Marion Leonard (June , â€" January , ) was an American stage actress
who became one of the first motion picture celebrities in the early
years of the silent film era.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marion Leonard
began working in live theatre until the age of twenty-seven when she
was signed by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. She made her
screen debut in the short film At the Crossroads of Life () directed
by Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. (â€") from a screenplay by D. W. Griffith,
who also appeared as an actor in this film.Within a year, she had
leading roles, frequently directed by Griffith. At a time when screen
credits were not given to actors, she and Florence Auer were the first
star actresses to be billed by the studio as a "Biograph Girl". Of her
films made at Biograph, thirty-two were with an up-and-coming young
actress named Mary Pickford.While working for Biograph, Leonard met
screenwriter/director Stanner E.V. Taylor and a personal relationship
developed that led to marriage. The two would eventually leave
Biograph to make films together for Universal Pictures and other
studios and sometimes through their own production company.
who became one of the first motion picture celebrities in the early
years of the silent film era.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marion Leonard
began working in live theatre until the age of twenty-seven when she
was signed by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. She made her
screen debut in the short film At the Crossroads of Life () directed
by Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. (â€") from a screenplay by D. W. Griffith,
who also appeared as an actor in this film.Within a year, she had
leading roles, frequently directed by Griffith. At a time when screen
credits were not given to actors, she and Florence Auer were the first
star actresses to be billed by the studio as a "Biograph Girl". Of her
films made at Biograph, thirty-two were with an up-and-coming young
actress named Mary Pickford.While working for Biograph, Leonard met
screenwriter/director Stanner E.V. Taylor and a personal relationship
developed that led to marriage. The two would eventually leave
Biograph to make films together for Universal Pictures and other
studios and sometimes through their own production company.
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