Merna Kennedy-Merna Kennedy (born Maude Kahler; September 7, 1908 – December 20, 1944) was an American actress of the late silent era and the transitional period into talkies. Kennedy was best known during her brief career for her role opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent film The Circus (1928). She retired in 1934 when she married choreographer/director Busby Berkeley. Their marriage broke up a year later. Kennedy died of a heart attack, aged 36, four days after her marriage to Master Sergeant Forrest Brayton.