In the 1920s, Marie Eline traveled extensively, often with her sister, and was seen in many stage productions, usually billed as Grace and Marie Eline. The two were seen in a 1928 vaudeville act, The Original Thanhouser Kids, which traded on their fame in films 15 years earlier.
Marie Eline married Milton Edward Blasier, Jr., in Riverside, California in 1922. The couple had one child, a daughter, Marie Elizabeth (“Mary”), born on March 4, 1924 at the Clara Barton Hospital in Los Angeles. An earlier child, a boy, was carried for an incomplete term and was stillborn.
In 1988, Marie Eline’s daughter told the author: “Marie had to leave her husband, Milton E. Blasier, as he was a very cruel person. When Mother became pregnant with me, my father locked her in a room. He was jealous of me from the time I was conceived as he did not want to share my mother with anyone. My mother never told me of these things, and I heard them from my Aunt Grace and my Grandmother Grace (whom I named Ga-Ga, and from then everyone in show business called her Ga-Ga). Mother would never speak ill of anyone and corrected me when I did, including whenever I spoke critically of my father.”
An unattributed 1926 newspaper clipping preserved by the Eline family relates: “Milton Edward Blasier, said to be the manager of the Rancho del Guerra in California, was arrested yesterday at the Hotel Alamac on a civil order obtained by his wife, Mrs. Marie Blasier, who is staying at the Alamac, from Supreme Court Justice Wasservogel. She alleged that he had threatened to dispose of his property, said to consist of $30,000 in securities and an interest in a $500,000 estate, and for that reason Mrs. Blasier might be unable to collect any alimony awarded in a suit for separation. After the papers had been served by Deputy Sheriff Murphy, Blasier was released on $1,500 bail.
“Mrs. Blasier said she had married the defendant in Riverside, California, in 1922, and that she had been compelled to leave him when he abused her at their home in Hollywood, California in April, and broke up the furniture. They have a daughter, two years old. Her assertation that her husband said when he arrived here several days ago that he intended to dispose of his property was corroborated by her sister, Grace Eline, a vaudeville actress, with whom she is living.”
Milton E. Blasier, Jr.’s father, Milton, Sr., died on April 28, 1925. His will, dated April 25, 1923, provided that his stepson, Milton, Jr. (the husband of Marie Eline), receive $4,000 per year from the estate for six years, plus 20% of the income. The balance of the income was to be divided between his widow, Sarah J. Blasier, and his stepson, with the principal of the estate to go in its entirety to Milton, Jr. upon the death or remarriage of Sarah. His widow contested the will, stating that she was to have received half of the $239,179 estate, but that Milton, Jr. had induced his father, then of alleged unsound mind, to provide otherwise, by telling his father that Sarah had married him only for his money and that she did not care for him and, in fact, was seeing other men. The estate was largely comprised of real estate in the Los Angeles area, including the Blasier Apartments at 641 St. Paul Street, valued at $135,000, and a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, valued at $90,000.
In 1988, Marie Eline’s daughter recalled her mother’s life: “There were no stunt men or doubles when my mother was a child actress with Thanhouser. In one film she was in a scene which took place on a high train trestle. The Thanhouser crew had to film the action as the train approached the trestle, where Marie was to be, with her foot wedged under the tracks. The hero [William Russell] was to run onto the tracks, scoop her up under his arms, and race off the trestle, thereby saving her life. A child’s shoe at the time was typically laced up above the ankles.
“What really happened is when the hero grabbed Marie and started to lift her, her foot turned and really became wedged in the tracks. As the hero struggled with her, the onlookers realized there was a big problem and panicked, for the train kept coming and wasn’t slowing down! In the midst of this excitement, Marie’s mother calmly untied her daughter’s shoelaces and lifted her up and ran to safety.
“In another instance of danger, Marie in the role of Little Eva, filming Uncle Tom’s Cabin [for World], when Little Eva and Uncle Tom fell into the water. Uncle Tom was supposed to have saved her life, but it turned out that he couldn’t swim, so Marie’s sister Grace went to the rescue.
