Bathing Beauties VI

Claire Anderson was born Claire Mathes/Mathis on May 8, 1895 in Detroit, Michigan. Her stage name comes from her marriage to a man named Harry Anderson who she eventually divorced in 1926. I do not know if she ever remarried.

 Her movie career lasted from 1914 until 1925 and she appeared in over 70 films, which is quite a feat! She is supposedly one of the original Bathing Beauties and also worked as a double for Blanche Sweet on at least one film. 

One of the things a lot of the Bathing Beauties seem to have in common is involvement in at least one accident in their lives and Claire is no exception. In 1917 she was involved in a car accident, but thankfully she walked away with only bruises and was able to return to work after a week.

Claire Anderson passed away on March 23, 1964 in Venice, California. I do not know where she is buried. 

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Madeline Hurlock was born on December 12, 1897 in Federalsburg, Maryland. She was the eldest child born to John Hurlock, an engineer, and his wife, Sallie. Her younger brother, Houston was born two years later.

Madeline's career began on the stages of New York and she eventually made it to Broadway. It was reportedly here that she was spotted by Mack Sennett who offered her a contract. She made her first film in 1923 and was given lots of acting advice from a former Bathing Beauty, Gloria Swanson who later became a close friend. Madeline had a short career, only lasting for five years but in that short amount of time she appeared in over 50 films and shorts. When not playing a Bathing Beauty, she was cast in vamp roles which unfortunately became a rut she got typecasted in. This vamp portrayal wasn't all bad in the beginning. In fact, it helped her in being named a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1925. The charm eventually wore off though and Madeline was yearning to be given a wider range of characters to portray and telling her friend, actress Ruth Taylor that she wanted to be a great dramatic actress. Instead, she was cast alongside silent comics Harry Langdon and Ben Turpin.

Madeline was married three times. Her first husband was Army captain John Sterling McGovern who she married around 1917 and eventually divorced in 1924. Her second husband was playwright Marc Connelly who she married in 1930 and divorced five years later. Her third and final marriage was to writer Robert E. Sherwood from 1935 until his death in 1955. 

Madeline Hurlock passed away on April 4, 1989 in New York City. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. 

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Molly McGowan was born on September 30, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest child born to Dorrell McGowan and Roxana Buckbee. Her older siblings, Roxy, Dorrell, and Stuart would also eventually work in the film business. Eldest sister Eleanora was the only one it appears to have shied away from Hollywood.

Molly is only credited as appearing in two films in as many years. Talk about one of the lesser known of the lesser knowns!

Molly passed away on January 17, 1963 in North Hollywood, California. I do not know where she is buried or anything else of her life after she left the film industry.

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Roxy (sometimes Roxana) McGowan was born March 15, 1897 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the second oldest of five born to Dorrell McGowan and Roxana Buckbee. Elder sister Eleanora did not join the film industry but her younger sister, Molly briefly worked as an actress and her two younger brothers Stuart and Dorrell both worked as film producers. 

  Like her sister Molly, Roxy's career was only two years long. However, Roxy fit 25 film credits into that short time span. 

Roxy was married twice. Her first marriage was to director Albert Ray from 1919 until 1929. Her second marriage was to another director named John M. Stahl from 1931 until his death in 1950. 

Roxy passed away on November 22, 1976 in Santa Monica, California. She is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale.