Mabel Normand

Normand and Sennett were lovers, friends, and co-workers. Sennett's creation of Keystone was contingent on Normand joining him, and though he underpaid her, he insisted she have credit and say in the company. They became engaged, but Sennett was caught cheating, and a fling threw a vase at Normand's head, causing a severe injury. Friends believed Sennett was the love of her life, but they never reconciled romantically. Sennett convinced her to form the Mabel Normand Film Company, but her first project, 'Mickey', was mishandled and not released until 1918. She then signed with Goldwyn and made comedy features, many of which are lost, though some have resurfaced. She later signed with Sennett again for feature films, but her health was failing. She had been diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 10, and she was drinking heavily. In 1922, her friend William Desmond Taylor was murdered, a case that became a media circus and remains unsolved. Though Normand was cleared, the association tarnished her reputation. She continued working, making 'The Extra Girl', but after a butler was shot at a party she attended, she took a break. By 1926 she attempted a comeback with Hal Roach comedy shorts, and by 1928 she had signed with the William Morris Agency for talkies, but her health interrupted those plans. Her drinking increased, and she married longtime friend Lew Cody at 2am, immediately regretting it. By 1929 she was committed to a sanitarium, and she died in 1930 from tuberculosis, at age 37. Over the years, rumors of drug addiction have circulated, but her family, estate, and nurse all insisted she never used drugs.