- Born
- Died
- Sophisticated, dark-haired star of silent screen comedy. Of English and Italian ancestry, Madeline was the daughter of engineer John W. Hurlock and his Italian wife Sallie. She was educated in Philadelphia and first appeared on stage there with the Little Theatre. Moving on to New York, Madeline acted and danced in musical comedy at the Century Roof Garden and made her Broadway debut in the ensemble cast of 'The Rose of China' in 1919. After several years of toiling in support, she was spotted in 1923 by the producer Mack Sennett and signed as leading lady for a series of two-reel comedies, cast opposite the likes of Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon and Billy Bevan. In 1925, she was voted a WAMPAS Baby Star which greatly helped to raise her profile in Hollywood.
Madeline was known for her poise and comedy timing, even under trying circumstances, such as, when pinned underneath a lion in Circus Today (1926). Her best known appearance was as Lady Tarbotham in the frenetically-paced early Laurel & Hardy effort, Duck Soup (1927).
Madeline retired from films after the coming of sound and later became affiliated with the New York literary set, via her second husband, the playwright and screenwriter Marc Connelly. She got married a third time to former film critic, turned playwright, Robert E. Sherwood. After his death in 1955, she spent her many remaining years well away from the limelight and died at the age of 89.- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis - Madeline Hurlock was born on December 12, 1899 in Federalsburg, Maryland (some sources say she was actually born in 1897). After attending college she moved to New York to be a dancer. In 1919 she made her Broadway debut The Rose of China. Her big break came when Mack Sennett offered her a contract and she became one his famous bathing beauties. She appeared in dozens of comedy shorts including Scarem Much, Flirty Four-Flushers, and A Prodigal Bridegroom. Sennett called her the "wittiest of the bathing beauties.". Madeline's first marriage, to Army Captain John Sterling McGovern, ended in 1924. The following year she was named one of the WAMPAS baby stars along with Olive Borden and June Marlowe. With her dark hair and exotic looks Madeline quickly became a popular leading lady. In 1927 she worked with Laurel and Hardy in the comedy Duck Soup. Although she had a lot of success in silent films she decided to retire when the talkies started. She later said had gotten bored with making movies. Madeline married playwright and screen writer Marc Connelly in 1930. They divorced five years later and she married writer Robert E. Sherwood. He became President Roosevelt's speech writer and won an Academy Award in 1946 for Best Screenplay. She and Robert moved to New York City and were happily married until he died of a heart attack in 1955. Madeline continued to live a quiet life away from the spotlight for the next thirty years. She passed away on April 4, 1989 at the age of eighty-nine. Madeline is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann
- SpousesRobert E. Sherwood(June 15, 1935 - November 14, 1955) (his death)Marc Connelly(October 4, 1930 - May 20, 1935) (divorced)John Sterling McGovern(August 4, 1917 - April 11, 1924) (divorced)
- Dark haired vamp
- Was one of thirteen Wampas Baby Stars of 1925.
- The characteristics that make up the screen vampire prevent her from being anything else.
- Madeline Hurlock divorced Marc Connelly in order to marry Robert E. Sherwood, prompting her ex-husband to comment: "Madeline [is] the only person I know who married two Pulitzer Prize playwrights."
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