Gloria Swanson was one of the greats of the silent screen who made a relatively successful segue into “talkiesâ€. Born in Chicago of Polish and Swedish descent, Gloria made herself into an early “glamour girl†in the movies, with her exotic dark looks and fantastic fashion style. She married six times, but is probably best remembered in that department for her long term liaison with Joseph P. Kennedy. The father of the future president, Kennedy became a business partner of Gloria’s, producing a forgettable flop, Queen Kelly, and leaving her in precarious financial straits. Not to worry – our Gloria had the gift of self-reinvention. When her movie career wasn’t exactly skyrocketing, she made a splash by writing, designing and appearing in numerous television, stage and radio productions. Her most memorable role was that of Norma Desmond in 1950’s Sunset Boulevard, in which she played a delusional, faded and aging former silent movies star in love with a young screenwriter. Art imitating life, or something of that nature. In the late 1920’s, Gloria Swanson became one of the first enthusiastic vegetarians, expounding on the joys of natural, organic eating, bringing her own food to restaurants, and, in general, making a case for a healthy lifestyle well in advance of the current craze. An adherent of yoga, Ms. Swanson was cheerfully standing on her head in her eighties. What a gal! In fact, what a “glorious†gal!
