STUART, Gloria

Nationality: American. Born: Gloria Finch in Santa Monica, California, on 4 July 1910. Education: Santa Monica High School, University of California at Berkeley. Family: Married Blair Gordon Newell on 21, June 1930, Divorced in 1934; Married Arthur Sheekman in 29 July 1934; Had one child Sylvia Thompson, born in 1935; four grandchildren. Career: After she trod the boards of the Pasadena Playhouse in the classics, she graced the classic horror films of James Whale, including The Old Dark House and The Invisible Man; other highlights include the melodrama, Sweepings, and the musical, Gold Diggers of 1935, and films by such major directors as William Wellman, George Stevens, John Ford; unable to make a splash on Broadway after her film career dissipated, she became an accomplished painter and, later, a renowned book designer and printer; after decades of virtual inactivity, she staged Cinema's most spectacular renascence in Titanic.Awards: Academy of Family Films and Television Honor, 1997; Screen Actors Guild Award, for best supporting actress, for Titanic, 1997; Screen Actors Guild Award, special achievement award, 1998. Address: Jeff Hunter, the William Morris Agency, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, U.S.A.

Films as Actress:

1932

Street of Women (Mayo) (as Doris Baldwin); The All-American (Mack) (as Ellen Steffens); The Old Dark House (Whale) (as Margaret Waverton); Air Mail (Ford) (as Ruth Barnes)

1933

Sweepings (Cromwell) (as Phoebe Pardway Gilitziv); The Invisible Man (Whale) (as Flora Cranley); Hollywood on Parade No. 9 (Film Short) (as Herself); The Girl in 419 (Hall and Somnes) (as Mary Dolan); The Kiss Before The Mirror (Whale) (as Frau Lucie Bernsdorf); Secret of the Blue Room (Neumann) (as Irene Von Helldorf); Private Jones (Mack) (as Mary Gregg); Laughter in Hell (Cahn) (as Lorraine); It's Great To Be Alive (Werker) (as Dorothy Wilton); Roman Scandals (Berkeley) (as Princess Sylvia)

1934

Beloved (Schertzinger) (as Lucy Hausmann); The Love Captive (Marcin) (as Alice Trask); I'll Tell The World (Sedgwick) (as Jane Hamilton); Here Comes The Navy (Bacon) (as Dorothy Martin); Gift of Gab (Freund) (as Barbara Kelton); I Like It That Way (Lachman) (As Anne Rogers)

1935

Laddie (Stevens) (as Pamela Pryor); Gold Diggers of 1935 (Berkeley) (as Ann Prentiss); Maybe It's Love (Wellman) (as Bobby Halevy)

1936

Professional Soldier (Garnett) (as Countess Sonia); The Prisoner of Shark Island (Ford) (as Peggy Mudd); Poor Little Rich Girl (Cummings) (as Margaret Allen); Girl Overboard (Salkow) (as Mary Chesbrooke); The Girl on the Front Page (Beaumont) (as Joan Langford); 36 Hours to Kill (Forde) (as Anne Marvis); Wanted: Jane Turner (Killy) (as Doris Martin); The Crime of Dr. Forbes (Marshall) (as Ellen Godfrey)

1937

Life Begins in College (Seiter) (as Janet O' Hara); The Lady Escapes (Forde) (as Linda Ryan)

1938

Keep Smiling (Leeds) (as Carol Walters); The Lady Objects (Kenton) (as Ann Adams); Island in the Sky (Leeds) (as Julie Hayes); Change of Heart (Tinling) (as Carol Murdock); Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (Dwan) (as Gwen Warren); Time Out for Murder (Humberstone) (as Margie Ross)

1939

It Could Happen to You (Werker) (as Doris Winslow); Winner Take All (Brower) (as Julie Harrison); The Three Musketeers (Dwan) (As Queen Anne)

1943

Here Comes Elmer (Stanley) (as Glenda Forbes)

1944

The Whistler (Castle) (as Alice Walker); Enemy of Women (Zeisler) (as Bertha)

1946

She Wrote the Book (Lamont) (Phyllis Fowler)

1975

The Legend of Lizzie Borden (Wendkos—for TV) (as Store Customer); Adventures of the Queen (Rich—for TV); Barbary Coast (Bixby—for TV)

1976

Flood (Bellamy—for TV) (as Mrs. Parker); Gibbsville (AKA: The Turning Point of Jim Malloy) (Gilroy—for TV)

1977

In the Glitter Palace (Butler—for TV) (as Mrs. Bowman)

1978

The Two Worlds of Jenny Logan (de Felitta—for TV) (as Roberta)

1979

The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel (Green—for TV) (as Rose); The Best Place to Be (Miller—for TV)

1980

Fun and Games (Smithee—for TV)

