Mae Busch

Mae Busch
Born	Annie Mae Busch (1891-06-18)18 June 1891 Melbourne, Victoria
Died	San Fernando Valley, California, U.S.
Cause of death	colon cancer
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1912–1946
Spouse(s)	Francis McDonald (m. 1915–22) divorced John Earl Cassell (m. 1926–29) divorced Thomas C. Tate (m. 1936–46) her death

Mae Busch (18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife.

Early life and career

Photograph of Mae Busch published in Stars of the Photoplay, 1924

She was born in Melbourne, Victoria to popular Australian vaudeville performers Elizabeth Maria Lay and Frederick William Busch. Lay had been active since 1883 under the stage names Dora Devere and then Dora Busch; she toured India with Hudson's Surprise Party and toured New Zealand twice. In 1887 she joined Frank M. Clark's Silk Stocking Company. A member of the Company's orchestra was Frederick William Busch. Elizabeth and Frederick were married on 6 February 1888 in Brisbane, Queensland between performances. They continued to tour with various companies with short breaks when their two children were born, Dorothy in 1889 (she lived for only 4 months) and Annie May in 1891. Dora Busch/Devere did one season of opera with mixed reviews and William featured in touring bands and orchestras as well as special acts as the Paragon Trio. He never conducted the Melbourne Symphony as has been suggested; the MSO was not founded until 1906, 10 years after William had left the country.

Following a concert tour of New Zealand, the family left for the USA via Tahiti. They departed on 8 August 1896 and arrived in San Francisco at the end of 1896 or in early 1897. Dora Busch was part of the Grand Opera Quartet, making her American debut on 14 February 1897 at the Orpheum Theatre. Towards the end of 1897 the family moved to the East Coast. William Busch performed with the Paragon Trio (renamed Lelliott Busch & Lelliott) at the Drexel Theatre in Chicago on 13 November 1897.

While her parents were touring, 6-year-old Annie May was placed in a convent school in New Jersey. At the age of 12, she joined her parents as the Busch Devere Trio, which was active from the end of 1903 until 1912. As Mae Busch she performed with her mother in Guy Fletch Bragdon's "The Fixer" to good reviews, and in 1911 they featured in Tom Reeves' "Big Show Burlesque." Mae's big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine as the lead female in "Over the River" with Eddie Foy.

Mae's first film appearances were in The Agitator and The Water Nymph, both released in 1912. There is some doubt about Mae being in these films as the production of both films in California appears to clash with commitments in New York. (refer to Mae Busch Link for full details) In 1915 she began working at Keystone Studios, where she appeared in comedy two-reelers. Her dalliance with studio chief Mack Sennett famously ended his engagement to actress Mabel Normand—who had actually been Busch's mentor and friend—when Normand walked in on the pair. According to some accounts, Busch, who was known for pinpoint throwing accuracy, inflicted a serious head injury on Normand by striking her with a vase. Normand died a few years later at age 37 from health problems, principally tuberculosis.

At the pinnacle of her film career, Busch was known as the versatile vamp. She starred in such feature films as The Devil's Pass Key (1920) and Foolish Wives (1923), both directed by Erich von Stroheim, and in The Unholy Three (1925), with Lon Chaney. Her career declined abruptly in 1926, when she walked out on her contract at Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and suffered a nervous breakdown. Afterwards, she found herself working for less prestigious studios such as Gotham and Tiffany, where she was relegated mostly to supporting roles.

In 1927, she was offered a leading role in a Hal Roach two-reeler, Love 'em and Weep, which began her long association with Laurel and Hardy. She appeared in 13 of their comedies, often as shrewish, gold-digging floozies (Chickens Come Home, Come Clean), a volatile wife of Oliver Hardy (Sons of the Desert, Their First Mistake), or more sympathetic roles (Them Thar Hills, Tit for Tat, The Fixer Uppers). Her last role in a Laurel and Hardy film was in The Bohemian Girl, again as a combative spouse of Hardy's, released in 1936. Her film roles after 1936 were often uncredited. Overall, she had roles in approximately 130 motion pictures between 1912 and 1946. Jackie Gleason later mentioned her name on his TV show as "the ever-popular Mae Busch."

In 2014 the thought to be lost 1919 film which was the first feature to star Harry Houdini, The Grim Game, was discovered and restored by Rick Schmidlin for Turner Classic Movies; it featured Mae Busch.

Personal life and death

Busch married three times: to actor Francis McDonald from 1915–1922; to John Earl Cassell from 1926–1929; and to civil engineer Thomas C. Tate from 1936 until her death.

Busch died on 20 April 1946, age 54, at a San Fernando Valley sanitarium where she had been ill for five months with colon cancer. In 1970 her ashes remained unclaimed and a chapter of The Laurel & Hardy Society, the Way out West Tent, paid for the interment at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Mae Busch has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1912	The Water Nymph		Alternative title: The Beach Flirt
1919	The Grim Game	Ethel Delmead
1920	Her Husband's Friends	Clarice
1922	Foolish Wives	Princess Vera Petchnikoff
	Brothers Under the Skin	Flo Bulger
1923	Souls for Sale	Robina Teele
	The Christian	Glory Quayle
1924	Name the Man	Bessie Collister
	Bread	Jeanette Sturgis
	Broken Barriers	Irene Kirby
	Married Flirts	Jill Wetherell
1925	The Unholy Three	Rosie O'Grady
1927	Love 'em and Weep	Old flame
	Husband Hunters	Marie Devere
1928	While the City Sleeps	Bessie
1929	Alibi	Daisy Thomas
	Unaccustomed As We Are	Mrs. Hardy
1931	Chickens Come Home	Ollie's Old Time Flame	Uncredited
	Fly My Kite	Dan's new wife
	Come Clean	Kate
1932	Their First Mistake	Mrs. Arabella Hardy
	Doctor X	Cathouse Madame
1933	Blondie Johnson	Mae
	Lilly Turner	Hazel
	Sons of the Desert	Mrs. Lottie Hardy	Alternative title: Fraternally Yours
1934	Oliver the Eighth	Widow	Alternative title: The Private Life of Oliver the Eighth
	The Road to Ruin	Mrs. Monroe	Uncredited
	Going Bye-Bye!	Butch's girlfriend
	Them Thar Hills	Mrs. Hall
	The Live Ghost	Maisie the Vamp, Blonde Floozy
1935	Tit for Tat	Grocer's wife
	The Fixer Uppers	Madame Pierre Gustave
1936	The Bohemian Girl	Mrs. Hardy
1938	Daughter of Shanghai	Lil	Uncredited Alternative title: Daughter of the Orient
	The Buccaneer	Bit Role	Uncredited
	Marie Antoinette	Madame La Motte	Uncredited
1941	Ziegfeld Girl	Jenny
1942	The Mad Monster	Susan
1946	The Blue Dahlia	Jenny – Maid	Uncredited
	The Bride Wore Boots	Woman	Uncredited
1947	Ladies' Man	Woman in Automat	Uncredited

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

• Mae Busch at the Internet Movie Database
• Mae Busch at Find a Grave
• Mae Busch at Virtual History
• Mae Busch at the Laurel and Hardy Society