Anita Frances Garvin, a striking individual, was born in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City, as the youngest of three children to Ann Frances Donovan, who possessed mixed heritage, being half Irish and half Blackfoot Indian, and Edward Garvin, an engineer who tragically lost his life in an accident when Anita was just six years old.
As she grew, Anita's physical stature enabled her to pass as a 16-year-old by the time she was 12, allowing her to secure a job in a Mack Sennett bathing beauty stage show. Her talent and beauty soon led her to become a Ziegfeld Girl in the Follies, but her true passion lay in the world of cinema. When the touring company of Sally arrived in California in 1924, Anita seized the opportunity to pursue a career in films.
Her striking features and comedic timing quickly earned her roles in comedies produced by the Christie Film Company and Educational Pictures. In 1925, she was hired by producer Joe Rock as the leading lady for an up-and-coming comic actor named Stan Laurel, with whom she would go on to collaborate on numerous projects.
Stan Laurel was so impressed by Anita's dedication to comedy that he introduced her to Hal Roach, who would utilize her talents in films featuring Charley Chase, Our Gang, and the comedy duo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Anita would go on to appear in 11 films alongside Stan and Oliver, including From Soup to Nuts (1928),Sailors, Beware! (1927),the lost Hats Off (1927),Blotto (1930),and Be Big! (1931),in which she played Stan's wife in the latter two.
In 1930, Anita married band leader Red Stanley, and the couple would go on to own The Mommtarte, a popular restaurant in downtown Hollywood that attracted the top stars of the era. However, they would eventually close the restaurant in the late 1930s, and Anita would transition into partial retirement, preferring to focus on her home life and raising her two children, Anita Patricia and Edward.
After making a final appearance alongside The Three Stooges in their 1940 film Cookoo Cavaliers, Anita retired from the entertainment industry permanently. She would spend her later years at the Motion Picture Country Home in California before passing away, and is buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
