Gloria Swanson – In Conversation with Dick Kollmar – Breakfast With Dorothy And Dick – WOR – June 6-7, 1950 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Gloria Swanson – in the early days of film, hers was a household name and one of the most popular actors and highest paid women in Hollywood during the years of the Silent Film. She was Cecil B. DeMille’s biggest star.
Through the 1920’s, Gloria Swanson was Hollywood’s top box-office magnet. At premieres, thousands struggled for a glimpse of her, and fans deluged her with 10,000 letters a week. Her flamboyant gowns and innovative coiffures and even her chin mole were copied by millions of women, though few could hope to achieve the sophistication, charm and beauty of the petite actress.
Gloria Swanson began her career as an extra at the age of 14. She soon gained featured roles and leads in Mack Sennett comedies and reached stardom in six opulent marital melodramas directed by Cecil B. De Mille. A Pleasing Voice
In 1926, after having made scores of ”woman of the world” epics and light comedies, she sought more substantive roles. She refused a $17,500-a-week contract offered by Jesse Lasky and Adolph Zukor and founded her own production company, with Mr. Kennedy as her financial adviser. The gamble led to an impressive performance in the title role of ”Sadie Thompson,” based on the W. Somerset Maugham short story about a South Seas sensualist. She also produced ”The Trespasser,” her first talking film and one of her biggest hits. Unlike many silent-screen stars who failed the microphone test, she revealed not only well-modulated speech but also a pleasing lyric soprano voice.
In 1950, after a virtual 16-year absence from the screen, Gloria Swanson gained her greatest triumph in ”Sunset Boulevard,” playing Norma Desmond, a reclusive, demented silent-film star vainly seeking a comeback. The actress won several honors for the portrayal, but an Academy Award eluded her.
This interview, part of the daily program “Breakfast With Dorothy And Dick” which aired over WOR in New York, was part of a nationwide promotional tour for Sunset Boulevard and was broadcast between June 6th and 7th 1950.
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