old at the time; David, 11-years-old; and Peter, 15-years old. The couple divorced in 1928; and on May 30 that year she married again, this time to film director

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

, with whom she had two more children: David, born in 1929, and Barbara, born in 1935. She and Hawks divorced in 1940, reportedly due to Hawks' affair with New York and Hollywood socialite Nancy "Slim" Gross, whom he later married.

Death

Shearer died in 1985 in Los Angeles, and she was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1920) * ''

Way Down East ''Way Down East'' is a 1920 American silent film, silent melodrama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the 19th century play of the same name by Charlotte Blair Parker, Lottie Blair ...

'' (1920) * ''

The Restless Sex ''The Restless Sex'' is a 1920 American silent drama film starring Marion Davies, and Ralph Kellard. It was directed by Leon D'Usseau and Robert Z. Leonard and written by Frances Marion. The film is based upon the 1918 novel of the same name ...

'' (1920)

References

;Notes ;Citations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shearer, Athole 1900 births 1985 deaths Canadian film actresses Canadian silent film actresses Canadian socialites American socialites Actresses from Montreal People from Westmount, Quebec People with bipolar disorder Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Anglophone Quebec people 20th-century Canadian actresses Canadian emigrants to the United States