Anita Garvin

Known for ActingBorn 1906-02-11Died 1994-07-07New York City, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anita Garvin (February 11, 1907 – July 7, 1994) was an American actress and comedian who appeared in both silent and sound films. She is best known for her work with comedians Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase. Garvin was born in New York City.] Her two sisters who danced in vaudeville encouraged her talents. At age 12, she lied to an agent saying she was "almost sixteen" and got a job being a bathing beauty for one of Mack Sennett's stage shows. The following year she joined the Ziegfeld Follies. She took pride in being the only woman allowed to touch Will Rogers's ropes. She also appeared in Earl Carroll Vanities. Garvin went on tour with the musical Sally staying with the show for two seasons, then decided to stay in California when the tour left that stop in 1924. In Hollywood, Garvin began working for Christie Film Company's comedies. She recalled her co-star Bobby Vernon dropping butter on the floor onto which she stepped and tumbled, cementing her career as a comedian. Charles Lamont brought her over to work for Educational Pictures. In 1926, Hal Roach took her under contract, where she appeared in many silent films with Charley Chase, James Finlayson, and Max Davidson as well as playing occasional supporting roles in feature films. Standing around 6 feet tall, "her regal countenance and deadpan expression" made her the perfect comic foil. Roach later considered her "one of his finest actresses." Reflecting upon her frequent co-star Stan Laurel, Garvin observed: "One thing about Stan--with apologies to a lot of directors--they thought they were directing him. And they thought they were directing the picture. But Stan was the one...He was very clever about it. The director was never cognizant of the fact that he was not doing all the directing. Stan's mind was going all the time, always thinking of gags and things to do. The script didn't mean a thing." Garvin appeared in a total of eleven Laurel and Hardy films. In 1928, she was teamed with Marion Byron as a short-lived female version of Laurel and Hardy. Along with Edgar Kennedy, Byron and Garvin appeared in A Pair of Tights, an "acknowledged masterpiece."Read more

Movies & web series

Laurel & Hardy: Year Two

While the Cat's Away

The Millionaire Cat

Modern Love

Fandango

Roaming Romeo

Assistant Wives

For Sadie's Sake

A Taxi War

He Asked for It

Home Boner

Red Hot Rhythm

Hunting the Hunter

Imagine My Embarrassment

The Play Girl

Many Scrappy Returns

Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl

Bright Lights

Sunk by the Census

Sleepless Hollow

His Silent Racket

Yoo-Hoo

Off to Buffalo

Trent's Last Case

Fair But Foolish

A Pair of Tights

Two-Time Mama

Blotto

Bested by a Beard

Truth Aches

The Hollywood Handicap

Sally

A Chump at Oxford

Never the Dames Shall Meet

The Motor Boat Demon

Fighting Fathers

In the Grease

A Dangerous Peach

The Battle of the Century

Going Ga-Ga

The Chiselers

Topper

Be Big!

Sailors, Beware!

Movie Night

Their Purple Moment

Hats Off

Move Along