Flu" would permanently change the movie industry. At the beginning of 1918, Brownie Vernon was years old. She had been part of the movie industry since she was 18. She was single, living with her mother, and a jobless free agent actress. The media claimed after she departed from Universal, she started working for Liberty films. Records indicate she made no credited appearance in any Liberty films nor any films for any production company during 1918. The media claimed she spent a portion of 1918 recovering from an illness. The particular aliment was never specified. Other events would make 1918 a year to remember. Great War in Europe, better known as World War I, ended on November 11, 1918. The troops were coming home. When the doughboys returned, they carried a pernicious present from abroad — the Spanish flu. "Two years later, nearly a third of the global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves." The influenza pandemic's effect on the movie industry was swift and severe. Sick people did not attend movie theaters. Attendance dropped precipitously, and many independently owned theaters closed. Reduced attendance and closed theaters meant less money to make movies and pay actors. The vicious cycle had started and would reshape the industry again. 1919 Vernon made a limited return to Hollywood in 1919. Brownie Vernon still had name recognition after her prolonged absence from Hollywood. Her next acting opportunity came in early 1919. Tom Mix, the "King of Cowboys," planned to make another one of his stunt-filled western movies. Fox offered to fund this project. He needed a leading lady who could satisfy the demands of the film and would do what was necessary to make the film look realistic. Their first choice was Brownie Vernon, especially with her willingness to perform her own stunts. Fox released the Western titled The Coming of the Law on May 11, 1919. The film was directed by Arthur Rosson and Tom Mix was the leading man The film received good reviews. On the heels of her return to the motion-picture industry, another Western followed — the Robinson-Cole's production of Bare-Fisted Gallagher released on June 22, 1919. This film featured William Desmond in the lead. Vernon would make her last American-made feature film in August. The Paramount Pictures project Widow by Proxy featuring Marguerite Clark, was released on August 28, 1919. Upon