Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 — February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, comedienne, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their Keystone Studios films, and at the height of her career in the late 1910s and early 1920s had her own film studio and production company, the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company. On screen, she appeared in twelve successful films with Charlie Chaplin and seventeen with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, sometimes writing and directing (or co-writing and directing) films featuring Chaplin as her leading man.
Normand's name was repeatedly linked with gun violence, including the 1922 murder of her friend, director William Desmond Taylor, and the non-fatal 1924 shooting of Courtland S. Dines by Normand's chauffeur, Joe Kelly. After police interrogation, she was ruled out as a suspect in Taylor's murder.
Normand was a heavy smoker who may have suffered lung cancer, and/or a recurrence of tuberculosis in 1923, which led to a decline in her health, an early retirement from films in 1926 and her death in 1930 at age 36.
Early life and career
thumb|right|[[Roscoe Arbuckle and Normand with Luke the Dog in Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916)]]
Amabel Ethelreid Normand was born in New Brighton, New York, (before it was incorporated into New York City as part of Staten Island) on November 9, 1893. She took her name from her father's only sibling, who had died before her birth in 1892. Normand's mother, Mary "Minnie" Drury, of Providence, Rhode Island, was of Irish heritage; while her father, Clodman "Claude" George Normand, was French Canadian, with his ancestral lineage dating back to Normandy in France and their surname originally being LeNormand or Le Normand.
For a short time at the start of her career, Normand worked for Vitagraph Studios in New York City for $25 per week (), but Vitagraph founder Albert E. Smith admitted she was one of several actresses about whom he made a mistake in estimating their "potential for future stardom." Normand's intensely beguiling lead performance in the 1911 dramatic short film Her Awakening, directed by D. W. Griffith, drew her attention and led to her meeting director Mack Sennett while at Griffith's Biograph Company. The two subsequently embarked on a relationship. Sennett later brought Normand to California when he founded Keystone Studios in 1912.
thumb|thumbtime=0:12|In [[A Little Hero (film)|A Little Hero (1913, Dutch-language edition), Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands]]
Normand appeared with Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in many short films. With the 1913 film A Noise from the Deep, Normand is credited as being the first film star to receive a pie thrown in the face.
She played a key role in starting Chaplin's film career and acted as his leading lady and mentor in a string of films in 1914, collaborating with him as a director, co-director or co-writer.
Scandals
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle trials
Arbuckle, Normand's co-star in many films, was the defendant in three widely publicized trials for manslaughter in the 1921 death of actress Virginia Rappe. Although Arbuckle was acquitted, the scandal damaged his career and his films were banned from exhibition for a short time. Since she had made some of her most notable works with him, much of Normand's output was withheld from the public as a result. Most subsequent writers have done the same. However, Normand's career had already slowed, and her reputation was tarnished. According to George Hopkins, who sat next to her at Taylor's funeral, Normand wept inconsolably.
The Dines shooting
In 1924, Normand's chauffeur Joe Kelly shot and wounded millionaire oil broker and amateur golfer Courtland S. Dines with her pistol. However, Dines was not fatally injured; he died of a heart attack in 1945, over two decades after the shooting.
Later career and death
thumb|150px|Normand's [[crypt at Calvary Cemetery]]
Normand continued her film career and joined Hal Roach Studios in 1926 after conversations with director and producer F. Richard Jones, who had previously worked with her at Keystone.
The films she made at Roach included Raggedy Rose, The Nickel-Hopper, and One Hour Married — the latter being her last film—all co-written alongside Stan Laurel.
In another Roach film, she was directed by Leo McCarey in the film Should Men Walk Home?. <!-- The films were released with extensive publicity support from the Hollywood community, including her friend Mary Pickford. -->
On the 17 September 1926, she married actor Lew Cody, with whom she had appeared in Mickey in 1918. They lived separately in nearby houses in Beverly Hills. Normand's health was in decline due to tuberculosis.
Her film Mabel's Blunder (1914) was added to the National Film Registry in December 2009.
In June 2010, the New Zealand Film Archive reported the discovery of a print of Normand's film Won in a Closet (exhibited in New Zealand under its alternate title Won in a Cupboard), a short comedy previously believed lost. This film is a significant discovery, as Normand directed the film and starred in the lead role, displaying her talents on both sides of the camera.
In 2025, Mabel Normand was announced as an inductee in the Visual Effects Society Hall of Fame.
