Sylvia of Hollywood
| Sylvia of Hollywood | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Symnove Johanne Waaler 6 April 1881 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 2 March 1975 (aged 93) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Fitness guru |
| Years active | 1916–1931 |
| Spouse(s) | Andrew Ulback (married 1903–1932) Edward Leiter (married 1932–1975) |
Sylvia Ulback (6 April 1881 – 2 March 1975), known as Sylvia of Hollywood, was an early Hollywood fitness guru. Between 1926 and 1932, "Madame Sylvia", as she was also known, specialized in keeping movie stars camera-ready through stringent massage, diet and exercise.
Sylvia was born Symnove Johanne Waaler (or Wilhelmsen) in Oslo (then Kristiania) to Amelia Wilhelmsen, an opera singer and artist Oscar Waaler Forbidden to be a doctor by her parents, Sylvia went into nursing at 16. Having studied massage, she opened an office in Bremen, Germany when she was 18 years old. Sylvia and her first husband Andrew Ulback, a lumber dealer came to America - first New York then to Chicago - in 1921/22 after her husband lost his business in the war.
In 1926, Sylvia, her husband and two sons relocated to Hollywood, ostensibly for Andrew's health. (N.B. Sylvia eschewed the use of her surname Ulback, hence its various spelling in contemporary references as Ulbeck, Ullback and Ulvert )
Sylvia stated that in 1921 she weighed in at 157 lbs at 5 feet tall and looked like a dutiful Norwegian wife. Seeing her husband, Andrew, flirting with his slender stenographer caused Sylvia to study reducing methods. Getting her own weight down to 95 lbs, Sylvia meshed dieting knowledge with her massage training. She applied those skills to a growing list of clientele, which included socialites and others in the public eye.
Promoting a three-pronged approach of massage, exercise and diet, Sylvia's stringent, often painful yet apparently effective techniques - said to ‘squeeze off fat’ - were infamous within the ranks of Hollywood. Her name became popularly associated with Hollywood slenderising, particularly in regard to massage which was then seen as a way to lose weight. Her overall methods are risible to modern readers yet her suggestions to stay active, be disciplined and eat wisely are still valid.
Sylvia's first client in Chicago was Julius Rosenwald (or in fact Rosenwald's grandmother) who introduced her to other wealthy clients.
Her first Hollywood client was Marie Dressler in 1925. By 1930, Sylvia was working at Pathe studio at $750 a week.
In that same year, she was hired by Joseph Kennedy for his mistress Gloria Swanson, who enthused over the miracles Sylvia worked on her body.
In 1932, Sylvia exposed the foibles of the Hollywood system and her illustrious clientele in the book Hollywood Undressed: Observations of Sylvia As Noted by Her Secretary (1931) Brentano's. Although said to be penned by Sylvia's secretary, the playful book, full of gossip and contemporary vernacular, was ghostwritten by newspaper reporter and screenwriter James Whittaker, the first husband of Ina Claire.
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