Madeline and Marion Fairbanks

American actresses

The Fairbanks Twins

Madeline (Madeleine) (November 15, 1900 – January 15, 1989) and her twin sister Marion Fairbanks (November 15, 1900 – September 20, 1973) were American stage and motion picture actresses active in the silent era.[1]

## Early life

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Born in New York City, the twins were mainly educated by private tutors at home and while traveling. Their mother was actress Jennie M. Fairbanks, a.k.a. Jane Fairbanks, and their father was the son of Nathaniel Fairbanks, who served in the American Civil War, and a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks, a Massachusetts hero of the Revolution. Madeline and Marion had an older brother, Robert.

## Career

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The Fairbanks twins, Madeline and Marion Fairbanks

The Fairbanks twins began their stage career in The Bluebird at the New Theatre in New York, NY.[2]

They then appeared on Broadway in The Piper (1911), Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1912) and Snow White (1912). As the Thanhouser Kids they appeared in films such as Cousins (1913), The Flying Twins (1915), The Bird of Prey (1916), and The Answer (1916); on Broadway, they in the Ziegfeld Follies (1917–20), Mercenary Mary (1925), Oh, Kay! (1926), Allez-Oop (1927) and Happy (1927); Marion appeared solo in Grab Bag (1924) and on a tour of Little Nellie Kelly. Madeline performed solo in The Ritz Revue in (1924).[3]

They entered films with Biograph the Thanhouser Film Corporation in 1912, where they were billed as "The Thanhouser Twins", and remained there until 1916. The Fairbanks sisters appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 and 1919, as well as the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic in 1918 and Ziegfeld 9 O'clock Frolic in 1921\.

## Later years

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By 1932, Marion was on stage separately at the Waldorf Theatre, New York City. She succeeded Eleanor King as leading lady in Whistling in the Dark. 1930s news accounts reported that she operated a beauty parlor and directed a branch of a cosmetics manufacturer. In her later years she knew much unhappiness and struggled with the temptations of alcohol.

## Deaths

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Marion Fairbanks died in Georgia in 1973 and was buried at Westview Cemetery. Her name was then Marion Fairbanks Delph. She had no survivors other than her sister. Madeline married Leonard Sherman in 1937. The union ended in divorce in 1947. She lived in New York until early 1989, where she died of respiratory failure.

## Work

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### Stage

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Date | Stageplay | Performing

|
|

1912 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Madeline & Marion
1916 | The Century Girl | Madeline & Marion
1917 | Ziegfeld Follies of 1917 | Madeline & Marion
1918 | Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 | Madeline & Marion
1919 | Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 | Madeline & Marion
1921 | Ziegfeld 9 O'clock Frolic | Madeline & Marion
1921 | Two Little Girls in Blue | Madeline & Marion
1924 | Hassard Short's Ritz Revue | Madeline
1924 | The Grab Bag | Marion
1925 | Mercenary Mary | Madeline
1926 | Oh, Kay! | Madeline & Marion
1927 | Allez-oop | Madeline
1928 | Happy | Madeline

### Film

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Date | Movie | Acting

|
|

1912 | The Twins | Madeline & Marion
1912 | Cousins | Madeline & Marion
1912 | As Others See Us | Madeline & Marion
1912 | The Little Girl Next Door | Madeline & Marion
1913 | An Unfair Exchange | Madeline & Marion
1913 | Life's Pathway | Madeline & Marion
1913 | The Twins and the Other Girl | Madeline & Marion
1913 | The Children's Hour | Madeline & Marion
1913 | Their Great Big Beautiful Doll | Madeline & Marion
1913 | Uncle's Namesakes | Madeline & Marion
1913 | Lawyer, Dog and Baby | Madeline & Marion
1913 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Twins and a Stepmother | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Guilty or Not Guilty | Madeline
1914 | The Tin Soldier and the Dolls | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Beating Back | Madeline
1914 | In Her Sleep | Madeline
1914 | The Legend of Snow White | Marion
1914 | The Girl Across the Hall | Marion
1914 | The Million Dollar Mystery | Madeline & Marion
1914 | The Widow's Mite | Madeline & Marion
1914 | The Pendulum of Fate | Madeline & Marion
1914 | In Peril's Path | Madeline & Marion
1914 | In Danger's Hour | Madeline & Marion
1914 | The Benevolence of Conductor 786 | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Left in the Train | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Shep's Race with Death | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Pawns of Fate | Madeline & Marion
1914 | Shadows and Sunshine | Madeline & Marion
1914 | A Hatful of Trouble | Marion
1915 | When Fate Rebelled | Madeline & Marion
1915 | $1,000 Reward | Madeline & Marion
1915 | Their One Love | Madeline & Marion
1915 | Fairy Fern Seed | Madeline & Marion
1915 | Through Edith's Looking Glass | Marion
1915 | Which Shall It Be? | Madeline & Marion
1915 | The Flying Twins | Madeline & Marion
1915 | The Twins of the G.L. Ranch | Madeline & Marion
1915 | An Innocent Traitor | Madeline & Marion
1915 | The Baby and the Boss | Marion
1916 | Bubbles in the Glass | Madeline
1916 | The Burglars' Picnic | Madeline & Marion
1916 | A Bird of Prey | Madeline
1916 | The Answer | Madeline & Marion
1916 | The Heart of a Doll | Madeline & Marion
1922 | The Beauty Shop | Madeline & Marion
1929 | On with the Show! | Madeline & Marion

## References

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1. ^ Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (2007). Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications. p. 631\. ISBN 978-0-7876-7585-1.
2. ^ "Lovely Fantasy on New Theatre Stage". The New York Times. New York, New York. October 2, 1910. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
3. ^ Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (2007). Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications. p. 631\. ISBN 978-0-7876-7585-1.

* New York Times, Theatrical Notes, August 9, 1920, Page 6.
* Syracuse Herald, Juvenile Performers Are Stage Veterans, May 5, 1912, Page 48.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madeline and Marion Fairbanks.

* Madeline and Marion Fairbanks at IMDb
* Madeline and Marion Fairbanks at IMDb
* Thanhouser Twins at Library of Congress, with 2 library catalogue records

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States