Trivia

When she turned to heroin this brought the end of her public life and she disappeared in the anonymity. Only in 1948, when she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 42, her name appeared in the headlines for a last time.

Nolan kept a 19th Century antique grand piano intricately carved with old paintings that had formerly belonged to Rudolph Valentino. Nolan paid homage to the actor by keeping his picture in gaucho costume on the music rack although she couldn't play the instrument at all.

Mary started her show business career as a nude artists model in New York City. As a Ziegfeld showgirl she posed for several nude photographs by Charles Gates Sheldon, who specialized in glamorous portraits of female celebrities.

She soon had a huge success under her stage name Imogene Wilson. But her much promising career came to an end at the beginning when she had an intimate relationship with the married comedian Frank Tinney (his wife was the comedy star Edna Davenport). The affair was exploited as a sex scandal by the press. Only when she was seriously hospitalized after a violent argument with Tinney the tabloids stopped their reporting. But her career was over for the moment and she was fired by Ziegfeld.

She went back to the USA in 1929 where the former scandal was forgotten. She continued her film career unobtrusively with her new stage name Mary Nolan turned out to be an outstanding capable leading actress.

The actress Imogene Robertson began her career in the USA where she worked as a teenage model. There she was spotted by Florenz Ziegfeld and he engaged her for his famous Follies show.

In order to flee from the negative press she went to Germany where she was able to launch a short but busy film career.

Her last movies came already at the beginning of the 30's. After that she wasn't able to continue her career because of health reason.

Known as Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson when she worked for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr..

In 1922 Mark Hellinger wrote, "Only two people in America would bring every reporter in New York to see them. One is the President. The other is Imogene 'Bubbles' Wilson.".

The unexpected great success from 1929 on, came too fast for Mary Nolan and she didn't be up to this stress. Her self-destructive bent broke out and she suffered several nervous breakdowns. Her health declined due acute malnutrition and different physical complaints.

Owned an antique piano once belonging to Rudolph Valentino.

Gambler Arnold Rothstein met Nolan and staked her to go to Europe, where she unsuccessfully tried o reconcile with husband Frank Tinney but was able to get parts in German films.

Interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Hope, East Wall, Crypt 594. Nolan's marker leaves out her birth year.