Margaret Livingston

1. Early Life and Background

Margaret Livingston was born Marguerite Livingston on November 25, 1895, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father, John Livingston, was a Scottish immigrant, and her mother, Eda Livingston (née Frome), was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She was raised in Salt Lake City alongside her older sister, Ivy Livingston, who also pursued a career as a film actress.

2. Career

Margaret Livingston's career spanned a significant period of Hollywood's early development, encompassing both a prolific acting career and shrewd business ventures.

2.1. Acting Career

Livingston made her debut in films in 1916. She became a prolific actress during the silent film era, appearing in over 50 films. Her most celebrated role was "the Woman from the City" in F. W. Murnau's critically acclaimed 1927 film, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.

She successfully transitioned to sound films in 1929, adding another 20 films to her extensive filmography. Notable sound film appearances include Smart Money (1931), where she starred alongside Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney. Livingston also contributed to the industry by occasionally dubbing voices for other actresses, most notably for Louise Brooks in The Canary Murder Case (1929).

3. Personal Life

On August 18, 1931, Margaret Livingston married the renowned band leader Paul Whiteman in a ceremony held in Denver, Colorado. Although she was unable to have biological children, she and her husband adopted four children, building a family together.

4. Thomas H. Ince Incident

Margaret Livingston was a guest on newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's yacht, the Oneida, during a weekend in November 1924. This weekend became notable for the death of film director and producer Thomas H. Ince, who died of heart failure. The circumstances surrounding Ince's death on the yacht have been the subject of speculation and dramatization. In the 2001 film The Cat's Meow, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, Livingston's character, played by Claudia Harrison, is depicted as having an affair with Ince at the time of his death.

5. Filmography

Margaret Livingston appeared in numerous films throughout her career, both in the silent and sound eras.

• The Chain Invisible (1916) as Elizabeth King
• Alimony (1917) as Florence (as Marguerite Livingston)
• Within the Cup (1918) as Minor Role
• The Busher (1919) (uncredited)
• All Wrong (1919) as Ethel Goodwin (as Marguerite Livingston)
• Haunting Shadows (1919) as Marian Deveraux (as Marguerite Livingston)
• What's Your Husband Doing? (1920) as Madge Mitchell
• Water, Water, Everywhere (1920) as Martha Beecher
• Hairpins (1920) as Effie Wainwright
• The Brute Master (1920) as The Native 'Taupou'
• The Parish Priest (1920) as Agnnes Cassidy
• Lying Lips (1921) as Lelia Dodson
• The Home Stretch (1921) as Molly
• Colorado Pluck (1921) as Angela Featherstone
• Passing Through (1921) as Louise Kingston
• Eden and Return (1921) as Connie Demarest
• The Social Buccaneer (1923) as Princess Elise
• Divorce (1923) as Gloria Gayne
• Love's Whirlpool (1924) as A Maid
• Wandering Husbands (1924) as Marilyn Foster
• Her Marriage Vow (1924) as Estelle Winslow
• Butterfly (1924) as Violet Van De Wort
• The Chorus Lady (1924) as Patricia O'Brien (starring role)
• Capital Punishment (1925) as Mona Caldwell
• Up the Ladder (1925) as Helen Newhall
• I'll Show You the Town (1925) as Lucille Pemberton
• Greater Than a Crown (1925) as Molly Montrose
• The Wheel (1925) as Elsie Dixon (starring role)
• Havoc (1925) as Violet Deering
• After Marriage (1925) as Alma Lathrop (starring role)
• The Best People (1925) as Millie Montgomery
• When the Door Opened (1925) as Mrs. Grenfal
• Wages for Wives (1925) as Carol Bixby
• The First Year (1926) as Mrs. Barstow
• The Yankee Señor (1926) as Flora
• Hell's Four Hundred (1926) as Evelyn Vance (starring role)
• A Trip to Chinatown (1926) as Alicia Cuyer (starring role)
• The Blue Eagle (1926) as Mrs. Mary Rohan
• Womanpower (1926) as Dot
• Breed of the Sea (1926) as Marietta Rawdon
• Slaves of Beauty (1927) as Goldie
• Secret Studio (1927) as Nina Clark
• Lightning (1927) as Dot Deal / Little Eva
• Married Alive (1927) as Amy Duxbury
• The Girl from Gay Paree (1927) as Gertie
• Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) as The Woman from the City
• American Beauty (1927) as Mrs. Gillespie
• Streets of Shanghai (1927) as Sadie
• A Woman's Way (1928) as Liane (starring role)
• Mad Hour (1928) as Maid
• The Scarlet Dove (1928) as Olga
• Wheel of Chance (1928) as Josie Drew
• The Way of the Strong (1928) as Marie
• Say It With Sables (1928) as Irene Gordon
• Through the Breakers (1928) as Diane Garrett (starring role)
• Beware of Bachelors (1928) as Miss Pfeffer, the vamp
• His Private Life (1928) as Yvette Bérgere
• The Apache (1928) as Sonya (starring role)
• The Last Warning (1929) as Evalynda Hendon
• Dreary House (1928) as Nancy Crowl
• The Bellamy Trial (1929) as Mimi Bellamy
• The Canary Murder Case (1929, voice only, dubbed dialogue for Louise Brooks) as Margaret Odell (uncredited)
• The Office Scandal (1929) as Lillian Tracy
• The Charlatan (1929) as Florence Talbot
• Innocents of Paris (1929) as Madame Renard
• The Girl Who Wouldn't Wait (1929) as Judy Judd (starring role)
• Tonight at Twelve (1929) as Nan Stoddard (starring role)
• Acquitted (1929) as Marian Smith
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929) as Myra Thornhill
• Murder on the Roof (1930) as Marcia
• For the Love o' Lil (1930) as Eleanor Cartwright
• What a Widow! (1930) as Valli
• Big Money (1930) as Mae
• The Lady Refuses (1931) as Berthine Waller
• Kiki (1931) as Paulette Vaile
• God's Gift to Women (1931) as Tania Donaliff
• Smart Money (1931) as District Attorney's girl
• Broadminded (1931) as Mabel Robinson
• Call Her Savage (1932) as Molly
• Social Register (1934) as Gloria (final film role)

6. Death

Margaret Livingston died on December 13, 1984, in Warrington, Pennsylvania. She was 89 years old at the time of her passing.