Mary Nolan (December 18, 1902 – October 31, 1948) was an American film actress. Nolan began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in the 1920s performing under the stage name Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson. She was fired from the Ziegfeld Follies in 1924 for her involvement in a tumultuous and highly publicized affair with comedian Frank Tinney. She left the United States shortly thereafter and began making films in Germany. She appeared in seventeen German films from 1925 to 1927 with a new stage name, "Imogene Robertson".She returned to the United States in 1927 and, in an attempt to distance herself from her old life, adopted yet another stage name, "Mary Nolan". She was signed to Universal Pictures in 1928 where she found some success in films. By the 1930s, her acting career began to decline due to her drug abuse and reputation for being temperamental. After being bought out of contract with Universal, she was unable to secure film work with any major studios. Nolan spent the remainder of her acting career appearing in roles in low-budget films for independent studios. She made her final film appearance in 1933.After her film career ended, Nolan appeared in vaudeville and performed in nightclubs and roadhouses around the United States. Her later years were plagued by drug problems and frequent hospitalizations. She returned to Hollywood in 1939 and spent her remaining years living in obscurity before dying of a barbiturate overdose in 1948.
I'll do anything to earn an honest living although I still believe that it is in Hollywood where I belong.
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I've had a beautiful life, I've tumbled into the most beautiful life in the world. I'd never change it.
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Fact
1
Mary started her show business career as a nude artists model in New York City.
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Nolan kept a 19th Century antique grand piano intricately carved with old paintings that had formerly belonged to Rudolph Valentino. Nolan paid homage to the actor by keeping his picture in gaucho costume on the music rack although she couldn't play the instrument at all.
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In 1922 Mark Hellinger wrote, "Only two people in America would bring every reporter in New York to see them. One is the President. The other is Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson.".
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Gambler Arnold Rothstein met Nolan and staked her to go to Europe, where she unsuccessfully tried o reconcile with husband Frank Tinney but was able to get parts in German films.