Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, frequently playing Hardy's shrewish wife.
Early life Busch was born in Melbourne, Victoria to popular Australian vaudeville performers Elizabeth Maria Lay and Frederick William Busch. Her mother had been active since 1883 under the stage names Dora Devere and then Dora Busch; she toured India with Hudson's Surprise Party and toured New Zealand twice. They continued to tour with various companies with short breaks when their two children were born, Dorothy in 1889 (who lived for only four months) and Annie May in 1891. Following a concert tour of New Zealand, the family left for the United States via Tahiti. They departed on 8 August 1896 and arrived in San Francisco at the end of 1896 or in early 1897.
While her parents were touring the United States, six-year-old Annie May was placed in a convent school in New Jersey. At age 12, she joined her parents as the Busch Devere Trio, which was active from 1903 until 1912. As Mae Busch, she performed with her mother in Guy Fletch Bragdon's The Fixer to good reviews, and in 1911, they featured in Tom Reeves' Big Show Burlesque. Mae's big break came in March 1912 when she replaced Lillian Lorraine as the lead female in Over the River with Eddie Foy.
Career
Silent film era
Mae's first film appearances are reputed to be in The Agitator and The Water Nymph, both released in 1912. There is some doubt about Mae's being in these films, as the production of both films in California appears to clash with Busch's commitments in New York. In 1915, she began working at Keystone Studios, where she appeared in comedy two-reelers. Her dalliance with studio chief Mack Sennett famously ended his engagement to actress Mabel Normand—who had actually been Busch's mentor and friend—when Normand walked in on the pair. According to an unverifiable claim by Minta Durfee, Busch, who was known for pinpoint throwing accuracy, inflicted a serious head injury on Normand by striking her with a vase.
At the pinnacle of her film career, Busch was known as the "versatile vamp". She starred in such feature films as The Devil's Pass Key (1920) and Foolish Wives (1922), both directed by Erich von Stroheim, and in The Unholy Three (1925), with Lon Chaney. She soon walked out on her contract at Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and had a nervous breakdown. She regained her health and resumed working at both major and minor studios; her best opportunity was a starring role in Universal's 1927 drama Perch of the Devil, with Busch cast against type as a sympathetic young bride confronted by a rival. The film's climax was a spectacular flood sequence; this footage from Perch of the Devil was reused in later Universal productions for more than a decade.
Work with Laurel and Hardy In 1926, producer Hal Roach began casting "name" dramatic stars in his short comedies: Priscilla Dean, Theda Bara, Herbert Rawlinson, Agnes Ayres, and Lionel Barrymore among them. Mae Busch joined Roach's "All Stars" for a leading role in Love 'em and Weep (1927), which began her long association with Laurel and Hardy. The short received good distribution and resulted in Busch resuming her feature-film career, including a return to MGM for the 1928 Lon Chaney feature While the City Sleeps.
In 1929, many stars of silent films faced an uncertain future, with their talents less in demand as talking pictures caught on. When a short-subject assignment came along, Busch grabbed it. It was again for the Hal Roach studio in the Laurel & Hardy comedy Unaccustomed as We Are (1929). It was the team's first "all-talking" comedy, and stage-trained Mae Busch handled her dialogue well as Hardy's put-upon wife. She appeared in 12 more Laurel and Hardy comedies, often displaying her versatility. She alternated between shrewish, gold-digging floozies (Chickens Come Home, Come Clean), Oliver Hardy's volatile wife (Sons of the Desert, Their First Mistake), and more sympathetic roles (Them Thar Hills, Tit for Tat, The Fixer Uppers). Her last role in a Laurel and Hardy film was in The Bohemian Girl, again as Hardy's combative spouse, released in 1936.
Later roles and legacy The same year, she was featured in the low-budget serial The Clutching Hand, but it did not advance her career. From then, her film roles were often uncredited. Overall, she had roles in approximately 130 movies from 1912 to 1946. Jackie Gleason later mentioned her name on his TV show as "the ever-popular Mae Busch".
