Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Gloria Swanson was born Gloria May Josephine Svensson in Chicago, Illinois on March 27th, 1897, into a military family that moved frequently. She was educated in Chicago, Puerto Rico and Florida. At age 15 she began acting, taking bit parts in films. Early on, she played mostly comedic roles and slapstick. Director Cecil B. DeMille noticed Gloria and took her under his wing as a dramatic actress. She starred in several successful films for DeMille and became one of the most popular actresses of the silent film era. Swanson also became known for her fashion style, on screen and off, becoming one of the most famous and photographed women in the world. Swanson also produced several films. After the silent film era, Swanson's popularity began to decline. She was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in 1929 and 1930, but acted sporadically during the 1930s and 40s. Her career was revived when she was nominated again for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role of Norma Desmond in the 1950 film "Sunset Boulevard." After that she appeared mostly in television and theater. Swanson was married six times and had two daughters and one adopted son. She was active socially until her death on April 4, 1983. Photograph caption dated March 20, 1953 reads "Gloria Swanson holds Oscar presented as special award to film producer Joseph Schenck, recently retired from active film production." The Academy Awards were held at RKO Pantages Theater in Hollywood.
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1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Swanson, Gloria,--1897-1983 Schenck, Joseph M.,--1877-1961--Awards Pantages Theatre (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.) Academy Awards (Motion pictures) Awards--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Motion picture actors and actresses--United States Motion picture producers and directors--Awards--United States Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Portrait photographs Los Angeles Evening Herald Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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