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)
Four Bursaries awarded in 2019
Once again, the Marie Dressler Foundation (MDF) has awarded bursaries to four outstanding students in Northumberland who are planning tertiary studies in the performing arts. On Saturday, 6 July 2019, awards of $1000 each were presented at Marie Dressler House which houses the amazing Museum dedicated to the memory of Marie Dressler - one of the few Canadian actresses to win an Academy award. One of the four winners was honoured with the 2019 Bill Patchett Devotion to Community Award for exceptional community service. Many will know that Bill Patchett left us recently after a long life of working for many causes, big and small, including the restoration of Dressler house after a disastrous fire.
Ava Bogyay, Andrew Atanasoff, Olivia Rapos, Juliette SinnottFoundation Chair Rick Miller said that there were a good number of applicants this year but the selection committee chose the following winners:
- Olivia Rapos - Campbellford District High School - Presenter: Scott Fraser (member of MDF Board). Olivia will be continuing her education at the University of British Columbia where she will study Music with a focus on opera.
- Ava Bogyay - St. Mary Catholic Secondary School - Presenter: Leslie Benson (Treasurer of MDF Board). Ava plans to study music and secondary education at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
- Juliette Sinnott - St. Mary Catholic Secondary School - Presenter: Rick Miller (Chair of MDF Board). Juliette plans to study at McGill University for a Combined Bachelor of Music and Science degree.
- Andrew Atanasoff - Cobourg Collegiate Institute - Presenter: Delphine Patchett (member of MDF Board and wife of Bill Patchett)- winner of the 2019 Bill Patchett Devotion to Community Award. Andrew is planning to attend York University for Fine Arts and Concurrent Education.
Short Bios are available here.
The photo above right shows the four winners. As usual, click to enlarge.
More photos below - click to enlarge and scroll through them all. Large photos have captions.
Bursary Applications for 2019
Students may now apply for a 2019 student bursary award from Marie Dressler Foundation.
Eligibility:
- You are currently enrolled in a secondary school within Northumberland County
- You will be graduating this June
- You will be pursuing post-secondary education starting in September in the performing arts and related programs, including music, and media studies
- You have demonstrated commitment to excellence in your studies, your personal achievements and your contribution to your community
Four Bursaries each in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded this year.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: JUNE 4, 2019
Marie Dressler 150th Birthday Celebration
On November 9, Marie Dressler's 150th birthday was celebrated. She was born on November 9, 1868 and 73 came to her birthday party in the Art Gallery of Northumberland. In addition 18 members of La Jeunesse Choir entertained us. They performed "Singing in the Rain" in honour of Marie who sang this song in the 1929 Hollywood Revue as well as the requisite "Happy Birthday". Actress Carlotta Rutledge portrayed Marie and when the kids made birthday cards for Marie she presented them with presents.
In attendance were MPP David Piccini, Mayor Gil Brocanier and several Councillors. The party was kicked off by the Town crier Mandy Robinson.
The Photos in the slide show below give an idea of the event.
Opening of Exhibition “Cobourg’s Sweetheart”
On September 8, there was an opening reception to the Exhibit at the Art Gallery of Northumberland (AGN) that explores the Cobourg community’s relationship with Marie Dressler over the past 90 years. Part of the celebration of Marie’s 150th birthday, it was produced by the Marie Dressler Foundation and curated by Kristina Karakolis. Featuring historical images and documents, it tells the story of Marie with emphasis on her connection to Cobourg. Because of Marie’s film connection, two exhibits use TV monitors to show a video and trailers. The reception featured special 150th birthday cookies and welcomed a number of tourists who were in town at the time. In attendance were Mayor Gil Brocanier, Councillors Suzanne Seguin, Aaron Burchat and Debra McCarthy as well as previous Mayor Peter Delanty and of course the AGN's Executive Director Olinda Casimiro.
See the photos below for more - click any image to enlarge and access captions. Then scroll through them all.
Marie Dressler Events
Watch the video below to learn more about the Special Events happening in Cobourg in 2018 to celebrate Marie's 150th Birthday.
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