Vintage Film Festival
The Foundation produces the Vintage Film Festival every year on a weekend in September. Full details here. The Foundation also produces RearView Doc Fest on a weekend in April. More here.
Bursary Application
Bursary application Information can be found here.
Tickets
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Contact Us
To contact the Marie Dressler Foundation by mail, see our About Us page. By email, click here.
Marie Dressler House
The Marie Dressler House no longer operates as Cobourg's Tourist Information office but still houses the Interactive Marie Dressler Museum. Dressler House is located at:
212 King street West (Hwy 2),
Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.
Hours
Summer 2019
From May 28 to August 31
Tuesday to Sunday
from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Fall-Winter 2019
T.B.D.
Last 17 Bursaries
Tell Us More
If you have some information about Marie or simply want to comment on her or the content of this site, please use our "Tell Us More" form available here.
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). Our largest activity has been the Vintage Film Festival which is held on the last 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 2018 winners were presented with their awards at Dressler House on July 7 - see the story with photos and a video here. For more information on how to apply, go here.
Also available on this site
Plans for Museum Expansion presented to Cobourg Council
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At Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting, Marie Dressler Foundation (MDF) chair Rick Miller presented plans to expand the existing Museum at Dressler house to include two other Canadian female Oscar winners: Mary Pickford and Norma Shearer. Rick said that he had firm commitments from partners in the venture who would supply material for the museum and assist with marketing. To proceed, Rick wanted the Town to revise the existing lease from just a part of Dressler House to include the entire building. After some debate, Councillors approved a revised lease although final approval will not be until 9 September, 2019.
Read more: Plans for Museum Expansion presented to Cobourg Council
Four Bursaries awarded in 2019
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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
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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.
Application forms are on this page
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: JUNE 4, 2019
Marie Dressler 150th Birthday Celebration
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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.