Volume III: Biographies Volume III: Biographies
Image from The Photoplay Magazine, August 1913. Courtesy of Robert S. Birchard (P-270)
Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Marguerite Loveridge was an actress with Thanhouser during the 1914 era. A note in The Moving Picture World, November 14, 1914, stated that she also appeared in Thanhouser films under the name of Marguerite Marsh (her real name), but the author has not encountered such publicity.
Biographical Notes: Marguerite Loveridge, also known as Marguerite Marsh (her name at birth), was born in 1892 in Lawrence, Kansas, the daughter of parents of French and Irish descent, Mary Warne and Charles Marsh. She was the eldest of six children; Elizabeth, Mary, Frances, Mildred, and Oliver were the others. When her father died, circa 1899, the family relocated to San Francisco, California, where Marguerite received her education, followed by training in Los Angeles as a nurse. The stage beckoned, and nursing was left behind. She went to New York City, where she appeared with the Oliver Morosco stock company. She played comedy roles with Raymond Hitchcock in Mascotte and other productions, and was also seen with Charles Ruggles. In October 1909 she supported Raymond Hitchcock in George M. Cohan's musical comedy, The Man Who Owned Broadway. A photograph of Miss Loveridge in a sultry pose in this role appeared on the front page of The Standard and Vanity Fair, October 23, 1909.
In January 1911 she was employed at the Biograph studio, where she played supporting roles. Her sister, Mary Warne Marsh (November 9, 1895-February 13, 1968), professionally known as Mae Marsh, became a prominent film actress; in 1957, she was named in the George Eastman Award as one of the five most prominent actresses of the silent film era. Mae Marsh got her start at Biograph when she substituted one day for Marguerite, who was ill. Her brother Oliver became a well-known cinematographer and was Mae Marsh's cameraman at one time.
Marguerite Loveridge appeared with Mary Pickford and others in Biograph films in 1912, including Under Burning Skies, The Mender of Nets, A Voice from the Deep, Just Like a Woman, The Old Actor, Their First Kidnapping Case, The New York Hat, and The Leading Man. During her stint with Biograph, she was "loaned" to Essanay, where she appeared in several films, including Western Hearts. At the Essanay studio she took the place of Vedah Bertram, who was ill at the time. Miss Bertram, whose real name was Adele Buck, subsequently died on August 26, 1912 of acute appendicitis. (Marguerite had a brush with appendicitis herself and was hospitalized in New York City for an operation in May 1917.)
In June 1912 Marguerite Loveridge was working with Biograph in California, but left Biograph when that company returned to the East. Her peregrinations of the time were described in the "Answers to Inquiries" column in The Motion Picture Story Magazine, September 1912: "Miss Loveridge was for a short time with the Biograph during their stay in Los Angeles, but the Essanay needed a lead and she was loaned to them. She is now with Bison, as she is a resident of Los Angeles and was unwilling to cross the continent to New York."
After departing from Biograph, Miss Loveridge announced her intention to join as leading woman an IMP division headed by Fred Mace, who left Biograph at the same time, taking a number of other players from that company with him. In late 1912 and early 1913 she was with Keystone for a brief period. A "chat" with Miss Loveridge was published in The Motion Picture Story Magazine, May 1913, and described an earlier visit with the actress when she was with Keystone in Los Angeles. Marguerite lived in an apartment there, had never voted and was ignorant of politics, wrote poetry and photoplays, participated in outdoor sports, and spent typical evenings at the theatre, or at home reading, writing, or doing needlework. Whittier was her favorite poet and Hall Caine was her favorite novelist, the account noted. Her favorite hobby was "hats." Her greatest ambition? "To be remembered kindly by everyone."
Early in 1913 she was also with Kinemacolor. Jean Darnell, writing in Photoplay, August 1913, described the actress: "Margaret [sic] Loveridge might well be called the 'Billie Burke' of pictures, as she has a wealth of titian hair and wonderful big grey eyes, [and is] very striking on account of her beautiful coloring." The April 12, 1913 issue of The Moving Picture World reported that she had recently joined Selig, and the issue of two weeks later notified readers that she was with that firm's Pacific Coast studio stock in the Diamond S brand. She appeared in Selig releases the same year, including The Woodman's Daughter, Marguerite and the Mission Funds, and Buck Richard's Bride.
