February 23, 1930

Hollywood, California

Mabel Normand just can’t be serious. The notorious jokester fooled everybody today by pretending to be dead. She even convinced the studio, her personal doctor, and the coroner to go along with the bit.

Mabel commits to her practical jokes just as she commits to all her comedy roles, so she still hasn’t come forward to say, “Gotcha!”

Wherever she is, she’s certainly laughing.

But seriously…

June 26, 2025

Mabel Normand was the queen of silent comedy. She was there from the inception of Hollywood, the pioneer for all the great female clowns who followed. She starred with Fatty Arbuckle; was a mentor to Charlie Chaplin; started her own studio; and captivated a nation.

She was also relentlessly playful.

Her death at age the young age of 36 was a shock to those who believed her irrepressible smile and endless joking would live forever.

Source

Mabel, Betty Harper Fussell