Marie Dressler

Originally Aired: March 13, 1939 Cavalcade of America #156, "Marie Dressler," presents the remarkable journey of a woman who defied every convention of theatrical success. Born without conventional beauty or charm, Marie Dressler begins her career at fourteen, joining a traveling operatic company in the 1880s. The young performer faces constant struggle, sending her meager earnings home to her mother while barely surviving on pennies a day. When a deceitful manager tricks her into leaving the company with false promises of work in Philadelphia, Marie finds herself abandoned and must start over, enduring fifteen years of cold dressing rooms and one-night stands across America's road theaters. After finally achieving Broadway stardom in "Lady Sladey" and establishing a home for her family, tragedy strikes when her mother dies and a failed venture in England leaves Marie ill and deeply in debt. Hospitalized in New York, she receives a visit from producer Lou Fields, who offers her the lead in "Tilly's Nightmare." Despite the show's disastrous reception in Albany, Marie refuses to give up, working through the night to remake the production's costumes herself. Her determination and generous heart drive her toward what would become one of Broadway's most memorable triumphs.