A silent screen legend and epitome of early Hollywood glamour who began her career at Chicago's Essanay Studios in 1913, Gloria Swanson married Wallace Beery, another Essanay performer, in 1916 and the pair moved to Hollywood. After appearing in a series of Mack Sennett's romantic comedies at Triangle, she moved to Paramount, back to Triangle, and then back again to Paramount, where she reached stardom in the snappy, sophisticated bedroom farces of Cecil B DeMille ("Male and Female" 1919, "The Affairs of Anatol" 1921).
By the mid-20s, the larger-than-life Swanson was at the peak of her popularity, starring in such lavish vehicles as "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife", "Zaza" (both 1923), "Madame Sans-Gene" (1925), and "The Untamed Lady" (1926). When she returned from Europe with a Marquis as her husband, she received a welcome worthy of any actual queen. In 1927, with financial assistance from investor and erstwhile lover Joseph P Kennedy, Swanson began producing her own films; these included the two features for which she received her first Best Actress Oscar nominations, "Sadie Thompson" (1928) and "The Trespasser" (1929). Her company ran into massive fiscal problems, however, with director Erich von Stroheim's extravagant "Queen Kelly" (1928).
Despite having a fine speaking (and singing) voice, Swanson retired from the screen in 1934 after having made an only moderately successful transition to sound films. She made numerous comebacks before her death in 1983, the most fruitful being her brilliant Oscar-nominated performance as reclusive, aging silent screen star Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950).
Family
DAUGHTER: Gloria Somborn. Died of brain cancer on December 11, 2000 at age 80.
SON: Joseph Swanson. Adopted following divorce from Somborn.
DAUGHTER: Michelle Bridget Farmer. Born on April 5, 1932.
Companion
HUSBAND: Wallace Beery. Actor. Born in 1895; married in 1916; reportedly got drunk on their wedding night and sexually assaulted Swanson; when Swanson became pregnant, Beery allegedly poisoned her so she would have a miscarriage; separated after only a few months of marriage; divorced 1919; died in 1949.
COMPANION: Craney Gratz. Playboy Swanson dated after moving to Southern California.
HUSBAND: Herbert K Somborn. Executive, restaurateur. Born in 1881; met Swanson when he was president of Equity Pictures Corporation; married in 1919; managed the famous Brown Derby restaurant from 1926 until his death; separated after about a year of marriage; divorced in 1922; father of Swanson's daughter Gloria; died in 1934.
COMPANION: Marshall Neilan. Director. Involved in the early 1920s; Swanson's husband Herbert Somborn sued her for divorce based on her relationship with Neilan.
HUSBAND: Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye. French nobleman; born in 1898; met in 1924; married in 1925; became involved with actress Constance Bennett (whom he later married) while Swanson was seeing Joseph P Kennedy; divorced in 1930; died in 1972.
COMPANION: Joseph P Kennedy. Diplomat, executive, financier, producer. Born in 1888; involved in the late 1920s; produced three of Swanson's films including "Sadie Thompson" and "Queen Kelly"; later served as ambassador to Great Britain (1937-40); father of US President John F Kennedy and US Senators Robert F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy; died in 1969.
HUSBAND: Michael Farmer. Actor. European playboy; born in 1902; introduced by Noel Coward; married in 1931 when Swanson discovered she was pregnant; divorced in 1934; died in 1975.
HUSBAND: William Davey. Married in 1945; separated after 45 days when Swanson discovered he was an alcoholic.
HUSBAND: William Dufty. Writer. Author of "Sugar Blues"; married from 1976 until her death in 1983.
Milestone
1915: Became an extra at Essanay studios in Chicago
1915: First acting role, "Elvira Farina"
1916: Went to Hollywood with Wallace Beery; both hired by Mack Sennett's Keystone company
1917: Followed Sennett when he left Triangle to join Paramount
Returned to Triangle; starred in dramas
1919: Moved to Cecil B DeMille's unit at Paramount; began starring in series of sophisticated bedroom farces including "Don't Change Your Husband" and "Male and Female"
1922: Teamed on screen with Valentino in "Beyond the Rocks"
1924: First did her Chaplin impression on screen in "Manhandled"
1925: Starred in "Madame Sans Gene", filmed on location in France
1926: Left Paramount
1927: Bankrolled by Joseph P Kennedy; formed own production company, with films released through United Artists
1927: Experienced box office flop with "The Love of Sunya"
1928: Received first Best Actress Academy Award nomination for title role in "Sadie Thompson"
1928: Starred in the silent film "Queen Kelly", produced by Kennedy and directed by Erich von Stroheim; Swanson put together a version for release in Europe but it was a box office disappointment; footage later interpolated in "Sunset Boulevard"
1929: Garnered second Best Actress Oscar nomination for "The Trespasser", her first talking picture
1933: Went to Great Britain to star in "Perfect Understanding"
1934: Played last starring role for seven years in the musical comedy "Music in the Air"; temporarily retired
1941: Made a screen comeback in "Father Takes a Wife"
1950: Resumed screen career with her signature role of Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard", directed by Billy Wilder; earned third Best Actress Academy Award nomination
1951: Returned to Broadway in "Twentieth Century"
1951: Made TV appearance in an episode of "Hollywood Opening Night"
1953: Hosted and acted in the syndicated TV show "Crown Theater With Gloria Swanson" (aka "The Gloria Swanson Show")
1961: Guest starred on "Dr. Kildare"
1966: Appeared in an episode of the CBS sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies"
1967: Made rare musical appearance as a guest on "The Carol Burnett Show" (CBS)
1970: Succeeded Eileen Heckart in the role of the overprotective mother of a blind man in the comedy-drama "Butterflies Are Free" on Broadway; later toured with the play
1974: Acted in final film, "Airport 1975"
1974: TV-movie debut, "Killer Bees" (ABC)
Bibliography
"Four Fabulous Faces: Swanson, Garbo, Crawford, Dietrich" Larry Carr
"Swanson on Swanson" Gloria Swanson 1980
"The Films of Gloria Swanson" Lawrence J Quirk 1988
"Gloria Swanson" Richard M Hudson and Raymond Lee
"Gloria and Joe: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Gloria Swanson and Joseph P Kennedy" Axel Madsen
Some sources list 1897 as the year of Ms. Swanson's birth.
"Whether Miss Swanson's tiny body, disproportionately large head, prognathous jaw, huge eyes, dished nose and enormous white teeth add up to great beauty or not is something fans have disputed for years. But nobody has ever disputed that here is a woman who looks like drama." --Richard Griffith, "The Movie Star"
A wag reportedly once described one of Swanson's most common facial expressions--eyes wide open with a kind of coy seduction, lips open yet somewhat pursed, her front teeth jutting forth--as looking like "a hungry rabbit lustily eyeing a piece of lettuce". Marion Davies did a memorable parody of this expression whenever her character, an aspiring film actress, was called upon to look glamorous in King Vidor's charming comedy, "Show People" (1928).
"We didn't need voices. We had faces." --Gloria Swanson in her most famous role as Norma Desmond, speaking about silent actors, in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950).
Swanson attempted to mount a stage musical version of "Sunset Boulevard" in the 1960s but the project came to naught. Various writers attempted to turn the material into a Broadway musical over the years until Andrew Lloyd Webber managed it in 1994.
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