Italian postcard by NMM, Milano, 1941-XIX. Caption: Una Merkel - with a tender and mischievous look that harmonises, in appearance, panache, grace, and sweetness.
Dutch postcard by JosPe, Arnhem, no. 378. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
British postcard by De Reszke Cigarettes, no. 7. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
A catfight with Marlene Dietrich
Una Merkel was born in 1903 in Covington, Kentucky, USA, as the daughter of a merchant, Arno Merkel and his wife Bess Merkel (née Phares). Una grew up in various locations in the southern states, due to her father's job as a travelling salesman. After settling in New York City, she attended the Alviene School of Dramatic Art.
Because of her strong resemblance to actress Lillian Gish, Merkel was offered a part as Gish's youngest sister in a silent film called World Shadows. However, the funding for the film dried up and it was never completed. According to AllMovie, she was Lillian Gish's stand-in for Way Down East (D.W. Griffith, 1920). Merkel went on to appear in a few silent movies for the Lee Bradford Corporation. She appeared in the two-reel Love's Old Sweet Song (J. Searle Dawley, 1923), which was made by Lee de Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process and starred Louis Wolheim and Helen Weir. Not making much of a mark in films, Merkel turned her attention to the theatre.
She made her Broadway debut in February 1923 with 'Two by Two'. A triumph she had in 'Coquette' (1927), which starred her idol, Helen Hayes. In 1930, the success of 'Girl Crazy' confirmed her reputation. Merkel returned to Hollywood to star in the role of Ann Rutledge in David Wark Griffith's biopic of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (D.W. Griffith, 1930) opposite Walter Huston. In addition, she played, among others, Sam Spade's secretary Effie in the first film version of The Maltese Falcon (Roy Del Ruth, 1931) starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels.
After gaining a few pounds, her comic potential was discovered. In the following years, Merkel relied mainly on numerous, mostly comical supporting roles. Films to watch include Private Lives (Sidney Franklin, 1931) with Norma Shearer, Red-Headed Woman (Jack Conway, 1932) and Bombshell (Victor Fleming, 1933) starring Jean Harlow. Often she was the wisecracking best friend of the heroine such as in the Busby Berkeley musical film 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon, 1933). With her broad Southern accent and her peroxide blond hair, she gave one of her best performances as the wisecracking but not-so-bright chorus girl Lorraine, a buddy of Ginger Rogers. She memorably says of Rogers' character Anytime Annie: "The only time she ever said no she didn't hear the question."
Other memorable roles were in The Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch, 1934), Broadway Melody of 1936 (Roy Del Ruth, W.S. Van Dyke, 1935) and Born to Dance (Roy Del Ruth, 1936). One of the most famous appearances she had was in the Western comedy Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 1939), in which she delivers a hair-pulling 'catfight' with Marlene Dietrich. She was also wonderful as the eldest daughter of W. C. Fields in the comedy The Bank Detective (Edward F. Cline, 1940).
Belgian postcard. by S.A. Cacao et Chocolat Kivou, Vilvo[o]rde, Belgium. Her name is seriously misspelt on the card.
Dutch postcard by JosPe, Arnhem, no. 317. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
British postcard in the Film Weekly Series, London.
Surprise success
In the 1940s, Una Merkel had to settle for roles in mostly second-rate films. She almost died on 5 March 1945 when her mother Bessie, with whom she shared an apartment in New York City, committed suicide by turning on the gas. Merkel was overcome by the five gas jets her mother had turned on in their kitchen and was found unconscious in her bedroom. Her mother's suicide note was personalised to Una's husband, Robert Burla, whom she affectionately addressed as "Bid". Burla and Merkel had separated in April 1944. Merkel filed for divorce in 1946 and it was granted in 1947.
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The surprise success of the baseball comedy Kill the Umpire (Lloyd Bacon, 1950) on the side of William Bendix gave her again roles in major films such as With a Song in My Heart (Walter Lang, 1952), where she played mostly mothers or housekeepers. On 4 March 1952, seven years almost to the day after her mother died, Merkel overdosed on sleeping pills. She was found unconscious by a nurse who was caring for her at the time and remained in a coma for a day before recovering.
Merkel returned to the stage and especially 'The Ponder Heart' by Eudora Welty was again a success. Merkel was awarded the Tony Award for her role. She had a major part in the film The Mating Game (George T. Marshall, 1959) as Paul Douglas's wife and Debbie Reynolds' mother. In 1962 she received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress for her role in Summer and Smoke (Peter Glenville, 1961), starring Laurence Harvey and Geraldine Page and based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name. Merkel had originated her role on the stage.
She was also featured as Brian Keith's housekeeper, Verbena, in the Walt Disney comedy The Parent Trap (David Swift, 1961), based on the 1949 book 'Lisa and Lottie' (German: 'Das doppelte Lottchen') by Erich Kästner. It stars Hayley Mills in a dual role as a pair of teenage twins plotting to reunite their divorced parents by switching places with each other. Her last film was the musical comedy Spinout (Norman Taurog, 1966) with Elvis Presley. Then Una Merkel retired to private life.
From 1932 until the divorce in 1947 Merkel was married to North American Aviation executive Ronald L. Burla, and the couple had no children. Una Merkel passed away in 1986 in Los Angeles. She was interred near her parents, Arno and Bess Merkel, at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. For her filmmaking, Una Merkel was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 741. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
British postcard. British Film-Kurier series, London, no. 52. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
British postcard. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D 164. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Dennis Day, Una Merkel and Mitzi Gaynor in Golden Girl (Lloyd Bacon, 1951).
Sources: AllMovie, Wikipedia (English) and IMDb.
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