June Marlowe
June Marlowe was born Gisela Valaria Goetten to Hedwig and John Goetten on November 6, 1903, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She and her siblings—Armor E. Goetten, Louis Marlowe, Alona Marlowe, and Gerald Goetten—all eventually realized careers in the film industry.
Marlowe was of German descent and could speak the language fluently. She loved animals—particularly horses. Her father owned a meat market in St. Cloud. As a child, Marlowe was a student at St. Mary’s Parochial School and Tech High School. The family often enjoyed winters by ice skating on Lake George and summering on Spunk Lake in Minnesota.
In 1920, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. There, she attended Hollywood High School, where she was discovered while performing in a school play, Director Malcolm St. Clair found her an agent and arranged for her screen debut in Fighting Blood (1923). In the following years, she appeared in Find Your Man (1924), Tracked in the Snow Country (1925), Below the Line (1925), The Clash of the Wolves (1925), The Night Cry (1926) starring beloved German Shepherd icon Rin Tin Tin, among additional film roles.
By 1926, she was a contract player for Warner Brothers. She became one of the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS) Baby Stars in 1925 and soon worked for Universal Studios. At Universal, she appeared in Fangs of Justice (1926), starring Silver Streak—often billed as Silver Streak King of Dog Stars, Dog of Wonder, or The Wonder Dog—Universal’s answer to rival Warner Bros.’ Rin Tin Tin. She also performed in Wild Beauty (1927) starring Rex—a horse billed similarly to Silver Streak as Rex the Wonder Horse or King of the Wild Horses.
Marlowe also had the distinction of appearing in Don Juan (1926), the first synchronized sound film. The film starred John Barrymore and used the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system in conjunction with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though not featuring spoken dialogue.
As sound entered into films, Marlowe’s career was faltering and she was considering leaving the industry. However, a chance encounter with director Robert McGowan in a Los Angeles department store gave her career a boost. McGowan was seeking an actress to play the part of a teacher in the Our Gang children’s comedies. Marlowe was considered for the role and producer Hal Roach suggested that she wear a blonde wig to the color of the show’s lead child actor, Jackie Cooper. She was ultimately cast as Miss Crabtree in the series.
Marlowe appeared in several Our Gang shorts including Teacher’s Pet (1930), School’s Out (1930), Love Business (1931), and Little Daddy (1931). She also performed in Pardon Us (1931), starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy—another Roach production.
In 1933, Marlowe married businessman Rodney Sprigg. She retired from acting to be a housewife and was happy to be remembered for her role as Miss Crabtree. She and Sprigg traveled extensively and she visited St. Cloud often. They remained married until his passing in 1982.
Marlowe consistently refused offers from Roach to return as Miss Crabtree. The rights to Our Gang were sold to MGM in 1938 and the series was discontinued in 1944. However, the series experienced a renewal through syndication on television, billed as The Little Rascals. This revival in interest led to a publisher commissioning Marlowe to write children’s books. She completed two books—Beezy and Furry—before issues with Parkinson’s disease prevented her from completing the full series.
Marlowe passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s disease on March 10, 1984, in Burbank, California. She was 80 years old. Initially, she was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery and she later shared the same headstone with her brother, Louis, who passed away in 1991. However, in 2002, they were moved to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Mausoleum in Los Angeles, where her parents and siblings are interred.
Presently, some of Marlowe’s homes exist. In 1910, her family resided at 217 10th Ave. N., St. Cloud, Minnesota. This home stands today.
In 1920, the family lived at 2715 Bryant Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minnesota, which also stands.
By 1929, the family moved to 1935 Rodney Dr., Los Angeles, California. This home has since been razed.
In 1940, she lived with Sprigg and two of his four sons from a previous marriage at 1629 Cosmo St., Los Angeles, California, which stands.
In 1945, she and Sprigg lived at 2044 1st Ave., San Diego, California, with Rodney. This home no longer stands.
Marlowe is connected to an additional tribute: In the show The Simpsons, the schoolteacher character was named Edna Krabappel. The character’s name takes creative liberty with the word “crabapple,” in reference to the Miss Crabtree character.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
