She's now remembered as "what's her name, the one James Cagney hit with a grapefruit," but for a couple of years in 1930 and 1931, Mae Clarke was on a real roll, with substantial parts in The Public Enemy, The Front Page and Frankenstein, as well as the lead in the 1931 version of Waterloo Bridge.
You might also remember her from another James Cagney vehicle, Lady Killer in 1933, where Cagney drags her by her hair before throwing her out of his hotel room.Like Katie-Bar-The-Door, she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unlike Katie, she started her career as a dancer, signed a contract with Universal Studios and worked steadily throughout the 1930s. By 1940 her career slowed considerably although she continued to play supporting roles in movies and on television until her retirement in 1970.
You can see her talking about The Public Enemy on Turner Classic Movies Wednesday morning (October 14) at 5:30 a.m. EDT in the documentary James Cagney: Top of the World. By the way, her ex-husband Lewis Brice (Fanny's brother) enjoyed that scene so much, he would frequently buy a ticket for the Times Square theater where The Public Enemy played twenty-four hours a day, ducking in just long enough to see his ex-wife get smacked with a grapefruit. You have to wonder what that marriage was like.For an in-depth article about the famous grapefruit scene, drop in at the blog Big Hollywood. Interesting stuff.
