Athole Shearer

Athole Shearer
Athole Shearer
Born	Athole Dane Shearer; November 20, 1900; Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	March 17, 1985 (aged 84); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California, U.S.
Years active	1920
Spouse(s)	; John Ward (m. 1923; div. 1928) ; Howard Hawks (m. 1928; div. 1940)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Andrew Shearer (father);
Relatives	Norma Shearer (sister); Douglas Shearer (brother); Cresswell Shearer (uncle); Kenneth Hawks (brother-in-law); William Hawks (brother-in-law); Mary Astor (sister-in-law); Bessie Love (sister-in-law);

Athole Dane Shearer Hawks (November 20, 1900 – March 17, 1985) was a Canadian American actress, who was the sister of motion picture star Norma Shearer and MGM film sound engineer Douglas Shearer.

Early life[]

Athole Dane Shearer was born in 1900 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager, after which her brother, Douglas, remained with their father, Andrew, in Canada, while she and her sister, Norma, moved to New York City with their mother, Edith, who hoped to get her daughters into show business.^[2]

Film career[]

In 1920, the sisters appeared as extras and in bit parts in productions filmed on location in New York, New Jersey, and Florida; but soon Edith relocated with them to California with the intention of securing contracts with one of the fast-growing studios in Hollywood.^[2]^[3]

Shearer's appearances in East Coast productions consisted of only small uncredited roles in three films, the first being as a schoolgirl in The Flapper, a silent comedy released by Selznick Pictures Corporation.^[4] In California, Athole's acting career essentially ended, never evolving or achieving the success experienced by Norma at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Bipolar disorder[]

A contributing factor to Shearer's limited work in motion pictures was her persistent medical issues, most notably her long struggle with bipolar disorder, a disorder her father also most likely suffered from.^[a] Her condition and personal problems associated with the illness proved to be detrimental to her film career. Ultimately, Shearer was required to spend many years in mental institutions until her disorder was properly diagnosed.

Personal life[]

In 1923, Shearer married John Ward, with whom she had a son, Peter.^[6] The couple divorced in 1928; and on May 30 that year she married again, then to noted film director Howard Hawks, with whom she had two more children: David, born in 1929, and Barbara, born in 1935.^[6] She and Hawks divorced in 1940, reportedly due to Hawks' affair with New York and Hollywood socialite Nancy "Slim" Gross, whom he would later marry.

Death[]

Shearer died in 1985 in Los Angeles, California, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Filmography[]

The Flapper (1920)
Way Down East (1920)
The Restless Sex (1920)

References[]

Notes

^ Norma Shearer described how their father used to move like a "shadow or a ghost" around the house.^[5]

Citations

^ Kidd, Charles (1986). "Howard Hawks and Mary Astor". Debrett Goes to Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-312-00588-7.
^ ^a ^b Katz, Ephraim (2001). The Film Encyclopedia (fourth revised by Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolan ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. p. 1247. ISBN 0-06-273755-4.
^ "Douglas Shearer", biographical profile, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. New York, N.Y. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
^ "The Flapper (1920)", catalog, the American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
^ Lambert, Gavin (1990). Norma Shearer: A Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-394-55158-6.
^ ^a ^b "Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940", Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, April 1940; digital image of federal census page listing the family of "Howard W. Hawkes", identified as a director of motion pictures. FamilySearch, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved August 25, 2018. In the cited census, Barbara "Hawkes" is documented to be 5-years-old at the time; David, 11-years-old; and Peter, 15-years old.

External links[]

Athole Shearer at IMDb
Athole Shearer at Find a Grave

[6] Norma Shearer described how their father used to move like a "shadow or a ghost" around the house.^[5]

[1] Kidd, Charles (1986). "Howard Hawks and Mary Astor". Debrett Goes to Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-312-00588-7.

[Katz-2] Katz, Ephraim (2001). The Film Encyclopedia (fourth revised by Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolan ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. p. 1247. ISBN 0-06-273755-4.

[3] "Douglas Shearer", biographical profile, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. New York, N.Y. Retrieved August 24, 2018.

[4] "The Flapper (1920)", catalog, the American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved August 25, 2018.

[5] Lambert, Gavin (1990). Norma Shearer: A Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-394-55158-6.

[Census1940-7] "Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940", Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California, April 1940; digital image of federal census page listing the family of "Howard W. Hawkes", identified as a director of motion pictures. FamilySearch, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved August 25, 2018. In the cited census, Barbara "Hawkes" is documented to be 5-years-old at the time; David, 11-years-old; and Peter, 15-years old.

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