Mary Claire Fuller (October 5, 1888 – December 9, 1973) was an American actress active in both stage and
silent film
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, w ...
s. She also was a screenwriter and had several films produced. An early major star, by 1917 she could no longer obtain roles in film or on stage. A later effort to revive her career in Hollywood failed in the 1920s after talkies began to dominate film. After suffering a nervous breakdown, she was admitted to
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The hospital opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for th ...
in Washington, DC in 1947 and lived there until her death.
Early life
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1888, to Nora Swing and attorney Miles Fuller, she spent her childhood on a farm. As a child, she was interested in music, writing and art. Her father died in 1902, and by 1906, she was working in the theater under the name Claire Fuller. She worked briefly with the Lyceum Stock Company in Toledo, Ohio.
Career
Fuller began her acting career on stage. At age 18 she was working in live theatre. In 1907, she signed with the new
Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...
in Brooklyn, New York, where she made silent films such as the one-reel adaptation of ''
Elektra
Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology.
Electra or Elektra may also refer to:
Animals
* ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates
* ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...
'' (released in April 1910). Later Fuller joined the
Edison Film Company
Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Tho ...
in 1910. That year, she appeared in the first film version of ''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'', based on the Mary Shelley novel.
Fuller became a major early silent movie star who, by 1914, rivaled
Mary Pickford
Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
Motion Picture Magazine
''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...
'' (Fuller placed fifth in the 1914 ''Motion Picture Magazine'' popularity contest; Pickford was third) She appeared in a wide variety of roles, and starred in such melodramas as ''The Witch Girl'', ''A Daughter of the Nile'', '' Dolly of the Dailies'' (1914), and '' Under Southern Skies'', her first feature-length production. Also, Fuller wrote numerous screenplays, eight of which were produced as films from 1913 to 1915.
Fuller's career, however, was over by 1917. As quoted in Sally Dumaux's ''King Baggot: A Biography and Filmography of the First King of the Movies'', an August 18, 1917 article in ''Variety'' stated though Fuller was
"one of the best drawing cards of the Universal for a long time ..her last few pictures were both financial and productional disappointments...and at the expiration of her contract she was allowed to depart...Miss Fuller has offered her services to several concerns along Broadway, but it is understood that they were turned down with the remark 'You are no longer film type.'"
Following this episode, Fuller disappeared from public view, and her whereabouts remained a mystery for decades.
Later life
After the demise of the first stage of her film career, Fuller apparently suffered a nervous breakdown following a failed affair with a married opera singer. She retired from the film business, and went to live with her mother in Washington, D.C. In her early years, Fuller had talked about a constant feeling of loneliness that film stardom never filled. In 1926, she returned to Hollywood and unsuccessfully attempted to resume her screen career, which was more difficult since "talkies" had replaced silent films.
The death of her mother in 1940 brought a second nervous breakdown. After her sister cared for her, she arranged for Fuller to be admitted to Washington's
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The hospital opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for th ...
on July 1, 1947. She lived there for 26 years, until her death. When Fuller died, the hospital was unable to locate any relatives, and she was buried in an unmarked grave in
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...
. In the 2010s, a memorial bench was installed on the site of her grave, bearing a "Hollywood Star of Fame" and the inscription "A Personality of Eloquent Silence."
Selected filmography
*''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
Turned to the Wall
''Turned to the Wall'' is a 1911 silent short film produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company. It starred Charles Ogle, Miriam Nesbitt and Mary Fuller. Based on a story by Charles Reade.A Personal Affair'' (1912)
*''
What Happened to Mary
''What Happened to Mary'' (sometimes erroneously referred to as ''What Happened to Mary?'') is the first serial film made in the United States. Produced by Edison Studios, with screenplays by Horace G. Plympton, and directed by Charles Brabin, ...
Public Be Damned
''Public Be Damned'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Stanner E.V. Taylor and starring Mary Fuller, Charles Richman and Chester Barnett. The film's negative portrayal of food hoarding at a time of increased shortages due to t ...