Anita Garvin

Anita Garvin (February 11, 1907 – July 7, 1994) was an American actress and comedian who appeared in both silent and sound films. She is best known for her work with comedians Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase.

Garvin was born in New York City. Her two sisters who danced in vaudeville encouraged her talents. At age 12, she lied to an agent saying she was "almost sixteen" and got a job being a bathing beauty for one of Mack Sennett's stage shows. The following year she joined the Ziegfeld Follies. She took pride in being the only woman allowed to touch Will Rogers's ropes. She also appeared in Earl Carroll Vanities.

In 1920 she appeared in a vaudeville act, The Kirchner Girls. Presented and mounted by Ernest Brengk, the act recreated the poses of women in the paintings of artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Garvin was able to recreate seven poses by means of a curtain suspended between two columns which allowed her to change costumes. A review stated "Miss Garvin is a stunning looking brunet [sic] who has a corking figure, and is ideally suited for the act." She appeared in Herman Timberg's Frolics of 1922 which was well-received. She went on tour with the musical Sally staying with the show for two seasons, then decided to stay in California when the tour left that stop in 1924.

In Hollywood, Garvin began working for Christie Film Company's comedies. She recalled her co-star Bobby Vernon dropping butter on the floor onto which she stepped and tumbled, cementing her career as a comedian. Charles Lamont brought her over to work for Educational Pictures. In 1926, Hal Roach took her under contract, where she appeared in many silent films with Charley Chase, James Finlayson, and Max Davidson as well as playing occasional supporting roles in feature films. Standing around 6 feet tall, "her regal countenance and deadpan expression" made her the perfect comic foil.

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