Hidden gem the Marie Dressler House is located in Cobourg and houses the Canadian Women in Film Museum.
Marie Dressler was born in Cobourg in 1868 and played an important role in the early days of Hollywood and the history of cinema.
Dressler was the fourth woman to win the academy award for best actress, but the third Canadian woman to win the award. Canadian women dominated Hollywood at that time, with the other winners being Mary Pickford and Norma Shearer.
If this fact came as a surprise to you, you can learn much more about that history at the Canadian Women in Film Museum.
Rick Miller, President and Chair of the Marie Dressler Foundation, explained that COVID-19 offered a perfect oppurtunity to renovate the museum. Since the public wasn’t allowed in due to public health restrictions, Miller said there wouldn’t be a conflict with any construction.
The museum has been modernized to include video and sound clips from many of the films that Dressler and the other featured women were invovled with, along with photos and examples of some early moviemaking technology.
Miller said the renovations are nearly complete, with just the Norma Shearer exhibit to be finished before the years end.
Anyone interested in film and the vital role women played in the early creation of the modern-day movie industry should take some time to visit the museum and learn about the local connection the Town of Cobourg has to Hollywood.
For a full interview with Rick Miller, President and Chair of the Marie Dressler Foundation, see below.
Written by Lee McConnell