In 2014 The Grim Game, the believed-lost 1919 film that was the first feature to star Harry Houdini, was discovered and restored by Rick Schmidlin for Turner Classic Movies. Busch appears, credited as Bush.
Personal life and death
Busch was married three times: to actor Francis McDonald (1915–22), to John Earl Cassell (1926–29), and to civil engineer Thomas C. Tate (1936–her death).
Busch died on 20 April 1946 at age 54 at a San Fernando Valley sanitarium, where she had been ill for five months with colon cancer.State of California. County of Los Angeles. Death Certificate for Mae Busch, 1946. District 1801, Registrar's No. 7081.
For her contributions to the film industry, Busch was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
In the 1970s, it was discovered that her ashes had remained unclaimed and were in vaultage at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. The Way Out West Tent, a Los Angeles chapter of The Sons of the Desert, the Laurel and Hardy appreciation society, paid for their removal from vaultage and placement in a publicly accessible niche at Chapel of the Pines. The memorial plaque incorrectly lists her year of birth as 1901.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes1912The Water Nymph(uncredited?)Short subject Alternative title: The Beach Flirt1915Mabel and Fatty's Married Life(uncredited)Short subject1919The Grim GameEthel DelmeadCredited as Mae Bush1920Her Husband's FriendsClariceThe Devil's Pass KeyLa Belle OderaLost film1921A Parisian ScandalMamselle SariLost film1922Foolish WivesPrincess Vera PetchnikoffBrothers Under the SkinFlo BulgerIncompleteOnly a Shop GirlJosie JeromeLost film1923Souls for SaleRobina TeeleThe ChristianGlory Quayle1924Name the ManBessie CollisterNellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model Polly JoyBreadJeanette SturgisLost filmBroken BarriersIrene KirbyLost filmMarried FlirtsJill WetherellLost filmThe TriflersMarjorie Stockton1925The Unholy ThreeRosie O'Grady1925 Camille of the Barbary CoastCamille1926Fools of FashionEnid Alden The Miracle of LifeJanet Howell The Nutcracker Martha Slipaway1927Love 'em and WeepOld flameShort subjectHusband HuntersMarie Devere Perch of the DevilIda Hook Tongues of Scandal Helen Hanby1928While the City SleepsBessie1929AlibiDaisy ThomasUnaccustomed As We AreMrs. HardyShort subjectA Man's ManViolet1930Young DesireMay Roberts1931Chickens Come HomeOllie's Old Time FlameShort subjectUncreditedFly My KiteDan's new wifeShort subjectCome CleanKateShort subject1932Their First MistakeMrs. Arabella HardyShort subjectDoctor XCathouse Madame1933Blondie JohnsonMaeLilly TurnerHazelCheating BlondesMrs. Jennie CarterSons of the DesertMrs. Lottie HardyAlternative title: Fraternally Yours Dance Girl DanceLou Kendall1934Oliver the EighthWidowShort subjectAlternative title: The Private Life of Oliver the EighthThe Road to RuinMrs. MonroeUncreditedGoing Bye-Bye!Butch's girlfriendShort subjectThem Thar HillsMrs. HallShort subjectThe Live GhostMaisie the Vamp, Blonde FloozyShort subject1935Tit for TatMrs. Hall, Grocer's wifeThe Fixer UppersMadame Pierre GustaveShort subject1936The Bohemian GirlMrs. HardyThe Amazing Exploits of the Clutching HandMrs. Gironda15-episode serial1938Daughter of ShanghaiLilUncreditedAlternative title: Daughter of the OrientThe BuccaneerBit RoleUncreditedMarie Antoinette Madame La MotteUncredited1940Women Without NamesRose1941Ziegfeld GirlJenny1942The Mad MonsterSusan1946The Blue DahliaJenny – MaidUncreditedThe Bride Wore BootsWomanUncredited1947Ladies' ManWoman in AutomatUncredited
References Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Mae Busch at Virtual History Mae Busch at the Way Out West Tent