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Pauline Garon

Pauline Garon (September 9, 1901 – August 30, 1965) was a Canadian-born silent-film actress. She became a popular example of a flapper.

Born in Montreal, Quebec as Marie Pauline Garon, Garon was the daughter of Pierre and Victoria Garon. Her father first worked for the Canadian postal department, then worked at an insurance agency, where he managed to gain enough money to send his youngest child (out of eleven children) to the Couvent Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Convent) in Montreal, one of the most prestigious schools in the city. Garon attended this school for seven years.

At about the age of 20, Garon ran away to New York where she began work on Broadway, appearing in such productions as Buddies and Sonny. It was following this that Garon made her debut in films, in Remodeling Her Husband either as Dorothy Gish's double or playing a small part. She was even said to be a protégé of Lilian Gish.

Garon's first important role came in 1921's The Power Within. She also played the stunt double for Sylvia Breamer that year in Doubling for Romeo.

In 1923, she was hailed as Cecil B. DeMille's big new discovery, although he only cast her in two films, one was Adam's Rib (1923). She was also selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1923. Even before her "discovery", Garon had been a steadily rising star, appearing opposite Owen Moore in 1922's Reported Missing and received much praise for her role in Henry King's adaptation of Sonny (1922). She had been specifically selected for this role by King because he had seen her play the role in the stage production on Broadway.

Garon, who was considered one of Quebec's first film pioneers in Hollywood, 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, who flourished as an actress of film, as well as on Broadway. She co-starred with Gloria Swanson and John Boles in The Love of Sunya which opened the lavish Roxy Theater in New York City on March 11, 1927.

By 1928, however, Garon's career began to decline dramatically.By the end, she mainly appeared in Paramount movies in French. She was cast in less popular English films as well. By the 1930s, with the help of talkies, Garon was given very small roles, and her name was no longer even credited. By 1934, she had vanished from film, taking an extraordinary talent of acting away from her beloved Hollywood.

Garon married three times. She married comedian John Alban, followed by actor Lowell Sherman from 1926 to 1930. It was probably under Sherman's influence and insistence that Garon refused a long-term contract with Paramount. She also married another comedian, Ross Forester. Their marriage ended upon her death.

Although perhaps much less popular than Canadian greats Mary Pickford and Norma Shearer, Garon still managed to make it big during the silent era, gaining much respect and admiration from her colleagues, and establishing herself as one of the most talented actresses of the 1920s.

Garon died at a psychiatric hospital, Patton State Hospital, in San Bernardino, California in 1965 from a brain disorder.