Biography

She was one rowdy, no-holds-barred entertainer. Comedienne Polly Moran was considered second only to perhaps Louise Fazenda as Mack Sennett's funniest lady during her silent-era heyday. Born in 1883, Polly was made for vaudeville, touring all over the world, notably Europe. Sennett snapped her up in 1915 and she clowned around for him for several years in scores of his classic one- and two-reelers. At age 40 she, just by happenstance, paired up with, of all people, equally homely and down-to-earth Marie Dressler. The two scene-stealing man-chasers created comedy magic together as a cinematic MGM team, riotous in their eight films together including The Callahans and the Murphys (1927), their first, Chasing Rainbows (1930), Caught Short (1930), and Politics (1931). Sound was not quite the kick in the pants Polly had experienced in silents but she survived, trooper that she was, in both servile and dowager roles. By the 40s, however, she had been reduced to a smattering of bit parts. A small but showy role in Adam's Rib (1949) might have sparked a possible resurgence, but Polly died of heart problems into her 69th year before she was able to seize the moment.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

In his autobiography, John Meredyth Lucas remembered attending Pacific Military Academy with Polly's son Jack: "Jack was small, dark with black curly hair. Officially, he was Polly's adopted son, although gossip suggested he was her son by a black or Hispanic lover".

She adopted a son in between marriages.