American silent film star Mabel Normand (1892–1930) appeared in a string of popular movies opposite the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle during the 1910s and 1920s, before dying of tuberculosis at age 37. Her brief but remarkable career, which included director and writer credits as well as heading her own studio and production company, was marred by scandal—police connected her to the unsolved 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor—that defined her legacy. This book highlights Normand’s substantial yet long overlooked contributions to film history and popular culture, tracing her life from humble beginnings on Staten Island to the heights of world superstardom.

Timothy Dean Lefler is an author, artist, teacher and co-designer of The Beach Boys Historic Monument in Hawthorne, California. He lives in Rancho Cucamonga.

Timothy Dean Lefler
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 52 photos, filmography, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7867-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2307-8
Imprint: McFarland

Preface  1
Introduction  5
1 • Hello Mabel 9
2 • Over the Garden Wall 11
3 • Staten Island Girl 14
4 • Venus Model 17
5 • The Griffith Touch 21
6 • Hide and Seek 31
7 • Keystone Mabel 36
8 • The Fun Factory 42
9 • Mabel at the Wheel 53
10 • Tillie 58
11 • Ice Cream for Breakfast 62
12 • The Clock Strikes 12 69
13 • New Woman 73
14 • Mabel Inc. 79
15 • Goldwyn Girl 89
16 • Mickey 98
17 • Mabelescent 103
18 • Back to Mack 114
19 • Gates of Babylon 120
20 • Different Names 126
21 • Her Story 131
22 • The Edge of Murder 135
23 • Fatal Tales 142
24 • Sail Away 150
25 • To Live Through Pain 155
26 • Final Frames 164
27 • A Tender Goodbye 173
Epilogue  178
Appendix A: Filmography  179
Appendix B: Last Will and Testament of Mabel ­Normand-Cody  205
Appendix C: Transcript of Coroner’s Inquest William Desmond Taylor Murder Case, February 4, 1922  206
Appendix D: Transcript of Mabel Normand’s Testimony at Arraignment of Horace Greer, aka Joseph Kelly, January 22, 1924, Los Angeles Courthouse  212
Chapter Notes  227
Bibliography  238
Index  241

• Winner, Best Biography—Southern California Book Festival
• “offers a great deal of insight, understanding, and appreciation to one of cinema’s most significant pioneers. Lefler’s book is deep, enlightening, informative, and fulfilling. One of the finest books ever written on an actor or filmmaker…most passionately recommended”—Examiner
• “very welcome…[this book] has set a new standard”—Silent-ology
• “a worthwhile introduction…a look at the great early comedian”—The Huffington Post
• “the book takes us back to the silent film era and one of its major though short-lived comedy stars…Lefler outlines the basics of her film career from her first “shorts” in 1910 through her final films in 1927”—Communications Booknotes Quarterly