Looking for Mabel Normand
Madcap Mabel Normand
Dear Ms. Slater,
Hello, my name is Tina Hargrove from
Sincerely,
Tina H
MABEL NORMAND BOOKS
Books on Mabel’s life
There isn’t any book that tells the story of her life. Some have tried but none that I can recommend. In many ways, her life is very simple and yet because of the scandals, which swilled around her, most things written about her spend a lot of pages on the death of William Desmond Taylor. Even Mack Sennett’s autobiography “King of Comedy” has chapters on (19) Dark Figure Off Stage, (20) Murder, (21) Detective Story, (22) The Night Of February 1. This book is clearly written by someone that loved Mabel and is a bit protective of her.
He knew her as well as anyone, so I put more weight on his words then the tales told by people that were merely trying to make her fit into a clever title. Here I am referring to the Betty Fussell book Mabel-Hollywood’s First I-Don’t-Care Girl. Overall, the tone of the book is distasteful to me. It is more about the author then Mabel Normand.
Mabel did write an autobiography with the help of Sidney Sutherland which was posthumous published in Liberty magazine in 1930 beginning September 6, 1930 called MADCAP MABEL NORMAND ¾ The True Story of a Great Comedienne.
Of course, if you are interested in the primary source material, William Thomas Sherman has compiled magazine and newspaper articles in the Mabel Normand Source Book. He has also written essays on her life and times but frankly, I question a lot of his conclusion but as a research tool the articles are wonderful and if you realize that he wrote this before the newspaper archive was available, it makes it an even more amazing work.
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Mabel-Hollywood’s First I-Don’t-Care Girl
Geoff Edwards. The program was "Mid-Morning L.A."
An interview with Betty Harper Fussell was done in 1982 as part of the promotional tour when her book Mabel: Hollywood’s First I-Don’t-Care Girl: The Life of Mabel Normand was released at a program called Mid-Morning LA. The host was Geoff Edwards. The interview runs a little over 7 minuets with a nice clip of Caught in a Cabaret (April 1914) of Charlie and Mabel. Betty’s personality comes though and is very consistent with her style of writing. It helps to understand her point of view.
1982 interview with Betty Harper Fussell
MADCAP MABEL NORMAND ¾ The True Story of a Great Comedienne
LIBERTY 1930
The LIBERTY Magazine article is the nearest thing we have to an autobiography even through it was published posthumously it is obviously written with Mabel’s input. The tone of the article is very gentle and reflects Sutherland affection towards Mabel during the time they both knew she was dieing.
Frankly there are a number of factual errors but Mabel never let reality get in the way of a good story. One of these days I will go through it and make notes where she or Sutherland has gone off the straight and narrow line of truth. William Thomas Sherman has this same material in his Mabel Normand Source Book. All the typos are mine!
For the most part if you were sitting with Mabel during the months at Pottenger’s TB Sanatorium as she grow weaker and she was telling you about herself this is what she would have told you. So read this as if she is talking to you.
You might want to read it in a number of short visits or even print it out as it is rather long to read at one setting. As Mabel tells her story, she also shows you a number of little photos which are included by Sutherland in the article. As I put this together (it was a lot of work) I became very near to understanding how she felt about her life and think as you read it you will understand Mabel a little better.
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Mabel Normand Source Book
Mabel Normand:
A Source Book To Her Life and Films
(press to read)
by
William Thomas Sherman
revised 2005 edition
William Thomas Sherman has given us all a wonderful gift! His terrific Mabel Normand Source Book is available
You can contact William Thomas Sherman at: gunjones@netscape.com
or (206) 784-1132
or you can write using postal mail:
William Thomas Sherman,
Normand Family
Yes, there are Normands. Mabel never had children nor did her sister Gladys but her older brother, Claude had 2 children, Livingston Joseph and a daughter named after her Aunt, Mabel Winifred. Livingston served during WW2 as a Sea Bee, his wife was Janet and I believe they may have had children but have not been in contact with them.
