Polly Moran
Polly Moran | |
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| Born | Pauline Theresa Moran June 28, 1883 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 1952 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Vaudevillian, stage and screen actress |
| Years active | 1913–1950 |
| Spouses | Bob Sandberg
(m. 1911; div. 1917)Martin T. Malone (m. 1933) |
| Children | 1 son (adopted) |
Pauline Theresa Moran (June 28, 1883 – January 24, 1952) billed as Polly Moran, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage and screen and a comedian.
Career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started in
She partnered with the famous Broadway star Marie Dressler in The Callahans and the Murphys (1927); and the two appeared in eight additional films together, such as Chasing Rainbows (1930), Caught Short (1930), and Prosperity (1932).[1][2] After Dressler's death in 1934, Moran's career declined, and she only starred in low-budget comedies or B-movies. In 1940, Moran retired to her home in Laguna Beach, California, but maintained an active Hollywood social life and was known for practical jokes. She once ran a failed campaign for a Laguna Beach City Council seat on a "Pro Dogs" platform.[3]
She made a brief comeback appearance in the Tracy–Hepburn classic comedy Adam's Rib in 1949. After playing the role, she said "I worked in the picture two days before I got a look at myself. I never went back."[4]
Honors
Moran has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.[5]
Personal life
After a marriage that ended in divorce in 1917, Moran married attorney and former prizefighter Martin T. Malone in 1933. Malone was abusive; he beat her and threatened to kill her, but she would not leave him.[6] She had one child, a son, who was adopted between her two marriages. She lived at 530 Mountain Road in Laguna Beach, California.[7]
Moran died of cardiovascular disease in 1952. Although a number of biographies give her date of death as being January 25, 1952, her grave marker reads January 24, 1952.[8]
Partial filmography
- Their Social Splash (1915, Short) - Polly - the Unruly Guest
- The Pullman Bride (1917, Short) - Sheriff Nell - the Pullman Drunk's Wife
- Skirts (1921)
- Two Weeks with Pay (1921) - Chambermaid
- The Affairs of Anatol (1921) - Orchestra Leader (uncredited)
- Luck (1923) - Dumb Dora - Fight Enthusiast
- The Blackbird (1926) - Flower Lady at Music Hall (uncredited)
- The Scarlet Letter (1926) - Jeering Townswoman (uncredited)
- Twinkletoes (1926) - Minor Role (uncredited)
- Flesh and the Devil (1926) - Family Retainer with Bouquet (uncredited)
- The Show (1927) - Sideshow Spectator (uncredited)
- The Callahans and the Murphys (1927) - Mrs. Murphy
- The Thirteenth Hour (1927) - Polly
- London After Midnight (1927) - Miss Smithson, the New Maid
- The Enemy (1927) - Baruska
- Buttons (1927) - Polly
- The Divine Woman (1928) - Mme. Pigonier
- Rose-Marie (1928) - Lady Jane
- Bringing Up Father (1928) - Maggie Jiggs
- The Trail of '98 (1928) - Lars' Nagging Wife (uncredited)
- Detectives (1928) - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- Telling the World (1928) - Landlady
- Beyond the Sierras (1928) - Inez
- While the City Sleeps (1928) - Mrs. Minnie McGinnis
- Show People (1928) - The Maid
- Shadows of the Night (1928) - Entertainer
- A Lady of Chance (1928) - Hotel Maid Who Coughs (uncredited)
- Honeymoon (1928) - Polly
- The Five O'Clock Girl (1928)
- China Bound (1929) - Sarah
- The Hollywood Revue of 1929(1929) - Polly Moran
- Speedway (1929) - Waitress
- The Unholy Night (1929) - Polly - the Maid
- So This Is College (1929) - Polly
- Hot for Paris (1929) - Polly
- Crazy House (1930, a short comedy with Benny Rubin)
- Chasing Rainbows (1930) - Polly
- The Girl Said No (1930) - Polly
- Caught Short (1930) - Polly Smith
- Way Out West (1930) - Pansy
- Those Three French Girls (1930) - Elmer's Wife (uncredited)
- Way for a Sailor (1930) - Polly
- Remote Control (1930) - Polly
- Paid (1930) - Polly (uncredited)
- Reducing (1931) - Polly Rochay
- The Stolen Jools (1931, Short) - Norma Shearer's Maid
- It's a Wise Child (1931) - Bertha
- Politics (1931) - Ivy Higgins
- Guilty Hands (1931) - Aunt Maggie
- The Passionate Plumber (1932) - Albine
- Prosperity (1932) - Lizzie Praskins
- Le plombier amoureux (1932) - Patricia Alden
- Alice in Wonderland (1933) - Dodo Bird
- Hollywood Party (1934) - Henrietta Clemp
- Down to Their Last Yacht (1934) - Nella Fitzgerald
- Two Wise Maids (1937) - Prudence Matthews
- Ladies in Distress (1938) - Lydia Bonney
- Red River Range (1938) - Mrs. Maxwell
- Ambush (1939) - Cora, diner owner
- Tom Brown's School Days (1940) - Sally Harowell
- Meet the Missus (1940) - Widow Ella Jones
- Petticoat Politics (1941) - Widow Jones
- Adam's Rib (1949) - Mrs. McGrath
- The Yellow Cab Man (1950) - Bride's Mother (final film role)
References
- ^ a b c "Polly Moran, Movie Comedienne, Dead". The Washington Star. Hollywood. January 26, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ Miller, Frank. "ARTICLES: Prosperity (1932)", Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ISBN 9780786405206.
- ^ "Heart Ailment Fatal for Actress Polly Moran, 68". Lawrence Journal-World. Los Angeles. January 25, 1952. p. 11. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ "Hollywood Star Walk; Polly Moran". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ISBN 0-670-87155-9.
- ^ Epstein, Benjamin (February 19, 1998). "Course of History". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ Moran's gravemarker with date of death. Accessed June 27, 2023.
External links
- Polly Moran at IMDb
- Polly Moran at AllMovie
- Polly Moran at Find a Grave
- Polly Moran profile
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