Gladys George | |
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from the trailer for the film Marie Antoinette (1938)
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Born |
Gladys Clare Evans September 13, 1904 Patten, Maine, U.S. |
Died | December 8, 1954 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
(aged 50)
Cause of death | Cerebral hemorrhage |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1919–1954 |
Spouse(s) | Ben Erway (m. 1922-1930; divorced) Edward Fowler (m. 1933-1935; divorced) Leonard Penn (m. 1935-1944; divorced) Kenneth Bradley (m. 1946-1950; divorced) |
Gladys George (September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen..
She was born as Gladys Clare Evans on September 13, 1904 in Patten, Maine (Another source says Hatton, Maine; a third source says "Gladys was born in a little town in Missouri, where the troupe her parents belonged to happened to be stranded at the time.") to English parents. Her father was Sir Arthur Claire, "noted Shakespearean actor."
George went on the stage at the age of 3 and toured the United States, appearing with her parents. She starred on stage in the 1920s, although she had made several films in the early part of that decade. She starred in Personal Appearance, a comedy by Lawrence Riley. This role was reprised by Mae West in the classic film, Go West, Young Man, which West adapted from the play. In 1936 George was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Valiant Is the Word for Carrie.
George's Broadway credits include The Distant City, Lady in Waiting, and The Betrothal.
Her only other first billed roles were in Madame X (1937) and Love is a Headache. She also appeared in The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Way of All Flesh (1940), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and He Ran All the Way (1951). She played the widow of Miles Archer (Iva Archer) in The Maltese Falcon and Mme. Du Barry in Marie Antoinette.