Mary Lange

Biography

Mary Thelma Lange was born in 1912 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Her family was wealthy and she attended the Divine Providence academy in Pittsburgh. At the age of nineteen Mary moved to New York city and joined the chorus of the Ziegfeld Follies. In 1931 she appeared in the Broadway show Music In The Air. During this time she also pose semi-nude for photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston. A talent scout saw her on stage and offered her a film contract. Mary made her film debut in the 1932 short Poor Little Rich Boy. Soon after she was chosen to be one Sam Goldwyn's dancing Goldwyn Girls. The lovely brunette had bit parts in more than a dozen films including Kid Millions, Dames, and Roman Scandals. She got to play a Ziegfeld Girl in the 1936 musical The Great Ziegfeld. Mary married Frank Kolb, a marketing executive for Standard Oil, on November 5, 1938. Then she decided to give up her show business career to be a housewife. In an interview she said "I'm not sorry I'm giving up my career. I'm looking forward to making a happy home." She and Frank had one son named Daniel. The family lived in Florida for many years and later moved to Ohio. On April 13, 1973 she died suddenly at the age of sixty. Her cause of death was not revealed to the public. Mary was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Northfield, Ohio.