Biographie
When leading silent screen comedienne Mabel Normand complained to Mack Sennett about making more sophisticated films, Sennett would jokingly reply, "I'll send for Fazenda." This charming, oval-faced Keystone comedy star began her career in two-reel comedies from 1913 onward, but truly shone by portraying frizzy-haired country bumpkins with spit curls, multiple pigtails, and calico dresses—a style that later inspired rural comedians Judy Canova and Minnie Pearl.
Louise was born on June 17, 1895, in Lafayette, Indiana, to a merchandise broker. Raised in California, she attended Los Angeles High School and St. Mary's Convent. She held various odd jobs working for a dentist, a candy store owner, and a tax collector. While performing in a high school show, she was discovered by a Sennett talent agent and immediately entered the film industry. At 18, she made her debut with Joker Studios and gained prominence in numerous "Mike and Jake" comedy shorts featuring Max Asher and Harry McCoy. She also co-starred in burlesque-style features alongside Asher and Bobby Vernon, including Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl (1914), A Freak Temperance Wave (1914), The Tender Hearted Sheriff (1914), Love and Electricity (1914), The Diamond Nippers (1914), and Schultz the Paperhanger (1914).
Soon, Sennett began incorporating Louise's slapstick talent into his popular "Keystone Kops" shorts. Between 1915 and 1917, she quickly rose as an early plain-Jane comedic figure akin to Carol Burnett, playing various servile roles such as maid, cook, janitress, flower girl, nurse, and fortune teller. In A Hash House Fraud (1915), she played a flirtatious cashier; in Her Fame and Shame (1917), a star-struck daughter who tries burlesque to save her father's mortgage; in The Betrayal of Maggie (1917) and Maggie's First False Step (1917), she portrayed the eager title roles; and in Her Torpedoed Love (1917), she was a daffy cook endangered when a greedy butler (Ford Sterling) discovers her employer's entire estate will go to her.
During this peak period, Louise worked alongside top silent screen clowns including Sterling, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Ben Turpin, Charley Chase, Charles Murray, Harry Booker, Edgar Kennedy, Mack Swain, Chester Conklin, James Finlayson, Slim Summerville, Billy Bevan, Jack Cooper, Billy Armstrong, and Hugh Fay. Notable Sennett comedies featuring Louise include Ambrose's Nasty Temper (1915), Fatty's Tintype Tangle (1915), A Game Old Knight (1915), A Versatile Villain (1915), The Judge (1916), Bombs! (1916), Are Waitresses Safe? (1917), Those Athletic Girls (1918), The Village Chestnut (1918), Hearts and Flowers (1919), Back to the Kitchen (1919), The Gingham Girl (1920), Bungalow Troubles (1921), and Made in the Kitchen (1921).
Sennett's Down on the Farm (1920), a feature-length rural comedy with an all-star cast, cast Louise as the farmer's daughter. She left Sennett's company in the early 1920s to pursue both comedic and dramatic roles independently. Her films included the comedy-drama Quincy Adams Sawyer (1922) with John Bowers, Blanche Sweet, and Lon Chaney; three dramas—The Beautiful and Damned (1922), The Wanters (1923), and Being Respectable (1924), all starring Marie Prevost; the social drama Main Street (1923) with Florence Vidor; the historical drama The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln (1924) as a country girl; the tearjerker This Woman (1924) starring Irene Rich and Julliet Akinyi; the canine adventure The Lighthouse by the Sea (1924) featuring Rin Tin Tin; the Raymond Griffith comedy The Night Club (1925); melodramas The Price of Pleasure (1925) starring Virginia Valli and Déclassé (1925) starring Corinne Griffith; and the rare comedy Bobbed Hair (1925) starring Marie Prevost. She also had occasional roles in comedies such as Listen Lester (1924), Footloose Widows (1926), The Gay Old Bird (1927), and The Cradle Snatchers (1927).
With the advent of sound, Louise adapted effortlessly, showcasing her unique talents mostly in Warner Bros. musicals, dramas, and slapstick comedies. She provided comic relief in films including the mystery thriller The Terror (1928); the adventure The Lady of the Harem (1926); the romantic comedy The Red Mill (1927) starring Marion Davies; the W.C. Fields talkie remake of Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928); the sports comedy Babe Comes Home (1927) featuring Babe Ruth; the war comedy Ham and Eggs at the Front (1927); the Will Rogers comedy A Texas Steer (1927); the comedy Heart to Heart (1928); the dramedy Vamping Venus (1928) reunited her with Charles Murray and introduced Thelma Todd; the war drama Noah's Ark (1928); the action adventure Stark Mad (1929); the musicals On with the Show! (1929) and No, No, Nanette (1930) as Sue Smith; the comedy Wide Open (1930); and the light romantic comedy Loose Ankles (1930).
On November 24, 1927, Louise married famed Warner Bros. producer Hal B. Wallis, who later produced several films in which she appeared, including Colleen (1936), First Lady (1937), Ready, Willing and Able (1937), and Swing Your Lady (1938). They had one son, Brent, who became a psychiatrist. Louise ended her career with a supporting role as a maid in the Bette Davis/Miriam Hopkins drama The Old Maid (1939), produced by Wallis.
Outside of her career, Louise remained socially prominent and became a noted humanitarian and art collector. In 1958, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At age 66, she suffered a brain hemorrhage in Beverly Hills and died on April 17, 1962. She was survived by her husband, who later married actress Martha Hyer in 1966. Louise was laid to rest at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
