Contact Us
To contact the Marie Dressler Foundation by mail or email, see our About Us page.
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Support Us
Go to this page to support Marie Dressler Foundation online.
Vintage Film Festival
The Foundation produces the Vintage Film Festival every year on a weekend in October. Full details here.
Marie Dressler House
The history of the Marie Dressler House is here. It is now the home of the Interactive Canadian Women in Film Museum.
Dressler House is located at:
212 King street West (Hwy 2),
Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.
The Marie Dressler Museum has been expanded and is now called "Canadian Women in Film Museum".
Hours
Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the museum will be open by appointment only.
Visit the new museum's website here for details of how to book your visit.
Latest Bursaries
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The Marie Dressler Story
Born in Cobourg, Canada - one of Hollywood's greatest stars
The Dressler Story: to Dream, to Dare, to Persist, to Win
Cobourg is the birthplace of Marie Dressler - one of the greatest comediennes of her generation and one of Hollywood's best loved stars.
This is the official site of the Marie Dressler Foundation whose mission is to make sure that Marie Dressler is remembered. The Foundation, a registered charity, was created to raise money to restore her house when it was burnt down in 1989 (More here).
Vintage FIlm Festival
Our largest activity has been the Vintage Film Festival which is held on a weekend in October every year.
But in 2018 we had additional major events to celebrate Marie's 150th birthday.
Bursaries
Another major activity of the Foundation is to award scholarships/bursaries to students planning to pursue an education in the arts field. There is a list of previous scholarship winners here. The 2019 winners were presented with their awards at Dressler House on July 6 - see the story with photos here. For more information on how to apply, go here.
Also available on this site
- A complete biography.
- Information on her house where she was born
- Updates on Foundation Activity [News]
- Our list of her films
- Museum details (external site)
Five Bursaries Awarded in 2017
On Saturday, July 15, 2017, five students were presented with certificates and cheques for $1500. As well as the four bursaries for Northumberland high school students who are planning tertiary studies in the performing arts, this year an additional award was made: the Canada 150 Bill Patchett Devotion to Community Award. This is to honour the community service by Bill Patchett and was made to a student who showed exceptional community devotion.
The awards, together with bouquets of flowers, were presented by VFF Chair Cathie Houston and Foundation Treasurer Leslie Benson.
Video about the Foundation
Rick Miller, Chair of Marie Dressler Foundation, was interviewed on Cogeco's Community Station (Channel 10 or 700 HD) and talked about Marie Dressler, the new Marie Dressler Museum and the Vintage Film Festival. The program was Know Northumberland and was hosted by Holly Nimens. A good overview of what you would learn from this web site.
Canada 150 - DocFest
On April 29 and 30, 2017, the Marie Dressler Foundation will be joining in celebrating Canada's 150 celebrations with a Festival of Documentary Films called A Portrait in Documentary Film. We will show Documentary Films from 15 minutes to 60 minutes from the National Film Board, CBC and National Archives of Canada and will feature a range of documentary films spanning Canada’s 150 years.
The venue is the LOFT on Division Street. The full program is now available here (no longer available). Admission is Free.
A Modern Museum for a Vintage Star
If you are familiar with the previous museum, you will see that the new one is totally different. The room is larger, the walls have been repainted (a great colour), there are new displays and many of the displays are interactive. The interface to control what you see on displays is via ipads and in some cases you can listen. Although the appearance is open and uncluttered, there is plenty of information to be had. Some artifacts are on display although the photos are not the originals - these are kept in the Northumberland County archives.
Museum to Open September 24
The Board of Directors of Marie Dressler Foundation is excited to announce the opening of Canada's newest heritage museum.
The new Marie Dressler Museum highlights the achievements of the Cobourg-born star of stage and screen, winner of the 1931 Academy Award for Best Actress at age 63, top grossing actor in Hollywood in both 1932 and 1933 and the best loved comedienne of her time.
The Town of Cobourg has proclaimed September 24th to be "Marie Dressler Celebration Day". The official opening of the museum will be a public event held at 1:00 p.m. at Marie Dressler House, 212 King Street West, Cobourg.
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