The Brief Mortal Sojourn of Marjorie Ray

Thanks to the reader who directed me to the sad story of the brief life and career of vaudeville performer and silent screen comedian Marjorie Ray (1890-1924). Ray had appeared in a handful of L-KO comedies with her husband Dan Russell. At age 34 she died of tetanus of what was widely reported to have been a “pin prick”, which it technically was, although the “pin” turns out to have been a morphine needle. I redirect you now to two, much more thorough articles about the performer: this, by Michael J. Ankerich, and this, on the Classic Actresses Blog. 

To learn more about vaudeville, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and for more on classic comedy please read Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.