Legend has it that when she was 12 she bought makeup, shoes with heels, and a pretty dress to make her look older, walked into an agent's office claiming to be 16, and was signed up.
Dark-haired beauty, best known for her portrayals of a shrewish wife in Laurel (Stan Laurel) & Hardy (Oliver Hardy) films. Retired in the early 1940's.
Anita Garvin and her husband, musician Clifford Red Stanley, are listed in the 1940 census living at 1540-1/2 McCadden Place in Los Angeles, California, with their children, 8-year-old Patricia Stanley and 5-year-old Edward Stanley.
Father was killed in an accident while surveying the banks of the Hudson River.
Interviewed in "Talking to the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember" by Stuart Oderman (BearManor Media).
She made11 films with Laurel and Hardy,.
Anita's sister sometimes called Anita by the nickname "Frankie" due to her middle name being Frances.