Marie Osborne Yeats (born Helen Alice Myres; November 5, 1911 – November 11, 2010), credited as Baby Marie between 1914 and 1919, was an American actress who was the first major child star of American

silent films A silent film is a film without 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, wh ...

. She was one of the three major American child stars of the Hollywood silent film era along with

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

and

Diana Serra Cary Diana Serra Cary (born Peggy-Jean Montgomery; October 29, 1918 – February 24, 2020), known as Baby Peggy, was an American child film actress, vaudevillian, author and silent film historian. She was the last surviving person with a substantial ...

. As an adult, from 1934 until 1950, and now billed as Marie Osborne, she continued in film productions, although she appeared only in uncredited roles. In the 1950s, after retiring from the acting profession, she carved out a second career as a costume designer for

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

.Obituary, ''L.A. Times'', November 18, 2010, pg. AA6.

Biography

Early life and child star

Osborne was born as Helen Alice Myres in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, the daughter of Roy and Mary Myres. She soon became — under mysterious circumstances — the child of Leon and Edith Osborn, who called her Marie and added the "e" to the surname, apparently to obscure the adoption. Her foster parents, the Osbornes, introduced their daughter to silent films when they left Colorado to work at Balboa Studios in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. Osborne made her debut credited as Baby Osbourne in 1914's short drama film '' Kidnapped in New York''. Osborne was signed to a lucrative contract with Balboa Films (and working with director Henry King and writer

Clara Beranger Clara Beranger (' Strouse; January 14, 1886 – September 10, 1956) was an American screenwriter of the silent film era and a member of the original faculty of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Biography Beranger was born Clara Strouse in Balti ...

), by the age of five she was starring in silent films, including her best-remembered movie, ''Little Mary Sunshine'', from 1916,''Little Mary Sunshine''
IMDb profile. one of her few surviving films. Some of her other films are ''Maid of the Wild'' (1915), ''Sunshine and Gold'' (1917), ''What Baby Forgot'' (1917), ''Daddy's Girl'' (1918), ''The Locked Heart'' (1918), ''Winning Grandma'' (1918), ''The Sawdust Doll'' (1919), and ''Daddy Number Two'' (1919). At the age of eight, she completed her final film as a child star, ''Miss Gingersnap'' in 1919. In all, she was featured or starred in 29 films in a six-year period. Most of her films were produced at Diando Studios, the former Kalem Movie Studio in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Later films

As an adult, she returned to motion pictures 15 years later in 1934 – at the request of director Henry King – to appear in his film '' Carolina'', starring

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American actress. She began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century-Fox) in 1926, she ...

and

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

. This movie also featured future child star

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

in a minor role. Over the next 16 years, Osborne worked as a

film extra A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy stree ...

, also serving as a

stand-in A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and tele ...

for actresses such as

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

Deanna Durbin Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...

, and

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

. After appearing in more than a dozen films, she made her last on-screen appearance in ''Bunco Squad'' (1950), starring

Robert Sterling Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955). In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollyw ...

and

Joan Dixon Joan Dixon (June 6, 1930 – February 20, 1992) was an American film and television actress in the 1950s. She is known for her role in the film noir ''Roadblock'' (1951). Career Dixon appeared in ten films in the early 1950s, co-starring in a ...

Costumer

In the 1950s, she started a new career as a costumer for

Western Costume Western Costume Company is a costume company in North Hollywood, California which supplies costumes and costuming supplies to the film and TV industry. Founded in 1912 or 1913, it is one of the oldest businesses in the industry. History Before ...

, a clothing supplier for the motion picture industry. Osborne worked on the wardrobes for such films as ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate ...

'' (1956), ''

How to Murder Your Wife ''How to Murder Your Wife'' is a 1965 American black comedy film from United Artists, produced by George Axelrod, directed by Richard Quine, that stars Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. Quine also directed Lemmon in ''My Sister Eileen'', ''It Happened ...

'' (1965), '' The Godfather: Part II'' (1974), and ''

Harry and Walter Go to New York ''Harry and Walter Go to New York'' is a 1976 American period comedy film written by John Byrum and Robert Kaufman, directed by Mark Rydell, and starring James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning and Lesley Ann War ...

'' (1976). In 1963, Osborne worked as a special costumer for

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

in the big-budget film, ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

''. Osborne retired in 1977, and moved to

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the ...

. Marie Osborne married Frank J. Dempsey on May 2, 1931. Dempsey was the father of Osborne's only child, Joan (born May 13, 1932). They divorced in 1937. Osborne married 36-year-old actor Murray F. Yeats on June 14, 1945, and moved to

Sepulveda, California North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After World War II, the newly dev ...

. They remained married until his death on January 27, 1975. Marie Osborne Yeats passed away on November 11, 2010 in

, shortly after she celebrated her 99th birthday with her family. Marie, her daughter Joan and her son-in-law Donald were laid to rest at Mission San Luis Rey. Donald and Joan Young are survived by their five children: Mark, Gary, Brian, Joyce and Karen.

References

External links