The Ballad of Blanche McGarity
In 1919, Blanche McGarity (1897-1973) from San Antonio, Texas, entered and won a national movie magazine contest to "replace" actress Mary Pickford, who was considering retirement. Legendary American film producer and director Cecil B. DeMille and Mary Pickford chose Blanche from thousands of entries and, with her parents' consent, she moved to New York to become a silent movie actress. Blanche acted in several movies including "Love's Redemption"(1921), "Rangeland" (1922), and "Little Miss Bluebonnet" (1922) with baseball legend, Babe Ruth Jr.
Later, Blanche returned to Texas, produced films and created art.
Houston artist, Ted Cowart, reminisces and shares his collection of art, photos, magazine, and newspaper clippings that tell the story about his fascinating relative he remembers meeting in the 1940s.
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