Cultural references
thumb|right|300px|Moviegoers [[Roscoe Arbuckle and Mack Sennett (foreground) argue while watching Normand onscreen in Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913)]]
- A nod to Normand's celebrity in early Hollywood came through the name of a leading character in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, "Norma Desmond", which has been cited as a combination of the names Mabel Normand and William Desmond Taylor. The film also frequently mentions Normand by name.
- Normand is mentioned during series 2 episode 1 of Downton Abbey by ambitious housemaid Ethel Parks. Daisy Mason (née Robinson), the kitchen maid, inquires what she is reading, and Ethel responds, "Photoplay about Normand. She was nothing when she started, you know. Her father was a carpenter and they had no money, and now she's a shining film star."<!-- source verified -->
- Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks wrote a song about the actress titled "Mabel Normand", which appears on her 2014 album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault.
Fictional portrayals
The 1974 Broadway musical Mack & Mabel (Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman) fictionalized the romance between Normand and Mack Sennett. Normand was played by Bernadette Peters and Robert Preston portrayed Sennett.
Normand is played by actress Marisa Tomei in the 1992 film Chaplin opposite Robert Downey, Jr. as Charles Chaplin; by Penelope Lagos in the first biopic about Normand's life, a 35-minute dramatic short film entitled Madcap Mabel (2010); and by Morganne Picard in the motion picture Return to Babylon (2013).
In 2014, Normand was played on television by Andrea Deck in series 2, episode 8 of Mr Selfridge and by Kristina Thompson in the short film Mabel's Dressing Room.
The character played by Alice Faye in Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) was reputed to have been based partly on Normand.
Filmography
Some of her early roles are credited as "Mabel Fortesque".
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key
| style="background:#ffc;"|
| Denotes a lost or presumed lost film.
|}
Vitagraph
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year!! Film!! Role!! Director!! Co-Star!! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1910 || style="background:#ffc;" | Indiscretions of Betty || || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Over the Garden Wall || || || ||
|-
| rowspan=16 | 1911 || Fate's Turning || A Diner At The Hotel || D. W. Griffith || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Diamond Star || Guest At Dinner Party || || ||
|-
| A Tale of Two Cities || Uncredited || William J. Humphrey || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Betty Becomes a Maid || Betty || || ||
|-
| Troublesome Secretaries || Betty Harding || Ralph Ince || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Picciola; or, The Prison Flower || Theresa Girhardi || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | His Mother || Donald's Fiancée || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | When a Man's Married His Trouble Begins || Mabel - Jack's Wife || || James Morrison ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Dead Man's Honor || Helen || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Changing of Silas Warner || || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Two Overcoats || || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Subduing of Mrs. Nag || Miss Prue || rowspan=2 | George D. Baker || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Strategy of Anne || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Diving Girl || The Niece || Mack Sennett || Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | How Betty Won the School || Betty's Rival || || Edith Storey ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Baron || The Heiress || Mack Sennett || Dell Henderson ||
|}
Biograph
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year!! Film!! Role!! Director!! Co-Star!! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan=12 | 1911 || The Squaw's Love || Wild Flower || rowspan=6 | D. W. Griffith || Alfred Paget ||
|-
| The Revenue Man and the Girl || || Dorothy West ||
|-
| Her Awakening || The Daughter || Harry Hyde ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Making of a Man || In Second Audience || Dell Henderson ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Italian Blood || || Charles West ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Unveiling || The Showgirl || Robert Harron ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Through His Wife's Picture || Wifey || rowspan=4 | Mack Sennett || Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Inventor's Secret || || Mack Sennett ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Victim of Circumstances || || Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Their First Divorce Case || Hubby's Chorine Sweetheart || ||Uncredited<br>Unconfirmed
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Why He Gave Up || The Wife || Henry Lehrman<br />Mack Sennett || Fred Mace ||
|-
| Saved from Himself || || D. W. Griffith || ||
|-
| rowspan=26 |1912 || style="background:#ffc;" | The Joke on the Joker || || rowspan=2 | Mack Sennett || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Engagement Ring || || ||
|-
| The Eternal Mother || Mary || D. W. Griffith || Edwin August<br />Blanche Sweet ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Did Mother Get Her Wish? || || rowspan=2 | Mack Sennett || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Pants and Pansies || || Harry McCoy ||
|-
