Pauline Garon

Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a

Canadian-born American silent film, feature film and stage actress.

She was associated with D.W. Griffith when she first came to

Hollywood in 1920. Garon's first important role came in 1921's The Power

Within. She also played the body double for Sylvia Breamer in Doubling for

Romeo (1921).

In 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new

discovery. He cast her in only two films. One was Adam's Rib (1923). She was

selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. Even before her

"discovery", Garon had been a steadily rising star. She appeared

opposite Owen Moore in Reported Missing (1922). Garon received much praise for

her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny (1922 film) (1922). She had been

chosen for this role by King after he saw her portray the role in the stage

production on Broadway.

In 1922 she played with Richard Barthelmess in the First

National Pictures release, Sonny. Her role as Florence Crosby brought her to

the brink of stardom. However the ingénue professed no real desire to be a

celebrity. Garon admitted that the thought of the responsibilities of being a

star frightened her.

Garon was making at least five films a year after her

popularity soared. She was playing many lead roles in B movies and supporting

roles in more glamorous films. The 1920s was a wonderful decade for the

actress. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya

which opened the lavish Roxy Theatre in New York City on March 11, 1927.

By 1928 Garon's career began to decline dramatically. By the

end, She appeared mostly in French renditions of Paramount Pictures movies. She

was cast in less popular English films as well.

By the early 1930s, Garon was given very small uncredited

roles. By 1934 she had vanished from film. Garon played a bit part in How Green

Was My Valley (1941). She was in two westerns, Song Of The Saddle (1936) and

The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941).

Garon married three times. She wed actor Lowell Sherman in

February 1926. Sherman's influence led Garon to refuse a long-term contract

with Paramount. In February 1928 Garon became a citizen of the United States.

She separated from Sherman in August 1927. In February 1940 she eloped with

radio star and actor, Clyde Harland John Alban, to Yuma, Arizona. Garon and

Alban divorced in 1942. She wed comedian Ross Forester and remained with him

until she died.

Garon died at Patton State Hospital, a psychiatric

institution in San Bernardino, California, in 1965. The cause of death was a

brain disorder. She was 63 years old.