Gladys George
Gladys George | |
|---|---|
 George in 1937 | |
| Born | Gladys Clare Evans September 13, 1904 |
| Died | December 8, 1954 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1918–1954 |
| Spouses | Ben Erway (m. 1922; div. 1930)Edward Fowler (m. 1933; div. 1935)Kenneth Bradley (m. 1946; div. 1951) |
Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936), she spent most of her career in supporting roles in films such as Marie Antoinette (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Flamingo Road (1949).
Early life
George was born on September 13, 1904[1] in Patten, Maine to British parents, Sir Arthur Evans Clare, a "noted Shakespearean actor", and his wife, Lady Alice.[2][3] Another source indicated "Gladys was born in a little town in Missouri, where the troupe her parents belonged to happened to be stranded at the time."[4]
Career
George went on the stage at the age of 3 and toured the United States, appearing with her parents, who were British actors.[4] She starred onstage in the 1920s, and she had made several films during the early part of that decade. For her role in the film Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936), she received a Best Actress nomination at the 9th Academy Awards.[5]
Other roles were in Madame X (1937), Marie Antoinette (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Way of All Flesh (1940), The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Hard Way (1943), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), He Ran All the Way (1951), Detective Story (1951), and Lullaby of Broadway (1951).
George's Broadway credits include The Distant City, Lady in Waiting, and The Betrothal.[6]
Personal life
Gladys George was married and divorced four times. All of the unions were childless.[citation needed]
- On March 31, 1922, she and actor Ben Erway eloped and were married by a judge in Oakland, California.[7] "They were remarried in San Luis Obispo August 3 of the same year. They separated September 14, 1930."[8] The couple divorced in October 1930.[9]
- Her second husband was millionaire paper manufacturer Edward Fowler, who walked out in 1933 after finding the actress in the arms of her leading man Leonard Penn. At the time, George was playing a nymphomaniacal star in the Broadway hit Personal Appearance.[10]
- George and actor Leonard Penn were married in a probate court in New Haven, Connecticut, September 19, 1935.[11]
- Her last husband Kenneth Bradley, whom she married when she was 41, was a hotel bellboy 20 years her junior.[12][13]
Illnesses and death
George was afflicted with numerous ailments, including throat cancer, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver.[12] She died from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1954 in Los Angeles, California, aged 50, and was interred in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in Burbank, California.[14]
Filmography
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hot Dollars | 1919 | Janet Muir | film debut |
| The Woman in the Suitcase | 1920 | Ethel | |
| Below the Surface | 1920 | Alice | |
| Homespun Folks | 1920 | Beulah Rogers | |
| The Easy Road | 1921 | Isabel Grace | |
| Chickens | 1921 | Julia Stoneman | |
| The House that Jazz Built | 1921 | Lila Drake | |
| Straight Is the Way | 1934 | Shirley | |
| Valiant Is the Word for Carrie | 1936 | Carrie Snyder | Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Only Academy Award for which Gladys George was ever nominated. |
| They Gave Him a Gun | 1937 | Rose Duffy | Co-starred with Spencer Tracy. |
| Madame X | 1937 | Madame X / Jacqueline Fleuriot / Miss Pran | Only film starring Gladys George to have been released on VHS. |
| Love Is a Headache | 1938 | Carlotta 'Charlie' Lee | |
| Marie Antoinette | 1938 | Madame du Barry | First time Gladys George portrayed a historical figure. First supporting role since Oscar nomination. |
| I'm from Missouri | 1939 | Julie Bliss | |
| Here I Am a Stranger | 1939 | Clara Paulding | |
| The Roaring Twenties | 1939 | Panama Smith | James Cagney film with one of many substantial early supporting roles for Humphrey Bogart. |
| A Child Is Born | 1939 | Florette Laverne | |
| The House Across the Bay | 1940 | Mary Bogel | |
| The Way of All Flesh | 1940 | Anna Kriza | |
| The Lady from Cheyenne | 1941 | Elsie | |
| Hit the Road | 1941 | Molly Ryan | |
| The Maltese Falcon | 1941 | Iva Archer | |
| The Hard Way | 1943 | Lily Emery | |
| The Crystal Ball | 1943 | Madame Zenobia | |
| Nobody's Darling | 1943 | Eve Hawthorne | |
| Christmas Holiday | 1944 | Valerie De Merode | |
| Minstrel Man | 1945 | Mae White | |
| Steppin' in Society | 1945 | Penelope Webster | |
| The Best Years of Our Lives | 1946 | Hortense Derry | |
| Millie's Daughter | 1947 | Millie Maitland | |
| Alias a Gentleman | 1948 | Madge Parkson | |
| Flamingo Road | 1949 | Lute Mae Sanders | |
| Bright Leaf | 1950 | Rose | |
| Undercover Girl | 1950 | Liz Crow | |
| Lullaby of Broadway | 1951 | Jessica Howard | |
| He Ran All the Way | 1951 | Mrs. Robey | |
| Detective Story | 1951 | Miss Hatch | |
| Silver City | 1951 | Mrs. Barber | |
| It Happens Every Thursday | 1953 | Mrs. Lucinda Holmes |
References
- ^ "Family Tree Legends". Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014. lists Gladys Clare Evans born September 13, 1904, Maine - died December 8, 1954, Los Angeles, California.
- ^ "SIR ARTHUR EVANS CLARE; Actor, Father of Gladys George, Is Dead in Hollywood". The New York Times. October 26, 1939. p. O29. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- ^ "Gladys George Made Her Hit, Had to Run". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 12, 1940. p. E7. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Tildesley, Alice L. (November 8, 1936). "Are You a "Yes-Woman"?". The Charleston Daily Mail. p. 76. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The 9th Academy Awards (1937)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ "Gladys George". Playbill. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Ben Erway, Oakland Actor, And Gladys George Are Wed". Oakland Tribune. April 1, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Utah Actress Asks Divorce". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. Associated Press. September 20, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Star Divorced". Oakland Tribune. October 8, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Must Wait 3 Years to Wed in N.Y." The Milwaukee Sentinel. August 27, 1935. p. 18. Retrieved 5 March 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "Gladys George Marries Actor Named in Suit". The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. September 19, 1935. p. 8. Retrieved March 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Gladys George TCM. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Gladys George Is Married". The New York Times. July 10, 1946. p. 19.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3rd ed. McFarland. p. 275.
Further reading
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Gladys George". The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Independently published. pp. 101–103. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
- Maltin, Leonard (2015) [First published 1969]. "Gladys George". The Real Stars: Profiles and Interviews of Hollywood's Unsung Featured Players (softcover) (Sixth/ eBook ed.). CreateSpace Independent. pp. 88–102. ISBN 978-1-5116-4485-3.
