Mabel Withee (c. 1897 – November 3, 1952) was an American actress on stage and in silent film.

Early life

Withee was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, the daughter of Leonard Withee.

Career

Withee's Broadway appearances were mainly in musical comedies and revues, including roles in ''Sinbad'' (1918–1919, with

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

and Kitty Doner), ''

George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. ...

'' (1919), ''Just a Minute'' (1919), ''The Rose Girl'' (1921, the first show at the Ambassador Theatre), ''Sonny'' (1921), ''The Rose of Stanboul'' (1922), ''The World We Live In'' (1922–1923), ''Lady Butterfly'' (1923), '' Dew Drop Inn'' (1923), ''Artists and Models'' (1924–1925), ''

The Cocoanuts ''The Cocoanuts'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film starring the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo). Produced for Paramount Pictures by Walter Wanger, who is not credited, the film also stars Mary Eaton, Oscar Shaw, ...

'' (1925–1926, with

the Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chic ...

). She also starred in ''Mary Ann'' (1927) on

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. She acted in one silent film, ''Once to Every Man'' (1918). Theatre critic

George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence and while co-founding ...

considered Withee to have "the most beautiful legs in the world". She retired from show business in 1928, when she married her second husband.

Personal life

Withee was "wooed" by Egyptian prince Mohammed Ali Ibrahim in 1922, but rejected his proposal of marriage. She married real estate broker Herman Leon Sarshik in 1926. She asked for the marriage to be annulled on the basis of fraud in 1928. She married again, to producer Larry Puck, later that year, and through him was the sister-in-law of actress

Eva Puck Eva Puck (November 25, 1892 – October 25, 1979) was an American entertainer, a vaudeville headliner who later found success performing in Broadway musical comedies and film. Early life She was born in New York City, the middle of three ...

. She had one son, Emmett Puck. She died in 1952, in her mid-fifties, in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fr ...

References

External links

* *
A photograph of Mabel Withee
in the George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress. {{DEFAULTSORT:Withee, Mabel 1952 deaths American vaudeville performers Actresses from Detroit 20th-century American actresses American musical theatre actresses American silent film actresses Year of birth uncertain