Dressler, Marie

Dressler, Marie,

1869–1934, American actress, b. Coburg, Ont., Canada. She appeared on stage and in vaudeville before making her first film, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914). Although she gained fame as a large, good-natured comedienne, she gave a strong performance as a disreputable old alcoholic in Anna Christie (1930). Her other films include Min and Bill (1931), Tugboat Annie (1932), and Dinner at Eight (1933).

Dressler, Marie (b. Leila Koerber)

(1869–1934) stage/film actress; born in Coburg, Canada. This versatile comic actress begin her career at age 14 with a touring theatrical company, and for many years she performed in vaudeville, plays, and musical productions, enjoying her greatest success with the song, "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl." In 1910, she began a film career that went from Mack Sennett comedies—including Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) with Chaplin—to Anna Christie (1930) and Min and Bill (1931), for which she won an Oscar. Never very attractive and always on the plump side, she ended up as one of the most popular film stars of her day.