Anita Garvin
74 movies
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 11, 1906
- Died
- Jul 7, 1994 (age 88)
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Nita Garvin · Anna Frances "Anita" Garvin · Anna Frances Garvin
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Read the full biography
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."
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Anita Garvin: movies and TV shows
Acting (74)
- 2024 Laurel & Hardy: Year Two
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1940
- 1940
- 1940 Bested by a Beard
as Mrs. Vivian Errol
- 1940 A Chump at Oxford
as Mrs. Vandevere (uncredited)
- 1939 Truth Aches
as Mrs. Errol
- 1939
- 1938 Swiss Miss
as Tradesman's wife
- 1937
- 1936 Sleepless Hollow
as Harry's Wife
- 1936 While the Cat's Away
as Emma
- 1934 Merry Wives of Reno
as Male-Seeking Woman in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
- 1933 His Silent Racket
as Mrs. Finlayson
- 1933 Asleep in the Feet
as Dance Hall Hostess
- 1932 The Millionaire Cat
as Natalie
- 1932 Yoo-Hoo
as Anita
- 1932 Show Business
as Anita Garvin
- 1932
- 1931 Murder at Midnight
as Party Guest (uncredited)
- 1931 The Skulls
as Señora Laurel
- 1931 Be Big!
as Mrs. Laurel (uncredited)
- 1931 The Chiselers
as Mme. Laurel
- 1930 Whispering Whoopee
as Miss Garvin
- 1930 Blotto
as Mrs. Laurel
- 1930 Sally
as Party Guest (uncredited)
- 1929 Dynamite
as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
- 1929 Red Hot Rhythm
as Mable
- 1929 Stepping Out
as The Date
- 1929
- 1929 Our Modern Maidens
as Bridesmaid (uncredited)
- 1929 The Single Standard
as Packy's Jealous Girlfriend at Art Exhibition (uncredited)
- 1929 Modern Love
as Mrs. Weston - the Brunette
- 1929 On With the Show!
as Chorine (uncredited)
- 1929
- 1929 The Charlatan
as Mrs. Paynter
- 1929 Trent's Last Case
as Ottilie Dunois
- 1929 Off to Buffalo
as Mrs. Brown
- 1929 A Pair of Tights
as Anita
- 1929 Going Ga-Ga
as Anita
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928 Roaming Romeo
as The Princess
- 1928 Their Purple Moment
as Oliver's Girlfriend
- 1928
- 1928 The Play Girl
as Millie
- 1928 From Soup to Nuts
as Mrs. Culpepper
- 1927 The Battle of the Century
as Slips on pie (uncredited)
- 1927 Never the Dames Shall Meet
as Edna's Sister
- 1927 Fighting Fathers
as Mrs. Sniffleblaster
- 1927 Assistant Wives
as Gwendolyn - the Flapjack Queen
- 1927 Hats Off
as Customer at top of stairs
- 1927 Sailors, Beware!
as Madame Ritz
- 1927 With Love and Hisses
as Captain Bustle's 1st girlfriend
- 1927 Why Girls Love Sailors
as Captain's Wife
- 1927 Baby Brother
as Amorous nursemaid
- 1927
- 1927 Upstream
as Theatre Audience Admirer at Stage Door
- 1927 Two-Time Mama
as Mrs. Dazzle
- 1927 Many Scrappy Returns
as Wellington's Wife
- 1927 The Motor Boat Demon
as Colleen
- 1926 Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
as Flo Mason
- 1926 Raggedy Rose
as Janice
- 1926 Move Along
as Rich girl with roses
- 1926
- 1926
- 1925 My Swedie
as Ethel Lorraine
- 1925
- 1925
- 1925
- 1925 The Sleuth
as The other woman
- 1925 In the Grease
as Physical Culture teacher
- 1925 A Dangerous Peach
as Mrs. Wilson
- 1924 The Last Man on Earth
as A Millionairess (uncredited)
- 1924