Geneva Mitchell

Biography

Geneva Doris Mitchell was born on February 3, 1908 in Medarysville, Indiana. Her father died in 1909 and her mother Verna Mitchell became a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl. When she was fourteen Geneva was hired to be in the Follies too. Florenz Ziegfeld said she was "the find" of the season. Her nickname was "The Pogo Girl". She also appeared in the show Sally and was chosen to be Marilyn Miller's understudy. Geneva eloped with Robert Savage, a millionaire's son, in March of 1922. They split up just five days later because she was too young. She made headlines again in May when she was fired from the Ziegfeld Follies. Florenz Ziegfeld got mad when she attended a wild party in her pajamas. After a ten day courtship she married Jack Hayes, a publicity agent, on September 22, 1923. The blue-eyed brunette starred on Broadway in the musicals Yours Truly and Take the Air. In 1929 she was offered a contract at Warner Brothers and made her film debut in the comedy Adam's Eve. She had small roles in Safety In Numbers and Her Wedding Night with Clara Bow. Geneva divorced her husband and fell in love with director Lowell Sherman. The couple announced their engagement but they kept postponing the wedding. Lowell directed her in the 1933 drama Morning Glory. The following year she was signed by Columbia. Geneva costarred with the Three Stooges in several films including Restless Nights and Pop Goes The Weasel. She was heartbroken when Lowell, her longtime fiance, died suddenly in December of 1934. A few months later she married financier Harry J. Bryant. Sadly this marriage also ended in divorce. By the late 1930s her career had stalled and she was suffering from severe alcoholism. Her final film was the 1946 short Andy Plays Hookey. She stopped acting and got a job as a bookkeeper. Geneva married Daniel Sylvester Tuttle in February of 1948. Tragically on March 10, 1949 she died on from acute pancreatitis and cirrhosis of the liver caused by her alcoholism. She was only forty-one years old. Geneva was cremated and her ashes were buried at the Chapel Of The Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California.