Cobourg in Northumberland County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Marie Dressler

1868-1934

Photographed by Kevin Craft, October 14, 2015

1. Marie Dressler Marker

Inscription.
Leila Maria Koerber, a talented actress and singer known internationally as Marie Dressler, was born in Cobourg. About 1883 she joined a touring stock company, later gaining recognition on Broadway in a series of successful comedy productions, including "Tillie's Nightmare". Although she made her first film in 1914, entitled "Tillie's Punctured Romance", with Charlie Chaplin, her real success in motion pictures began in 1930 when she played in "Anna Christie" with Greta Garbo. During the following years she made over twenty films and created her best known character roles as "Min" and "Tugboat Annie". In 1931 she received the best actress award given annually by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. Marie Dressler died three years later at Santa Barbara, California.

Erected 1979 by Ontario Heritage Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Women. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 9, 1868.

Location. 43° 57.558′ N, 78° 10.471′ W. Marker is in Cobourg, Ontario, in Northumberland County. It is at the intersection of King Street west (Provincial Highway 2) and Matthew Street, on

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the right when traveling west on King Street west. Marker is located in front of Marie Dressler House, a visitor information centre. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 212 King Street West, Cobourg ON K9A 2N1, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Kawarthas Northumberland Area

and in Eastern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Victoria Hall (approx. half a kilometer away); a different marker also named Victoria Hall (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); Cobourg and Peterborough Railway (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); The Founding of Cobourg (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); William Weller (approx. 0.9 kilometers away); Ryerson Walk (approx. one kilometer away); Victoria College (approx. one kilometer away); Church of St. Peter (approx. 1.1 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cobourg.

Regarding Marie Dressler. As per Barbara Garrick, Marie Dressler historian: From research it appears that Marie Dressler both added to her years and subtracted from them.
Toronto author, Betty Lee in MARIE DRESSLER THE UNLIKELIEST STAR tells that when Dressler was fourteen years of age, she wrote a letter to Robert Wallace of the Nevada Stock Company explaining that she was eighteen years of age thus adding four years to her life. (1.THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY, 1997.)
To cite Lee: "Over the years, Marie Dressler claimed to have been born in 1869 and 1870; her death certificate

Wideview of Marie Dressler Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Kevin Craft, October 14, 2015

2. Wideview of Marie Dressler Marker

listed 1871. But the records of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Cobourg show that...she was born on November 9, 1868 and baptized on June 27 the following year. The records show that her original name was Leila Marie Koerber and that her parents were Annie Henderson and Alexander Rudolph Koerber, a "professor of Music"."
According to Church records, deaths and births of members of the congregation have been listed since 1818 so Dressler’s data there seems very authentic.
Mathew Kennedy, author of MARIE DRESSLER, writes: "Leila Koerber's conflicting birthdates range from 1860 to 1873. Most sources list 1869, but her Baptismal Record and her 1894 Marriage Certificate indicate 1868. Her Death Certificate indicates 1871. The most reliable date is 1868, since it was recorded close to her birth. Leila shaved one or more years off her age in later life.” (2.MCFARLAND AND COMPANY, INC., PUBLISHERS, NORTH CAROLINA. 1999.)

Also see . . . Wikipedia - Marie Dressler. (Submitted on October 30, 2015, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec.)

Marie Dressler in the Opening Scene of <i>Tillie's Punctured Romance</i> image. Click for full size.

Film shot by Hans Koenekamp and Frank D. Williams, 1914

3. Marie Dressler in the Opening Scene of Tillie's Punctured Romance

Here Marie Dressler is shown as herself, seconds before she metamorphizes into "Tillie".

The film is based on Dressler's stage play Tillie's Nightmare by A. Baldwin Sloane and Edgar Smith. Tillie's Punctured Romance is notable as being the last Chaplin film which he neither wrote nor directed himself as well as being the first ever feature-length comedy. Chaplin plays an entirely different role from his recently created Tramp character in this movie. -- Wikipedia.org, entry for the movie Tillie's Punctured Romance

Marie Dressler Canadian Postage Stamp image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Neal Armstrong, circa 2008

4. Marie Dressler Canadian Postage Stamp

In the background is an image of the tugboat from "Tugboat Annie".

Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2015, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. This page has been viewed 625 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 30, 2015, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. 3, 4. submitted on November 3, 2015.