Mabel’s nice was born in 1929 so never met Mabel Normand. She married Stephen Rycowitch; they were married for 57 years. They had three sons, Michael, Stephen and Normand, she died in June 2005. Michael is dead, Normand lives in New Jersey with his father and Stephen Rycowitch uses the name Stephen Normand, he lives in
http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/nov101893.htm
http://www.freewebs.com/looking-for-mabel/marynormand.htm
In the 1900 census, the form has a field labeled YEAR OF BIRTH, on that form Mabel information is 1893. Another field is labeled AGE AT LAST BIRTHDAY, it is filled in as 6. Mabel’s birth month is November; the census is a snapshot was of
Now we move on to 1910 census, the form changed a little. The field YEAR OF BIRTH is gone. The date of the census was as of
In the 1920 census, the form asks who lived in the home as of January 1920, field is age at last birthday and the date of birth field is still missing but it looks like the ages and years have evened out.
1900 1910 1920
Claude 42 54 62
Mary 33 50 47
Claude Jr. 9 20 29
MABEL 6 17 25
Mabel was born November 10, 1893 and she died February 23, 1930 at the age of 36.
Normand men
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Livingston J. Normand was the son of Mabel Normand's brother, Claude D. Normand. Livingston lived in the Normand house before WW II when he became a "SeaBee". He was born March 30, 1926 and must have bounced on Aunt Mabel's knee. He lived on Staten Island after he returned from the Navy until April 17, 1999. Livingston's wife was Janet.
DEATH NOTICES
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from Variety, OBITUARY Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand, 35[1], screen comedienne, died Feb. 23 of tuberculosis in Pottenger Sanitarium at Miss Normand had been reported seriously ill for some time, although she had shown improvement after blood transfusions. She had been the subject of considerable newspaper attention since the killing of William Desmond Taylor, film director, In December, 1928, Miss Normand’s health became impaired to the extent that tuberculosis developed[3] and she began a brave fight to regain her health. The vivacious queen of silent film clowning never got a chance to work in the talkers although she had signed a contract with Hal Roach to appear in comedies, but her health never permitted the comeback. Miss Normand was born in Her initial screen appearance was at the old Vitagraph studio in Her best remembered screen work was in “Mickey” She did many other successful films including “The Extra Girl,” released by the Associated Exhibitors. Her marriage to Cody occurred in November, 1926. When she was at the height of her career she invested in a handsome home for her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. G. Normand, on Besides her mother, a sister, Gladys, and a brother, Claude, survive. The mother and sister left the coast upon news of her death, making part of the journey by airplane. Miss Normand had once appeared on the legitimate stage, the A. H. Woods office presenting her in “The Little Mouse,” in 1924. A few performances were given on the road, but the Services will be held Friday morning at the
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[1] Mabel died at the age of 36 in November, she would have been 37 years old [2] Greer was never tried; the charges were dropped when Dines refused to testify [3] It maybe that as early as 1917 while she was filming Mickey, she showed signs of TB affecting her health [4] Mabel Normand was born [5] Mabel is entombed at |
Mack & Mabel marriage plans
Mabel and Mack fell in love back in
Pottenger's Sanitarium
An easy question… Pottenger Sanatorium in
Pottenger’s Sanitarium
600 block
The last place she lived Mabel died there February 1930
(now a up scale housing development)
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MABEL NORMAND DIED AT POTTENGER SANATORUM By Marilyn Slater
On The Sanatorium was open in 1903 by Francis Pottenger, M.D. and was closed in 1955 when Dr. Pottenger retired at 88 years old, all patient and Sanatorium’s records were destroyed. It appears that the grounds were then leased for about 20 years to the Carmelite Order as a convent and retreat. In the 1970s the land was sold and it was developed as a luxury housing project and nothing of the original Sanatorium is left. (My friend, William Drew just remained me that Francis Pottenger, Jr., died in 1967 so; it wasn’t him that sold the land.!) The Historical Society in The property was located in the 500 and 600 blocks of His son Francis Pottenger Jr. completed his residency in 1930 at
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Mabel got tuberculosis
The illness, which eventually caused her death, began in February 1927, when Mabel was stricken with pneumonia, which caused an abscess lung, which developed into tuberculosis. This was only the final illness but as early as 1919 when she had a bout of influenza, it was realized that her lungs were weak.
The skin tests, which are so common now were not during the 1900s nor the 1910s. So although it might have been early in her life, her older brother, younger sister, her father or mother seems not to have any symptoms. She was very athletic and the disease is an opportunistic one, attacking during periods of physical weakness, so I personally believe that it may have been around 1919. Minta Durfee (Mrs. Arbuckle) thought it was in the Fall of 1913 when Mabel was working on A Muddy Romance for Keystone.
