Editing Florence Lawrence (section)

==Later years ==
By the late 1920s, Lawrence's popularity had declined and she suffered several personal losses. She was devastated when her mother, to whom she was close, died suddenly in August 1929. Four months later, she separated from her second husband, Charles Woodring.{{sfn|Brown|1999|p=135}} While Lawrence earned a small fortune during her film career, she made many poor business decisions. She lost much of her fortune after the [[stock market]] crash in October 1929 and ensuing [[Great Depression]]. The cosmetics store that she and her second husband opened in Los Angeles also lost business because of the Depression, and the couple was forced to close its doors in 1931.

By the early 1930s, Lawrence's acting career consisted solely of extra and bit parts which were often uncredited. In 1936, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] studio head [[Louis B. Mayer]] began giving extra and bit parts to former silent film actors for $75 per week.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eyman |first=Scott |title=Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer |year=2008 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=978-1-439-10791-1 |page=335}}</ref> Lawrence, along with other "old timers" from the silent era whose careers had all but ended when sound films replaced silent films, signed with M-G-M. Lawrence remained with the studio until her death.{{sfn|Brown|1999|p=144}}

In mid-1937, Lawrence was diagnosed with what her doctor described as "a bone disease which produces [[anemia]] and depression."{{sfn|Brown|1999|p=144}} The disease was likely [[myelofibrosis]], a rare [[bone marrow]] disease, or [[agnogenic myeloid metaplasia]], both of which were incurable at the time. Due to her poor health and chronic pain, Lawrence became depressed but attempted to keep working. Around this time she moved into a home on Westbourne Drive in West Hollywood, with a studio worker named Robert "Bob" Brinlow and his sister.{{sfn|Brown|1999|pp=144–145}}