Marguerite De La Motte

Marguerite De La Motte
Born	(1902-06-22)June 22, 1902 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 10, 1950(1950-03-10) (aged 47) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1918–1942
Spouse(s)	John Bowers (1924–1936)

Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era.

Career

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova. In 1919, she became the dance star of Sid Grauman on the stage of his theater. In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks, Sr directed romantic comedy film Arizona. In 1920, both of her parents died, her mother in January in an automobile accident and her father in August from heart disease. Film producer J.L. Frothingham assumed guardianship of her and her younger brother.

De La Motte in 1921.

She spent the 1920s appearing in numerous films, often cast by Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. to play opposite him in swashbuckling adventure films such as 1920's The Mark of Zorro and The Three Musketeers. She developed a close friendship with Fairbanks and his wife, actress Mary Pickford. Her career as an actress slowed dramatically at the end of the silent film era of the 1920s. She did continue acting in bit parts through the sound era and made her final appearance in the 1942 film Overland Mail opposite both Noah Beery, Sr. and Noah Beery, Jr., as well as Lon Chaney, Jr.

Personal life

De La Motte was married twice. She first wed silent film actor John Bowers in 1924, who was then a matinee idol of silver screen. The couple were separated at the time when Bowers committed suicide in 1936. De La Motte later married attorney Sidney H. Rivkin whom she later divorced after four years of marriage.^[1] Her cousin, Clete Roberts, was American war correspondent and journalist, who appeared in two episodes of the television series M*A*S*H* in the 1970s.

Later years

After her film career ended, De La Motte worked as an inspector in a southern California war plant during World War II. Later she came to San Francisco, California, where she worked in the Red Cross office.^[1]

Death

On March 10, 1950, De La Motte died of cerebral thrombosis in San Francisco, three months short of her 48th birthday.^[2] For her contributions as an actress to the motion picture industry, De La Motte was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6902 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.

Selected filmography

References

Notes

Bibliography

• "Marguerite De La Motte III". New York Times. February 28, 1950. p. 21. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marguerite De La Motte.

• Marguerite De La Motte at the Internet Movie Database
• Marguerite De La Motte at AllMovie
• Marguerite De La Motte at Find a Grave