Mary Kornman
Encyclopedia
Mary Kornman was an American
child actress who was the leading female star of the Our Gang
series during the Pathé
silent era.
's still-photo cameraman Gene Kornman. After Peggy Cartwright
, who only appeared in four or five Our Gang
episodes, Mary became the leading lady of the series, appearing in more than 40 episodes. Kornman was one of the series' biggest stars during its early years between 1922 and 1926.
into adulthood, as evidenced by some publicity shots from the era. She appeared with Mickey Daniels
in the teen version of Our Gang
, The Boy Friends
. She married Leo Tover, a cameraman, in or around 1934, but divorced approximately five years later. She later married Ralph B. McCutcheon, a horse trainer on some of her Western films; this marriage lasted until her death.
In 1935, she appeared in Queen of the Jungle
with Reed Howes
. The same year, she appeared in The Desert Trail
as a store owner and the love interest of John Wayne
. She continued to appear in features until 1940, when she retired from the screen.
When recently asked if Mary was as kind and genuine a person as she appeared to be in her movies, sister Mildred Kornman replied, "She was all of that and more".
and died on June 1, 1973 with sister Mildred at her side. Kornman's husband Ralph (16 years her senior) died in 1975. They both were buried at the Linn Grove Cemetery, in Greeley, Weld County, Colorado.
films Mary actually appeared in. According to The Lucky Corner website Mary did not appear in any of the following four films.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
child actress who was the leading female star of the Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
series during the Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
silent era.
Our Gang
Mary Kornman was the daughter of Hal RoachHal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
's still-photo cameraman Gene Kornman. After Peggy Cartwright
Peggy Cartwright
Peggy Cartwright was a Canadian silent film actress perhaps best known for her short stint as the leading lady of the Our Gang comedies. She appeared in four shorts in 1922 and, possibly, the pilot for the series, Our Gang .Her first husband was Phil Baker with whom she had four children...
, who only appeared in four or five Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
episodes, Mary became the leading lady of the series, appearing in more than 40 episodes. Kornman was one of the series' biggest stars during its early years between 1922 and 1926.
Later career
After the series, she had a successful movie career through her twenties. She also continued appearing with Our Gang co-star Mickey DanielsMickey Daniels
Richard "Mickey" Daniels, Jr. was a juvenile actor. Signed by Hal Roach in 1923, he was, along with fat Joe Cobb, scruffy Jackie Condon, pretty Mary Kornman, and smiling "Sunshine Sammy" , a regular in the popular Our Gang comedies.-Biography:The red-haired, gap-toothed, freckled whipper snapper...
into adulthood, as evidenced by some publicity shots from the era. She appeared with Mickey Daniels
Mickey Daniels
Richard "Mickey" Daniels, Jr. was a juvenile actor. Signed by Hal Roach in 1923, he was, along with fat Joe Cobb, scruffy Jackie Condon, pretty Mary Kornman, and smiling "Sunshine Sammy" , a regular in the popular Our Gang comedies.-Biography:The red-haired, gap-toothed, freckled whipper snapper...
in the teen version of Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
, The Boy Friends
The Boy Friends
The Boy Friends was a short-lived series of fifteen American comedy short films released between 1930 and 1932. The series spun off from the much larger and well-known Our Gang series . Like the Our Gang shorts of the time, The Boy Friends films were two-reel short subjects produced by Hal Roach...
. She married Leo Tover, a cameraman, in or around 1934, but divorced approximately five years later. She later married Ralph B. McCutcheon, a horse trainer on some of her Western films; this marriage lasted until her death.
In 1935, she appeared in Queen of the Jungle
Queen of the Jungle
Queen of the Jungle is an independent film serial produced by Herman Wohl and released theatrically by Screen Attractions.-Plot:David Worth travels into Africa to find his old friend Joan Lawrence, who disappeared in a hot air balloon as a child while the pair were with an expedition searching for...
with Reed Howes
Reed Howes
Reed Howes was a model who later became an actor in silent and sound films.He was born as Hermon Reed Howes in Washington, D.C. in 1900. He served in the US Navy in the closing stages of World War I. After the war Howes attended the University of Utah where he graduated...
. The same year, she appeared in The Desert Trail
The Desert Trail
The Desert Trail is a 1935 film starring John Wayne and directed by Robert North Bradbury and Cullin Lewis. The movie also features Eddy Chandler, Mary Kornman, and Paul Fix.-Plot:...
as a store owner and the love interest of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. She continued to appear in features until 1940, when she retired from the screen.
Later years
Never having children, Mary would spend the rest of her life devoted to her husband, Ralph. They both spent their remaining years on their ranch with the horses they loved. Mary was never to return to movies, yet she would keep in close contact with many of her Hollywood acquaintances and friends.When recently asked if Mary was as kind and genuine a person as she appeared to be in her movies, sister Mildred Kornman replied, "She was all of that and more".