Before long, she switched affiliations once again, for the June 21, 1913 issue of The Moving Picture World stated that she had recently been with Selig, but now "is playing leads in the dramatic pictures of the Majestic Company in Los Angeles," where she was in the autumn as well. In the same year she was in Dora (Majestic), His Nobs, the Plumber (Majestic-Apollo), and other films, including A Trade Secret and Seeds of Silver. She played a part in the January 1914 Selig release, Blue Blood and Red, which had been filmed earlier. In the pre-dawn hours of March 18, 1914, Marguerite and her sister Mae were asleep in their cottage at 1647 Edgecliff Road, Los Angeles when they were disturbed by a burglar. Marguerite, who kept a revolver nearby but who had not fired a gun until two weeks earlier in a movie scene, fired two shots and frightened him away.
Marguerite Loveridge left the Apollo department of Majestic after Apollo films were discontinued, and joined Thanhouser as a leading lady in the autumn of 1914, subsequently appearing in The Chasm and several other films. The following notice appeared in the October 3, 1914 issue of Reel Life: "Announcement is made that the Thanhouser company has engaged the services of Marguerite Marsh, a sister of Mae Marsh, who has gained such enviable fame in Reliance and Majestic productions under the tutelage of D.W. Griffith. Miss Marsh, under the name of Marguerite Loveridge, recently played leads under Director Fred Mace at the Majestic studios, Los Angeles. She will in the future be a member of the Thanhouser stock company in New Rochelle, New York."
Two articles in The New Rochelle Pioneer told of Miss Marsh-Loveridge's activities in autumn 1914:
October 10, 1914: "James Durkin is leading his own company and producing at the same time and is playing opposite Margaret Marsh who 'broke' into the picture game under the name of Marguerite Loveridge, playing comedy leads to Fred Mace. She got a big following and will henceforth appear under her real name. Dave Thompson is in support."
October 31, 1914: "Marguerite Loveridge, who has been appearing in Thanhouser films under the name of Marsh, her own name, will be cast in Flamingo Films, the newest comedy offering, under the direction of Fred Mace, formerly of the Thanhouser [sic] Apollo, in which 'Lovey' appeared to good advantage."
Subsequently, she acted in the first film produced by Fred Mace for the Flamingo Film Company, a firm founded in October 1914. In Without Hope, a four-reel comedy released in December 1914, she played the title role of Hope Flannigan. Film credits used her given name, Marguerite Marsh. Soon after this time, her Loveridge screen and stage name was dropped. To her friends she continued to be known as "Lovey."
Her surname was the subject of an article in The Moving Picture World, May 22, 1915: "Marguerite Loveridge, who is now connected with the Griffith forces in Los Angeles, is at present considering a very vital question. It has been suggested that she discard the name of Loveridge and resume her own name of Marsh, it being well known that she is the sister of the famous Griffith star Mae Marsh. The main objection raised by Miss Loveridge is the fear that by changing her name at this late date she would lose all the prestige that she has obtained under the old name. And on the other hand she feels that she would be encroaching on the laurels won by her sister Mae if she now adopted the name of Marsh. However, much pressure is being brought to bear, so if in the near future you should see Marguerite Marsh billed instead of Marguerite Loveridge you will know that she has succumbed to the demand."
The list of her later films is a long one and includes the 1915 pictures, The Old High Chair, The Turning Point, The Doll-House Mystery, The Queen of the Band, and A Romance of the Alps. Her 1916 films included D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (Wark Producing Company), Casey at the Bat, The Devil's Needle, The Price of Power, Little Meena's Romance, and Mr. Goode, the Samaritan. In 1918 she was seen in B.A. Rolfe serials with Houdini, the noted magician. In 1918 she studied astrology, although some newspapers at the time reported she was devoting her time to astronomy. Lillian Montayne, a writer for the February 1919 issue of the Photo-Play Journal, reported that if you told Marguerite the hour, day, and month of your birth, she would respond with "a wonderful chart, proving conclusively that your life is not lived continuously, but in cycles...." Marguerite surrounded herself with books, but not a single modern novel was in sight, because for these "Miss Marsh confesses a special abhorrence." The Studio Directory, 1920 edition, gave her address as the Hotel Monterey, New York City.
Marguerite Loveridge appeared in many other films through the early 1920s. She married and had a child, a daughter, who later became Mrs. John Greer, of Manhattan Beach, California. She suffered a nervous breakdown in St. Louis in the autumn of 1925, after which she went to New York City, where she died of pneumonia on December 8, 1925. At the time she was at the home of her mother at Myron Hall, 221 West 82nd Street. Some obituaries listed childbirth as the cause of death.
Note: Her first name was often misspelled as "Margaret" in news and publicity items.
Thanhouser Filmography:
1914: The Chasm (11-13-1914), The Man With the Hoe (11-15-1914), Pawns of Fate (11-17-1914), Good Fellowship (11-23-1914), The Center of the Web (12-1-1914)
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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.