| The Mender of Nets || || D. W. Griffith || Mary Pickford ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Fatal Chocolate || || rowspan=8 | Mack Sennett || Mack Sennett ||
|-
| Hot Stuff || || Mack Sennett ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Voice From The Deep || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Oh, Those Eyes! || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Help! Help! || Mrs. Suburbanite || Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Brave Hunter || || ||
|-
| The Fickle Spaniard || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Furs || || ||
|-
| When Kings Were The Law || (Uncredited) || D.W. Griffith || ||
|-
| Helen's Marriage || Helen || Mack Sennett <br /> Dell Henderson || ||
|-
| Tomboy Bessie || Bessie || rowspan=10 | Mack Sennett || Mack Sennett ||
|-
| Katchem Kate || || Fred Mace <br /> Jack Pickford ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Neighbors || || ||
|-
| A Dash Through the Clouds || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The New Baby || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Tourists || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | What The Doctor Ordered || || ||
|-
| An Interrupted Elopement || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Tragedy of a Dress Suit || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | He Must Have a Wife || || ||
|}
Keystone
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year!! Film!! Role!! Director!! Co-Star!! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan=25 | 1912 || Cohen Collects a Debt || || rowspan=16 | Mack Sennett || Ford Sterling ||
|-
| The Water Nymph || Diving Venus || Mack Sennett<br />Ford Sterling || Alternative title: The Beach Flirt<br />First Keystone comedy
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The New Neighbor || || ||
|-
| Riley and Schultz || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Beating He Needed || || Fred Mace <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Pedro's Dilemma || || Mack Sennett <br /> Fred Mace <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Ambitious Butler || || Mack Sennett <br /> Fred Mace <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Flirting Husband ||Mrs. Smith || Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | At Coney Island || The Girl || Ford Sterling<br />Fred Mace || Alternative title: Cohen at Coney Island
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | At It Again || Mrs. Smith || Mack Sennett <br /> Fred Mace <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Mabel's Lovers || Mabel || Fred Mace<br />Ford Sterling <br /> Alice Davenport ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Deacon's Troubles || || Fred Mace<br />Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Temperamental Husband || Gladys || Fred Mace <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| Mr. Fix-It || rowspan=2 | Mabel || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Rivals || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Desperate Lover || || Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Brown's Séance || Mrs. Brown || Fred Mace || Fred Mace <br /> Alice Davenport ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Pat's Day Off || Bridget, Pat's Wife || rowspan=7 | Mack Sennett || Fred Mace <br /> Alice Davenport <br /> Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Family Mixup || A Wife || Mack Sennett <br /> Fred Mace ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | A Midnight Elopement || || ||
|-
| Mabel's Adventures || Mabel || Fred Mace<br />Ford Sterling ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Drummer's Vacation || || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Duel || rowspan=2 | Mabel || ||
|-
| Mabel's Stratagem || Fred Mace <br /> Alice Davenport <br /> Mack Sennett ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Kings Court || || || ||
|-
| rowspan=9 | 1913 || The Bangville Police || Farm Girl || Henry Lehrman || Fred Mace<br />the Keystone Cops ||
|-
| A Noise from the Deep || Mabel || Mack Sennett || Roscoe Arbuckle<br />the Keystone Cops ||
|-
| A Little Hero || || George Nichols || ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Mabel's Awful Mistakes || Mabel || Mack Sennett || Mack Sennett<br />Ford Sterling || Alternative title: Her Deceitful Lover
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Passions, He Had Three || || rowspan=2 | Henry Lehrman || Roscoe Arbuckle || Alternative title: He Had Three
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | For the Love of Mabel || Mabel || Roscoe Arbuckle<br />Ford Sterling ||
|-
| Mabel's Dramatic Career || Mabel, the kitchen maid || rowspan=3 | Mack Sennett || Mack Sennett<br />Ford Sterling || Alternative title: Her Dramatic Debut
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | The Gypsy Queen || || Roscoe Arbuckle ||
|-
| Cohen Saves the Flag || Rebecca || Ford Sterling ||
|-
| rowspan=25 | 1914 || style="background:#ffc;" | Mabel's Stormy Love Affair || Mabel || rowspan=2 | Mabel Normand || Alice Davenport ||
|-
| Won in a Closet || || || Alternative title: Won in a Cupboard
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | In the Clutches of the Gang || || || Roscoe Arbuckle<br />Keystone Cops ||
|-
| style="background:#ffc;" | Mack at It Again || || Mack Sennett || Mack Sennett ||
|-
| Mabel's Strange Predicament || rowspan=6 | Mabel || rowspan=2 | Mabel Normand || Charles Chaplin || Alternative title: Hotel Mixup<br />First film with Chaplin as the Tramp although the second released.
|-
| Mabel's Blunder || Charley Chase<br />Al St. John || Added to the National Film Registry in 2009