Death
Mary became ill in the early 1970s. She was eventually diagnosed with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and died on June 1, 1973 with sister Mildred at her side. Kornman's husband Ralph (16 years her senior) died in 1975. They both were buried at the Linn Grove Cemetery, in Greeley, Weld County, Colorado.
Legacy
When asked in 1960 what she thought of being part of Our Gang, Kornman replied "It was fun being a gang member. It was play. I have no regrets...We didn't have to be talented, which is natural for kids...I think we had a privileged childhood working in those films."Our Gang
- The Champeen (1923)
- The Cobbler (1923)
- The Big Show (1923)
- A Pleasant Journey (1923)
- Dogs of War (1923)
- Lodge Night (1923)
- July Days (1923)
- No Noise (1923)
- Stage Fright (1923)
- Derby Day (1923)
- Tire Trouble (1924)
- Big Business (1924)
- The Buccaneers (1924)
- Seein' Things (1924)
- Commencement Day (1924)
- Cradle Robbers (1924)
- Jubilo, Jr. (1924)
- It's a Bear (1924)
- High Society (1924)
- The Sun Down Limited (1924)
- Every Man for Himself (1924)
- Fast Company (1924)
- The Big Town (1925)
- Circus Fever (1925)
- Dog Days (1925)
- The Love Bug (1925)
- Shootin' Injuns (1925)
- Ask Grandma (1925)
- Official Officers (1925)
- Boys Will Be Joys (1925)
- Mary, Queen of Tots (1925)
- Your Own Back Yard (1925)
- Better Movies (1925)
- One Wild Ride (1925)
- Good Cheer (1926)
- Buried Treasure (1926)
- Monkey Business (1926)
- Baby Clothes (1926)
- Uncle Tom's Uncle (1926)
- Thundering Fleas (1926)
- Shivering Spooks (1926)
- The Fourth Alarm (1926)
- Fish Hooky (1933)
- Reunion in Rhythm (1937)
The Boy Friends
- Doctor's Orders (1930)
- Bigger and Better (1930)
- Ladies Last (1930)
- Blood and Thunder (1931)
- High Gear (1931)
- Love Fever (1931)
- Air-Tight (1931)
- Call a Cop! (1931)
- Mama Loves Papa (1931)
- The Kick-Off! (1931)
- Love Pains (1932)
- The Knock-Out (1932)
- Too Many Women (1932)
- Wild Babies (1932)
Miscellaneous
- Rupert of Hee Haw (1924)
- Short Kilts (1924)
- Isn't Life Terrible? (1925)
- Let's Do Things (1931)
- Are These Our Children? (1931)
- The Hollywood Handicap (1932)
- Exposure (1932)
- Me and My Pal (1933)
- Bondage (1933)
- College Humor (1933)
- Neighbors' Wives (1933)
- Please (1933)
- Flying Down to RioFlying Down to RioFlying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO musical film noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn and Eric Blore are...
- Just an Echo (1934)
- The Quitter (1934)
- Picture Brides (1934)
- Strictly Dynamite (1934)
- Financial Jitters (1934)
- Madame Du BarryMadame Du Barry (1934 film)Madame DuBarry is a 1934 American historical film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dolores del Rio, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory and Osgood Perkins. The film portrays the life of Madame Du Barry, the last mistress of King Louis XV of France...
(1934) - Smokey Smith (1935)
- Roaring Roads (1935)
- The Desert TrailThe Desert TrailThe Desert Trail is a 1935 film starring John Wayne and directed by Robert North Bradbury and Cullin Lewis. The movie also features Eddy Chandler, Mary Kornman, and Paul Fix.-Plot:...
- Adventures Knights (1935)
- Queen of the JungleQueen of the JungleQueen of the Jungle is an independent film serial produced by Herman Wohl and released theatrically by Screen Attractions.-Plot:David Worth travels into Africa to find his old friend Joan Lawrence, who disappeared in a hot air balloon as a child while the pair were with an expedition searching for...
- The Calling of Dan Matthews (1935)
- Swing It, Professor (1937)
- Youth on Parole (1937)
- King of the Newsboys (1938)
- That Certain Age (1938)
- I Am a Criminal (1938)
- Zenobia (1939)
- On the Spot (1940)
Our Gang - Questionable Listings
There is some discrepancy concerning which of the early Our GangOur Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
films Mary actually appeared in. According to The Lucky Corner website Mary did not appear in any of the following four films.
- One Terrible Day (1922), listed by the Internet Movie Data Base
- Young Sherlocks (1922), listed by the Internet Movie Data Base and by Maltin and Bann
- Saturday Morning (1922), listed by the Internet Movie Data Base
- A Quiet Street (1922), listed by the Internet Movie Data Base