Gloria Swanson

Gloria May Josephine Svensson
1897 - 1983 (natural causes)
American born Chicago

Height 4' 11½" (1.51 m) . Gloria Swanson went to public schools in Chicago; Key West, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her film debut was an extra in The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket (1915). From the following year on she had leading roles in pictures for Keystone, then a year with Triangle and, in 1919, a contract with Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille transformed her from a typical Mack Sennett comedienne to a lively, provocative, even predatory, star. She collected husbands (e.g., the indigent Henri de la Falaise) and lovers (e.g., Joseph P. Kennedy, father of former President John F. Kennedy). Kennedy produced her Queen Kelly (1929), directed by Erich von Stroheim (it was von Stroheim's copy of this film that Swanson was watching as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950) when she leaped into the projection beam shouting "Have they forgotten what a star looks like? I'll be up there again, so help me!" - ironic in that the butler-projectionist was, again, von Stroheim). She survived the switch to talkies, even learning how to sing for Music in the Air (1934), but her kinds of films were over with by that time. She returned to the stage in the 1940s ("Reflected Glory", "Let us Be Gay", "A Goose for a Gander"). She was a clothes designer and artist; she founded Essence of Nature Cosmetics; and she made television appearances through the 1960s and 1970s, doing cameos and pushing health foods. She received Best Actress nominations for Sadie Thompson (1928), The Trespasser (1929) and "Sunset Boulevard". Spouse William Dufty (2 February 1976 - 4 April 1983) (her death), George William Davey (29 January 1945 - 28 December 1948) (divorced), Michael Farmer (16 August 1931 - 7 November 1934) (divorced) 1 child, Henri de la Falaise (29 January 1925 - 6 November 1931) (divorced), Herbert K. Somborn (20 December 1919 - 9 August 1922) (divorced) 1 child, Wallace Beery (27 March 1916 - 1919) (divorced).

Airport 1975 (1974) , Killer Bees (1974) , "Ben Casey" (1965) , "My Three Sons" (1965) , "Burke's Law" (1963) , "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1964) , "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1964) , "Dr. Kildare" (1963) , "Straightaway" (1961) , "The Steve Allen Show" (1957) , Mio figlio Nerone (1956), "Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson" (1954) , "Hollywood Opening Night" (1953) , Three for Bedroom C (1952) , "Four Star Revue" (1952) , Sunset Blvd. (1950) , Father Takes a Wife (1941) , Music in the Air (1934) , Perfect Understanding (1933) , Tonight or Never (1931) , Indiscreet (1931) , What a Widow! (1930) , The Trespasser (1929) , Queen Kelly (1929) , Sadie Thompson (1928) , The Love of Sunya (1927) , Fine Manners (1926) , The Untamed Lady (1926) , Stage Struck (1925) , The Coast of Folly (1925) , Madame Sans-Gêne (1924) , Wages of Virtue (1924) , Her Love Story (1924) , Manhandled (1924) , A Society Scandal (1924) , The Humming Bird (1924) , Zaza (1923) , Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1923) , Prodigal Daughters (1923) , My American Wife (1922) , The Impossible Mrs. Bellew (1922) , Beyond the Rocks (1922) , Her Gilded Cage (1922) , Her Husband's Trademark (1922) , Don't Tell Everything (1921) , Under the Lash (1921) , The Affairs of Anatol (1921) , The Great Moment (1921) , Something to Think About (1920) , Why Change Your Wife? (1920) , Male and Female (1919) , For Better, for Worse (1919) , Don't Change Your Husband (1919) , Wife or Country (1918) , The Secret Code (1918) , Shifting Sands (1918) , Everywoman's Husband (1918) , You Can't Believe Everything (1918) , Station Content (1918) , Her Decision (1918) , Society for Sale (1918) , The Pullman Bride (1917) , The Sultan's Wife (1917) , Whose Baby? (1917/II) , Dangers of a Bride (1917) , Baseball Madness (1917) , Teddy at the Throttle (1917) , Haystacks and Steeples (1916) , The Danger Girl (1916) , A Social Cub (1916) , Hearts and Sparks (1916) , A Dash of Courage (1916) , The Nick of Time Baby (1916) , The Broken Pledge (1915) , The Romance of an American Duchess (1915) , Sweedie Goes to College (1915) , His New Job (1915) , The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket (1915) , The Ambition of the Baron (1915) , At the End of a Perfect Day (1915) , The Song of the Soul (1914)