1981

Merlene of the Movies (Malone—for TV) (as Evangeline Eaton); The Violation of Sarah Mc David (Llewelyn Moxey—for TV) (as Mrs. Fowler)

1982

My Favorite Year (Benjamin) (as Mrs. Horn)

1984

Mass Appeal (Jordan) (as Mrs. Curry)

1986

Wildcats (Ritchie) (as Mrs. Connoly)

1988

Shootdown (Pressman—for TV) (as Gertrude)

1997

Titanic (Cameron) (as Old Rose)

1999

The Love Letter (Ho-Sun Chan) (as Eleanor)

2000

The Million Dollar Hotel (Wenders) (as Jessica); My Mother the Spy (Keene—for TV) (as Grandma)

Publications

By GLORIA STUART: book—

I Just Kept Hoping, with Sylvia Thompson, Boston, New York, London, 1999.

By GLORIA STUART: articles—

"Gloria Stuart," interview with Gregory William Mank, in American Cinematographer, (Los Angeles), 1999.

"Ready for My Close-Up," by Gloria Stuart and Sylvia Thompson, in McCall's, (New York), September 1999.

On GLORIA STUART: books—

Gatiss, Mark, James Whale: or the Would-Be Gentleman, Lon-don, 1995.

Curtis, James, James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters, London, 1999.

On GLORIA STUART: articles—

Sayre, Nora, "Survivor: Not of the Titanic, but of an Actor's Life," New York Times (New York), 29 December 1997.

Purtell, Tim, "Her Old Dark Past," Entertainment Weekly (New York), 1 January 1998.

GK, "Best Supporting Actress," Entertainment Weekly (New York), 16 January 1998.

Steyn, Mark, "Class Act," Spectator (New York), 24 January 1998.

Weinraub, Bernard, "Titanic Leads the Oscar List," New York Times (New York), 11 February 1998.

Foege, Alec, and Carol Day, et al, "Women of the Titanic," People, (New York), 23 February 1998.

Fierman, Daniel, "Their Next Big Things," Entertainment Weekly (New York), 3 April 1998.

"Ship of Jewels," in People (New York), 6 April 1998.

Graham, Nancy Perry, and Hugh McCarten, "Insider Column," People (New York), 5 May 1998.

"Gloria Stuart," in People (New York), 11 May 1998.

Daly, Steve, and Troy Patterson, "Fear and Loathing: You Know Where," in Entertainment Weekly (New York), 24 July 1998.

"Flavors of the Year," in People (New York), 14 September 1998.

Graham, Nancy Perry, "Insider Column," in People (New York), 21 September 1998.

Roisman-Cooper, Barbara, "She's Queen of the World," in Modern Maturity (New York), March /April 1999.

Orecklin, Michelle, on Gloria Stuart's Memoir, in People (New York), 6 September 1999.

When a cherished actress's stardom fades, moviegoers customarily consign their favorite to the "Whatever Happened to Her" category. You cannot, however, take shortcuts through the life of Gloria Stuart.

Was it so long ago that film enthusiasts took female beauty for granted? In that faraway Hollywood, where film stars seemed like mythical creatures born into their Orry-Kelly creations, no one was lovelier than Gloria Stuart. And yet, Stuart was never just another pretty face; she dreamt about Max Reinhardt, not Max Factor. Having distinguished herself in the Los Angeles theatrical community, she took Movieland by storm as the prize in a bidding war between Paramount and Universal Studios. Ironically, after Universal claimed her, the sought-after actress was subsequently deprived of the star-making opportunities that would have revealed her range. Of all the second acts in show biz history, however, only Gloria Swanson's reemergence in Sunset Boulevard rivals Stuart's 1997 comeback in Titanic. The first phase of her career demonstrates the validity of the expression, "Beauty is a curse." When you first gaze at Stuart in, for example, The Kiss Before The Mirror, you're so distracted by aesthetic perfection that you're initially distanced from the acuity of her portrayal. A proponent of seamless acting, she never succumbed to the Sturm and Drang tactics that might have garnered attention. In Hollywood, you don't score points for being a dutiful leading lady; that's the mold she quickly found herself trapped in. As long as youth holds out, a leading lady works, but rarely gets the chance to step into an unshared spotlight.

Felicitously teamed with director James Whale, Stuart stood out in two of his classics. In The Invisible Man, she meets the challenge of playing a standard girlfriend role to someone who isn't even there. Never resorting to obvious theatrics, she grounds the H.G. Welles scenario in reality, so that the story's fancifulness doesn't alienate the audience. In The Old Dark House, Whale insisted she wear a white gown that Stuart thought was improbably glamorous for this mystery's plot purposes. (Even after emerging from a downpour, apparently screen goddesses don't get wet.) The visionary Whale wanted her to run through the mise-en-scene "A White Flame," and Stuart more than embodied that description. Not only does Stuart scream in a compelling variety of keys, but she also provides a stark contrast for the film's unremitting parade of physical and psychological ugliness. For Whale's ouevre alone, she had secured a place in film history, but Stuart could have done so much more.

