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Photo of Marguerite De La Motte

Marguerite De La Motte

Actor
Born June 22, 1902Died March 10, 1950 (47 years)
Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De La Motte. She was a 1917 graduate of the Egan School of drama, music, and dancing.

De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova. In 1919, she became the dance star of Sid Grauman on the stage of his theater. In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks-directed romantic comedy film Arizona. In 1920, both of her parents died, her mother in January in an automobile accident and her father in August from heart disease. Film producer J.L. Frothingham assumed guardianship of her and her younger brother.

De La Motte spent the 1920s appearing in numerous films, often cast by Douglas Fairbanks to play opposite him in swashbuckling adventure films such as 1920's The Mark of Zorro and The Three Musketeers. She developed a close friendship with Fairbanks and his wife, actress Mary Pickford. Her career as an actress slowed dramatically at the end of the silent film era of the 1920s. She did continue acting in bit parts through the sound era and made her final appearance in the 1942 film Overland Mail opposite both Noah Beery Sr. and Noah Beery Jr., as well as Lon Chaney Jr.

After her film career ended, De La Motte worked as an inspector in a southern California war plant during World War II. Later she came to San Francisco, California, where she worked in the Red Cross office.

On February 8, 1960, De La Motte was awarded a star in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6902 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.
Known For
  • The Mark of Zorro
  • The Iron Mask
  • Shadows
  • The Three Musketeers
  • The Nut
  • A Woman's Man
  • Richard the Lion-Hearted

Filmography

1961
Hollywood: The Golden Years · as Actress 'the Mark Of Zorro'
1942
Overland Mail · as Rose - The Waitress [chs. 1, 8]
1941
Reg'lar Fellers · as Mrs. Dugan
1934
A Woman's Man · as Gloria Jordan - Star
1930
Shadow Ranch · as Ruth Cameron
1929
The Iron Mask · as Constance Bonacieux
1927
Held by the Law · as Mary Travis
1923
Richard the Lion-Hearted · as Lady Edith Plantagenet
1922
Shadows · as Sympathy Gibbs
1921
The Three Musketeers · as Constance
1921
The Nut · as Estrell Wynn
1920
The Mark of Zorro · as Lolita Pulido

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