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Mary Eaton

Born
Jan 29, 1901
body type
Average
nationality
American

Career

Active 1923 – 1942

Biography

About Mary Eaton

Edited by the community

Mary Eaton was one of 'The Seven Little Eatons,' a performing family famous in the 1920s and 1930s. Of the seven siblings, she achieved the greatest fame. Her brothers Joseph and Charles and sisters Pearl and Doris were also performers; sister Evelyn worked as a stage manager, while brother Robert never entered the business. Mary starred in the 1920 and 1922 editions of the Ziegfeld Follies. She was Florenz Ziegfeld's backup in case his biggest star, Marilyn Miller, proved too difficult. Eaton later replaced Miller as Eddie Cantor's leading lady in the hit Broadway show Kid Boots in 1923, and again in Sunny in 1927.

Mary seemed a natural for talking pictures. She was paired with an aging Broadway juvenile, Oscar Shaw, in the Marx Brothers' The Cocoanuts in 1929. She then took the lead role in the all-star cast of Glorifying the American Girl later that same year. But fame faded quickly. By the end of the 1930s, the Eaton family found themselves unwanted on both stage and screen. Mary, along with Pearl and Charles, turned to alcohol. She married three alcoholics, and died young of severe cirrhosis of the liver in 1948, at age 47.

Mary was American, born in Norfolk, Virginia, and of Caucasian ethnicity. She had a straight sexuality and an average body type. She was active in the industry from 1923 to 1942, a span of 19 years. She had three marriages: to Millard Webb from 1929 until his death in 1935, to Charles A. Emery from 1937 to 1942, and to Eddie Laughton, to whom she was married at the time of her death. Mary Eaton passed away on Sunday, October 10, 1948, at the age of 47. Her legacy is tied to the Ziegfeld Follies and early film musicals.

Record

Profile details

Personal

Died
Sunday 10th of October 1948 (age 47)
Years Active
1923-1942 (started around 22 years old; 19 years active)
Birthplace
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Ethnicity
Caucasian
Sexuality
Straight

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Frequently asked

How did Mary Eaton die?

Mary Eaton died of severe cirrhosis of the liver in 1948, at age 47.

What was Mary Eaton's connection to Marilyn Miller?

Mary Eaton was Florenz Ziegfeld's backup for Marilyn Miller and later replaced Miller in the Broadway shows Kid Boots and Sunny.

Who was Mary Eaton's spouse at the time of her death?

Her third husband, Eddie Laughton, was her spouse at the time of her death in 1948.

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