Anita Garvin
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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."
Photos
Movies (74)
Laurel & Hardy: Year Two
2024 · (archive footage) (uncredited)
He Asked for It
1940
Sunk by the Census
1940
Bested by a Beard
1940 · Mrs. Vivian Errol
A Chump at Oxford
1940 · Mrs. Vandevere (uncredited)
Truth Aches
1939 · Mrs. Errol
Home Boner
1939
Swiss Miss
1938 · Tradesman's wife
Topper
1937
Sleepless Hollow
1936 · Harry's Wife
While the Cat's Away
1936 · Emma
Merry Wives of Reno
1934 · Male-Seeking Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
His Silent Racket
1933 · Mrs. Finlayson
Asleep in the Feet
1933 · Dance Hall Hostess
The Millionaire Cat
1932 · Natalie
Yoo-Hoo
1932 · Anita
Show Business
1932 · Anita Garvin
The Hollywood Handicap
1932
Murder at Midnight
1931 · Party Guest (uncredited)
The Skulls
1931 · Señora Laurel
Be Big!
1931 · Mrs. Laurel (uncredited)
The Chiselers
1931 · Mme. Laurel
Whispering Whoopee
1930 · Miss Garvin
Blotto
1930 · Mrs. Laurel
Sally
1930 · Party Guest (uncredited)
Dynamite
1929 · Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Red Hot Rhythm
1929 · Mable
Stepping Out
1929 · The Date
Hunting the Hunter
1929
Our Modern Maidens
1929 · Bridesmaid (uncredited)
The Single Standard
1929 · Packy's Jealous Girlfriend at Art Exhibition (uncredited)
Modern Love
1929 · Mrs. Weston - the Brunette
On With the Show!
1929 · Chorine (uncredited)
Movie Night
1929
The Charlatan
1929 · Mrs. Paynter
Trent's Last Case
1929 · Ottilie Dunois
Off to Buffalo
1929 · Mrs. Brown
A Pair of Tights
1929 · Anita
Going Ga-Ga
1929 · Anita
Feed 'em and Weep
1928
Imagine My Embarrassment
1928
Roaming Romeo
1928 · The Princess
Their Purple Moment
1928 · Oliver's Girlfriend
Fandango
1928
The Play Girl
1928 · Millie
From Soup to Nuts
1928 · Mrs. Culpepper
The Battle of the Century
1927 · Slips on pie (uncredited)
Never the Dames Shall Meet
1927 · Edna's Sister
Fighting Fathers
1927 · Mrs. Sniffleblaster
Assistant Wives
1927 · Gwendolyn - the Flapjack Queen
Hats Off
1927 · Customer at top of stairs
Sailors, Beware!
1927 · Madame Ritz
With Love and Hisses
1927 · Captain Bustle's 1st girlfriend
Why Girls Love Sailors
1927 · Captain's Wife
Baby Brother
1927 · Amorous nursemaid
Forgotten Sweeties
1927
Upstream
1927 · Theatre Audience Admirer at Stage Door
Two-Time Mama
1927 · Mrs. Dazzle
Many Scrappy Returns
1927 · Wellington's Wife
The Motor Boat Demon
1927 · Colleen
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
1926 · Flo Mason
Raggedy Rose
1926 · Janice
Move Along
1926 · Rich girl with roses
Creeps
1926
For Sadie's Sake
1926
My Swedie
1925 · Ethel Lorraine
Fair But Foolish
1925
A Taxi War
1925
Book Bozo
1925
The Sleuth
1925 · The other woman
In the Grease
1925 · Physical Culture teacher
A Dangerous Peach
1925 · Mrs. Wilson
The Last Man on Earth
1924 · A Millionairess (uncredited)
Bright Lights
1924
TV shows (0)
No credits available.