Full Name Maude Kahler Role Actress Name Merna Kennedy | Years active 1928-1934 Occupation Actress | |
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Born September 7, 1908 ( 1908-09-07 ) Kankakee, Illinois Died December 20, 1944, Los Angeles, California, United States Spouse Busby Berkeley (m. 1934–1935), Forrest Brayton (m. ?–1944) Movies The Circus, The Red‑Haired Alibi, The Big Chance, Ghost Valley, I Love That Man Similar People Busby Berkeley, Roland Totheroh, Charlie Chaplin, Charles Reisner, Harry Joe Brown | ||
The beautiful merna Kennedy
Lita Grey Chaplin - Archive Interview (Part 2) (HQ)
Merna Kennedy (born Maude Kahler; September 7, 1908 – December 20, 1944) was an American actress of the late silent era and the transitional period into talkies.
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Career
Kennedy was best known during her brief career for her role opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent film The Circus (1928).
Kennedy was brought to the attention of Chaplin by her friend Lita Grey, who became Chaplin's second wife in 1924. A dancer, she had muscular legs which helped her gain the role of the circus bareback rider. Kennedy continued acting after The Circus, starring in early sound films, but retired in 1934 when she married choreographer/director Busby Berkeley. Their marriage broke up a year later.
Kennedy died of a heart attack, aged 36, four days after her marriage to Master Sergeant Forrest Brayton.
