Mabel Normand: QUEEN OF THE PIES

Mabel Normand was born November 9th, 1892 on Staten Island, New York. Mabel went to work as an actress at the Biograph Company, and Director D. W. Griffith realized that she was not just an actress, but a comedienne. Griffith wasn't keen on comedy, so he shifted the directorial duties over to Mack Sennett. Here, Sennett directed Mabel in her first comedy role, "The Diving Girl", 1911. Sennett eventually won her over, and the majority of her films were directed by Sennett. When Sennett left Biograph, he took Mabel out west with him to start his new "Keystone Studios" in the San Fernando valley of California.