Una Merkel(1903-1986)
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Una Merkel began her movie career as stand-in for
Lillian Gish in the movie
The Wind (1928). After that, she
performed on Broadway before she returned to movies for the
D.W. Griffith film
Abraham Lincoln (1930). In her
early years, before gaining a few pounds, she looked like Lillian Gish,
but after Abraham Lincoln (1930)
her comic potential was discovered. She mostly played supporting roles
as the heroine's no-nonsense friend, but with her broad Southern accent
and her peroxide blond hair, she gave one of her best performances as a
wisecracking but not-so-bright chorus girl in
42nd Street (1933). Perhaps she is
best remembered for her hair-pulling fight with
Marlene Dietrich in
Destry Rides Again (1939). In
1962, she was nominated for the Academy Award as best supporting
actress in
Summer and Smoke (1961).
