Mary Grace Borel Shumate Marshal Sweet Paxton (October 31, 1915 – May 18, 1998) was an American socialite and film actress. She was the granddaughter of Antoine Borel, a San Francisco banker and consul general of Switzerland, and her family was prominent on the San Francisco social scene. Her debut was attended by 200 guests in 1934. Her 1935 marriage to the physician son of the San Francisco Police Commissioner was said to be "the highlight of the 1935 social season". Two years later she sued for divorce and, in 1938, remarried to film actor Alan Marshal, with whom she had one son. She sued for divorce in 1947; she later remarried two more times. Using the stage name Mary Marshall, she acted in two films and two television series. Upon her death in 1998, she was buried in the same crypt as her second husband, Alan Marshal.
Mary Grace Borel | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 31, 1915 San Francisco, California, US |
| Died | May 18, 1998 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Mary Marshall |
| Known for | Socialite |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 1 |
Early life and education
editMary Grace Borel was born in San Francisco, California, on October 31, 1915.[1] She was the eldest daughter of Antoine A. Borel, Jr., and his wife Mardie McMahon.[2][3] Her paternal grandfather, Antoine Borel, was a prominent San Francisco banker and consul general of Switzerland.[2] She had one younger sister, Victoire.[3] Borel's family was prominent on the San Francisco social scene. A debutante ball with 400 invited guests in honor of her father's sisters, Alice and Grace, was reported in an 1898 newspaper article.[4] Mary Grace's own family's doings were often written up in the local society pages, as for example a news item about Mary Grace's eighth birthday party in 1923,[5] her family's summer vacation plans after their return from Europe in 1927,[6] and her participation in the annual Horse Show and Race Meet of the Gymkhana Club of San Mateo and her sister's own blue-ribbon-winning horse.[7]
Borel graduated from the Dominican Convent in San Rafael.[8] She was a member of the Junior League and the Spinsters of San Francisco.[8]
Borel made her own debut before 200 guests at the Town and Country Club in San Francisco in January 1934.[9] An article in the San Francisco Examiner described her dress—a white moss crepe gown with a red velvet cape, white velvet gloves, and white satin shoes—and the party in detail.[9]
Marriages
edit.jpg)
Before the year was out, Borel's engagement to Charles Albert Shumate, the physician son of San Francisco Police Commissioner Thomas E. Shumate, was announced.[8][10] Their wedding, which took place in April 1935, was said to have been "the highlight of the 1935 social season".[11] Borel sued for divorce in October 1937 on the grounds of "extreme cruelty".[12] She was granted the divorce in a hearing that lasted less than five minutes by Superior Court Judge Aylett R. Cotton Jr., who was her aunt's husband[9][13] but was not disqualified from presiding at the hearing.[12] Shumate did not attend the hearing but was represented by his attorney.[12] After the divorce, Borel retained her maiden name.[12]
Borel moved to Los Angeles, where she met Australian-born Hollywood film actor Alan Marshal.[11] The couple eloped to Las Vegas in November 1938 and settled in Marshal's home in Brentwood.[14] They had one son, Christopher ("Kit"),[15] who also became an actor.[16] In August 1947, Borel filed for divorce from Marshal on the grounds of cruelty.[11] She requested "reasonable support", estimating her husband's weekly earnings at $2,250.[11] The marriage was dissolved in 1948.[15]
Borel married for the third time in July 1958 to Clyde Robert Sweet, an interior decorator from Lafayette.[15][17] In 1963 it was reported that that marriage, too, had ended in divorce and that Borel was remarried to her fourth husband, Peter V. Paxton, a Los Angeles insurance broker.[17]
Later life
editBorel, credited as Mary Marshall, made her film debut in Prejudice (1949), a drama produced by the Protestant Film Commission.[18] She appeared in one other film role and two television series episodes.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Prejudice | Beth Hanson |
| 1989 | She-Devil | Mary's party guest |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Drake's Progress | Series 2, episode 1 | |
| 1959 | Glencannon | Waitress | Episode: "The Ancient Mariner" |
References
edit- ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". FamilySearch. 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Borel, Antoine". San Mateo County Historical Association. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "United States Census, 1930". FamilySearch. 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ "Borel Ball for Debutantes". The San Francisco Call. January 21, 1898. p. 5.
- ^ "Mrs. Borel Entertains Children". San Francisco Examiner. November 1, 1923. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Many San Franciscans To Visit Lake Tahoe". San Francisco Examiner. June 24, 1927. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Francisco, Cholly (May 31, 1931). "Children Will Compete for Honors at Club Race Meet". San Francisco Examiner. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Mary Grace Borel to Wed Dr. Albert Shumate". San Francisco Examiner. November 13, 1934. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Francisco, Cholly (January 12, 1934). "Miss Mary Grace Borel Makes Bow to Society at Town and Country Club". San Francisco Examiner. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Albert Shumate: San Francisco Physician, Historian, and Catholic Layman". UC Berkeley, Oral History Center of The Bancroft Library. 1981. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Borel Sues For Divorce Second Time". San Mateo County Times. August 16, 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Grace Borel Divorces Shumate". San Francisco Examiner. October 6, 1937. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cotton, (Judge) Aylett". San Mateo County Historical Association. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ "Actor and Bride on Honeymoon". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1938. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Mrs. Borel Marshal Weds In Southland Rites". San Francisco Examiner. July 31, 1958. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moffat, Frances (July 11, 1961). "Inside Society". San Francisco Examiner. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mary Borel A Bride". San Francisco Examiner. December 13, 1963. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Johnson, Erskine (March 31, 1949). "Hollywood Roundup". The Bakersfield Californian. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mary Marshall". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
