Pauline Garon

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Pauline Garon
Stars of the Photoplay, 1924
Born	Marie Pauline Garon (1900-09-09)September 9, 1900 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	August 30, 1965(1965-08-30) (aged 64) San Bernardino, California, US
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1920–1935
Spouses	Lowell Sherman ​ ​ (m. 1926; div. 1929)​ Clyde Harland Alban ​ ​ (m. 1940; div. 1942)​ Ross Wilson Forester ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 1964)​

Marie Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a Canadian silent film, feature film, and stage actress.

Marie Pauline Garon was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the youngest of 11 children of Pierre-Auguste Garon and Victoria Connick. She was of French and Irish descent. Her father first worked for the Canadian postal department, then worked at an insurance agency.

She did not learn English until she was ten years old. Her parents managed to afford to send her to the Couvent Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart Convent) in Montreal, one of the most prestigious schools in the city, for seven years. She was the first graduate of the institution to perform in the theatre.

At around 20 years old, she ran away to New York City where she began work on Broadway.

Garon made her film debut in Remodeling Her Husband as a body double for Dorothy Gish. She was associated with D.W. Griffith when she first came to Hollywood in 1920. Garon's first important role came in 1921's The Power Within. She also played the body double for Sylvia Breamer in Doubling for Romeo (1921).

A steadily rising star, she appeared opposite Owen Moore in Reported Missing (1922). Garon received much praise for her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny (1922). King chose her after seeing her perform in the stage production on Broadway. She co-starred with Richard Barthelmess in the First National Pictures release.[citation needed] However, in 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new discovery. He cast her in two films, including Adam's Rib (1923). She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. Garon was making at least five films a year after her popularity soared. She was playing many lead roles in B movies and supporting roles in more glamorous films. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya (1927).

By 1928, Garon's career began to decline dramatically. She appeared mostly in French renditions of Paramount Pictures movies. She was cast in less popular English films as well. By the early 1930s, Garon was given small uncredited roles. By 1934, she had vanished from film. Garon played a bit part in How Green Was My Valley (1941) and appeared briefly in two westerns, Song of the Saddle (1936) and The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941).[citation needed]

Garon became an American citizen on February 20, 1928.[1][2]

While filming The Average Woman in 1924 rumors began to spread that Garon had become engaged to Gene Sarazen, a professional golfer.[3] In March 1924 she issued a complete denial of the rumors.[4]

She married three times. She wed Lowell Sherman on February 15, 1926.[1] Sherman's influence led Garon to refuse a long-term contract with Paramount. They separated in August 1927.[citation needed] In February 1940, she eloped to Yuma, Arizona, with radio star and actor Clyde Harland Alban.[5] They divorced in 1942.[6]

She married Ross Forrester, widower of actress Marion Aye, in May 1953 and remained with him until he died.[citation needed]

Garon's health had been precarious many years before her death. She collapsed at the 20th Century Fox studios on June 5, 1952.[citation needed] She was a patient at Patton State Hospital, a psychiatric institution in San Bernardino, California. On August 30, 1965, ten days before her 65th birthday she died from a brain disorder.

• "One..In..A..Million". Los Angeles Times. July 9, 1922. p. 32.
• "To Honor Actress". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1922. p. 35.
• "Film Features From the Cinema World". Lincoln Star. May 13, 1923. p. 31.
• "Film Features From the Cinema World". Lincoln Star. September 16, 1923. p. 40.
• "Petite Pauline Garon Reaches Fame Rapidly". Englewood Economist. October 10, 1923. p. 6.
• "Sarazen's Ears Nicer Than Valentino's Agents Told Gene But He Wised Up In Time". Washington Post. May 4, 1950. p. 17.
• "Behind The Scenes In Hollywood". Lethbridge Herald. June 9, 1952. p. 9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pauline Garon.

• Pauline Garon at IMDb
• Photographs and literature at virtual-history.com