“Marie had the most forgiving nature. She never spoke ill of anyone and always looked for and found good in everyone. When she smiled there appeared a deep dimple in each cheek. She grew to only four feet seven and a quarter inches tall, and had a perfect figure with an 18-inch waistline and naturally soft, curly hair. She never complained to me about any of her troubles, and she had many in her lifetime.
“Marie was a very honest person. She didn’t care for people who lied, and she would not tell a lie, if she could help it. The most she might do would be to prevaricate slightly. I know that I was raised with the understanding that if I always told her the truth I would not be punished for something I did that was wrong, but if I lied about it I would be punished. She also told me and raised me this way: If I really wanted to do something desperately that was very important to me as a child or teenager and I said, ‘Well, Mother, I just have to do it,’ she would very sweetly say, ‘Well, darling, if you can give me a better reason for wanting to do this particular thing than the reason I can give you for not doing it, then you can do it.’ And it always worked out that way. We could sit down and talk, discuss it, and if she thought I had a good enough point, I was right.
“Marie was an excellent mother. She was never too tired or too busy for me, even when she was in vaudeville. When she was doing two or three shows a day and would come home late at night, after the theatre closed, I would be asleep—with a maid or nurse watching me at all times. When she came home she would stay up to do things for me, like putting together a Tinkertoy set, so I would find it all assembled when I woke up. Whenever she had to go on the road, she would always call me every evening at my bedtime, regardless of what she was doing. She was never too busy for me, and she spent as much time as she could with me, so I would know that I had my mother—and I did.
“Later, in New York City, Mother married a man named Joe Reems. I think it was in 1932. Joe was in vaudeville, and Mother was also. Joe was the one who taught me to tell time, so it may have been before 1932. I don’t know how long this marriage lasted, but I know that Mother married Hal Thornton, her last husband, before 1935. Hal was a singer and played the piano. He entertained in night clubs. He adored my mother, but he was a womanizer and an alcoholic. When he had been drinking, he physically abused my mother; I remember that well. This was the only man my mother deeply loved and never got over. The only reason she left him was because of me. She did not want me to be around that type of man.
“Mother and I left New York in 1940, or late 1939, enroute to California. Mother stayed in California until about 1960, at which time she moved to Miami to live with her sister, Grace. My mother had a stroke in 1978 or 1979. I moved her to Toutle, Washington—about 25 miles from Mt. St. Helen—to be with me. I lost my beloved mother on January 3, 1981. Mother was a wonderful person, my best friend, and she was a friend to all who knew her.”
Marie Eline died in Longview, Washington on January 3, 1981. An obituary in Variety, January 28, 1981, noted in part: “Marie Eline, age unreported, died in Longview, Washington while visiting her daughter. With her sister, Grace, the Elines played the Keith and Orpheum circuits, starting in show business in 1910. They appeared with Nora Bayes in The Jolly Bachelors, and then Marie went into films, and Grace joined Elsie Janis in Lady of the Slipper. After Marie appeared in a production of Rose Marie, the sisters went into vaudeville, but retired from show business in 1948. Marie Eline, who took the name of Anne B. [Bruce] Carlisle upon retirement, is survived by her sister and daughter.”
Her daughter, Mary Eline Grundberg (later remarried to become Mary E. Scheet), supervised the funeral arrangements, which were conducted in Longview by the Steele Funeral Home. The remains of Marie Eline were cremated by the Green Hills Memorial Gardens, Inc.
The author conducted numerous interviews with Mary Eline Scheet, Marie’s daughter, who furnished many recollections, clippings, photographs, and other items concerning her mother. Marie Scheet has one child, Gary D. Sprague, the only grandchild of Marie Eline.
Notes: Marie Eline’s name was misspelled numerous ways in publicity. Her first name appeared as “Maria,” “Mary,” “Marina.” and “Marine,” among other variations, while her surname was listed as “Aline,” “Kline,” and even “Flynn,” the latter appearing in several different places. One account The New York Dramatic Mirror named her as “Rhea” Eline.
