Occupation Actress Years active 1929–1985 | Name Mary Dees Role Actress | |
 | ||
Similar Jean Harlow, Una Merkel, George Cukor Died August 4, 2005 (aged 94) Lake Worth, Florida, U.S. Nationality American Zodiac Sign Gemini | ||
Mary Ella Dees (June 3, 1911 – August 4, 2004) was an American stage and screen actress who once served as a primary stand-in double for late-1930s actress Jean Harlow. Dees had parts in The Last Gangster (1937), The Women (1939), as well as a number of Three Stooges shorts, which included Hoi Polloi (1935), and numerous Marx Brothers comedies.
Contents
That ain't Jean - Saratoga
Biography and career
Born in Syracuse, New York on June 3, 1911, the daughter of a successful lawyer, she was for a time raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In 1937, upon the sudden death of actress Jean Harlow, Dees was cast by MGM boss Louis B. Mayer as a four-minute stand-in for Harlow, who was acting on the film Saratoga with Clark Gable, which was still in production at the time.
Later career
Dees appeared in her last film role in 1946, in the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca. She continued to act on stage in repertory theatre until 1985.
Death
Dees died on August 4, 2004 in Lake Worth, Florida, aged 93, after a long illness.