The Thanhouser Twins: Pioneering Child Stars of the Silent Screen

1. Marion and Madeline Fairbanks “The Thanhouser Twins” Sisters in Thanhouser Films Women and the Silent Screen 2019 by Ned Thanhouser www.thanhouser.org

2. Thanhouser Understood the Emerging Family Audience The studio cast kids and dogs in dozens of family oriented films: • Helen Badgley & Shep • “The Thanhouser Kidlet” and • “The Thanhouser Collie” • Marie and Grace Eline • “The Thanhouser Kid” and “The Thanhouser Juvenile” • Fred and Allen Turner • “The Turner Twins” • Marion and Madeline Fairbanks • “The Thanhouser Twins” • Leland Benham, Yale Boss, Kenneth Clarendon, Jr, Charles Frohman Everett, Arthur LeVien and several others “…more and more, the demand is growing for motion picture plays especially adapted to children…the public is enthusiastically backing this movement.” - Reel Life, December 13, 1913

3. Marion and Madeline Fairbanks • Born in New York City November 15, 1900 • No relationship to Douglas Fairbanks! • Appeared on the stage starting at age 8 • Under management of Winthrop Ames at the New Theatre and the Little Theatre in New York City • Joined Thanhouser in 1912 at age 11 • First film: The Twins released on June 18, 1912 • Widely promoted as “The Thanhouser Twins”

4. Appeared in 37+ Thanhouser Films • 1912:The Twins (6-18-1912), Cousins (7-28-1912), As Others See Us (8-18-1912), The Little Girl Next Door (11-1-1912) • 1913:An Unfair Exchange (9-23-1913), Life’s Pathway (9-30-1913), The Twins and the Other Girl 10-3-1913), The Children’s Hour (11-14-1913), Their Great Big Beautiful Doll (11-23-1913), Uncles Namesakes (12-12-1913), Lawyer, Dog and Baby (12-14-1913),Jack and the Beanstalk (12-19-1913) • 1914:Twins and a Stepmother (2-3-1914), The Eugenic Boy 3-15-1914), The Tin Soldier and the Dolls (4-5-1914), The Widow’s Mite (6-28-1914), The Pendulum of Fate (7-21-1914), In Perils Path (8-14-1914), In Dangers Hour (9-11-1914), The Benevolence of Conductor 786 (10-9-1914), Left in the Train (10-18-1914), Shep’s Race With Death (11-1-1914), Pawns of Fate (11-17-1914), Shadows and Sunshine (Princess 12-18-1914) • 1915:When Fate Rebelled (Princess 1-1-1915), $1,000 Reward (2-16-1915), The Life Worth While (4-4-1915), Their One Love (5-2-1915), Fairy Fern Seed (5-25-1915), Which Shall It Be? (6-22-1915), The Stolen Anthurium (Falstaff 6-25-1915), The Flying Twins (7-1-1915),The Twins of the G.L. Ranch (9-19-1915), An Innocent Traitor (12-14-1915), His Majesty, the King (12-18-1915) • 1916:The Burglars Picnic (1-26-1916), A Man of Honor (4-25-1916), The Answer (5-16-1916), The Heart of a Doll (9-15-1916) Plus credit inThe Million Dollar Mystery (1914-1915)

5. Critical Reception • The Twins: “The Thanhouser Twins may be sure of a welcome wherever they appear and as often as they choose.” - The Morning Telegraph, June 23, 1912 • Cousins: “…the two little girls playing the two cousins prove very captivating and capable little players.” - The New York Dramatic Mirror, July 31, 1912 • An Unfair Exchange: “…we have two of the most talented little girls who have ever appeared on the screen.” - The Bioscope, December 11, 1913 • The Flying Twins: “Their expressive dark eyes and oval faces, framed in soft, dark, curling hair, are familiar to thousands who have followed their screen work for several years at the New Rochelle studios.” - Reel Life, August 14, 1915 The Flying Twins (1915)

6. After Thanhouser:Return to The Stage • Joined FlorenzZiegfelds’ Follies in 1917 at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City and on the road • In 1921, the twins were on the stage at the George M. Cohan Theatre in Two Little Girls in Blue • In 1923, Madeline was seen in Mercenary Mary, The Grab Bag, and The Ritz Revue • In 1924, Marion toured in the title role with the Little Nellie Kelly company • In 1927, the twins reunited on the stage in George Whites Scandals, followed by parts in Oh, Kay, The Midnight Frolic(a revue), and Up the Ladder Moving Picture World Dec 1917 The Fairbanks Twins ca. 1920 with the Ziegfeld Follies

7. And a Return to the Screen • Marion an Madeline were featured in the 1922 release of The Beauty Shop produced by Cosmopolitan Productions • Cast as “Coca and Cola” • Their last performance together was in the 1929 Warner Bros. musical film On with the Show! • Cast as “The Dorsey Twins” • After the Footlights • Marion Fairbanks Delph lived in Georgia until her death in the mid-1970s; she was childless • Madeline Fairbanks Sherman lived in New York until her death in 1989; she was survived by a daughter and a grandson

8. Marion and Madeline Fairbanks: Surviving Films • The Little Girl Next Door (Thanhouser, 1912) • The Children’s Hour (Thanhouser, 1913) • Uncle’s Namesakes (Thanhouser, 1913) • Jack and the Beanstalk (Thanhouser, 1913) • Shep’s Race with Death (Thanhouser, 1914) • Their One Love (Thanhouser, 1915) • The Twins of the G.L. Ranch (Thanhouser, 1915) • On with the Show! (Warner Bros, 1929) Click to watch the Thanhouser Twins