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Mary Nolan (December 18, 1905 – October 31, 1948) was an American actress and dancer. Born Mary Imogene Robertson in Kentucky, Robertson's childhood was beset with hardship that included the death of her mother in 1908 and an absent father. As a child, she worked as a farm laborer, before moving to New York City in 1919 where she worked as a model. She was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld, who hired her under the name Imogene Wilson (the first of three name changes she was to have) as a dancer in his follies. As a showgirl in New York she was called Bubbles. Her impact as a dancer was so... MORE

Mary Nolan (December 18, 1905 – October 31, 1948) was an American actress and dancer. Born Mary Imogene Robertson in Kentucky, Robertson's childhood was beset with hardship that included the death of her mother in 1908 and an absent father. As a child, she worked as a farm laborer, before moving to New York City in 1919 where she worked as a model. She was discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld, who hired her under the name Imogene Wilson (the first of three name changes she was to have) as a dancer in his follies. As a showgirl in New York she was called Bubbles. Her impact as a dancer was so profound that columnist Mark Hellinger once said of her in 1922: "Only two people in America would bring every reporter in New York to the docks to see them off. One is the President. The other is Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson." It was at this point that she began a long and abusive relationship with comedian Frank Tinney, which would culminate in being hospitalised for injuries he inflicted on her during an argument. Because Tinney was married to another woman, the affair caused a scandal. Nolan was fired from the Ziegfeld Follies and subsequently moved to Germany for two years. While in Germany, she LESS