In the unjustly overlooked Gold Diggers of 1935, she manages to make Dick Powell seem less callow than usual. Effortlessly exhibiting the drop-dead timing of the best screwball comediennes, she plays a nouveau riche heiress regarded by her social-climbing mother as her surrogate entree into high society. In a fairer world, Stuart might have given Carole Lombard a run for her money, but those patrician looks would once again prove a stumbling block. She never found another James Whale who understood her bohemian spirit; Hollywood couldn't get past that luminescent blondeness to glimpse a brunette spirit smoldering underneath.

If the frustrated actress didn't score many laughs onscreen, she found them offscreen as the wife of the Marx Brothers' favorite writer, Arthur Sheekman. During this long-term union, she became the film colony's premier hostess for Hollywood personalities witty enough to supply their own dialogue. Apparently typecast by her husband as the perfect wife, Stuart must have also bristled at the limited acting opportunities coming her way, including two gigs as a prop for Shirley Temple. Nor did Darryl F. Zanuck reward her with any juicy roles for gamely agreeing to provide a shoulder for Shirley to cry on. Unfulfilled, she drifted into B movies, as younger decorative players came and went.

It is at this point that Stuart's remarkable resiliency comes to the fore. In real life, Stuart got to play the variety of roles denied her in her studio heyday. Having helped to organize the Screen Actors Guild, she fought against Nazi oppression before it became popular. Out of the Hollywood rat race, she funneled her artistic blockage into a new venues throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s; she became an acclaimed painter with several one-woman shows and an accomplished book designer/printer with exquisite hand-made volumes to her credit. Still, to paraphrase the title of her memoirs, she just kept hoping.

Several decades later, that hope bore fruit. (One bright spot of this period was a guest role on a 1987 Murder, She Wrote episode, entitled "The Days Dwindle Down.") Although the 1980s added only bit parts to her filmography, a movie about a legendary boat sinking would lift Stuart's career out of its submerged status. The biggest money-maker of all time, Titanic was an epic whose truest distinction lies in Stuart's elegant acting as shipwreck survivor, Old Rose; she is the heart and soul of the film. With her impeccable line readings, Stuart lent an air of gravity to a spectacle that portrayed the oceanic catastrophe as a backdrop for doomed romance. Stuart might be justifiably grateful to James Cameron for resurrecting her stardom, but he was damned lucky to have found her. The oldest performer ever to be nominated for an Academy Award, Stuart lost that statuette but plunged into a career as a character actress at age 87. Yet, her real triumph is that she has never lived her life as a has-been. Has any other under-utilized star ever had such delicious vindication? To see her interviewed on TV talk shows is to witness a free spirit, whose undimmed loveliness and grit make her a poster girl for all vintage souls. What Stuart's resurrection as a performer demonstrates is the durability of talent. What her life demonstrates is the magic of believing in second chances. Symbolically, she puts miracles within the grasp of anyone, who's ever waited for opportunity to knock twice. As a movie icon, she's had the last laugh on all those long-dead moguls who never gave her a first chance in the first place.

—Robert J. Pardi

STUART, Gloria 1910–
(Gloria Stuart Sheekman, Gloria Stewart)

PERSONAL

Original name, Gloria von Dietrich Stuart Finch (some sources cite Gloria Frances Stewart); daughter of Fred Finch and Alice Vaughan Stewart; born July 4, 1910, in Santa Monica, CA; married Blair Gordon Newell, June 21, 1930 (divorced, 1934); married Arthur Sheekman (a comedy writer), July 29, 1934 (died, 1978); companion of Ward Ritchie (a printer and book designer), c. 1983–96; children: (first marriage) Blair Gordon; (second marriage) Sylvia Sheekman Thompson (a gardening writer). Education: Attended University of California, Berkeley (some sources cite University of California, San Diego).

Addresses: Contact —c/o Screen Actors Guild, 5757 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Agent —William Morris Agency, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.

Career: Actress. Painter, with solo shows in New York, Austria, and Italy. Organizer of Hollywood Anti–Nazi League in the 1930s.

Member: Screen Actors Guild (founding member; past member of board of directors).

Awards, Honors: Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe Award nomination, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Saturn Award, Academy of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Films, all best supporting actress, Screen Actors Guild Award nomination (with others), outstanding performance by a cast, all 1997, Online Film Critics Society Award, best supporting actress, 1998, for Titanic; selected as one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world, People Weekly, 1998; star on the Walk of Fame, 2000.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Doris Baldwin, Street of Women, 1932.

Ellen Steffens, The All–American (also known as Sport of a Nation ), 1932.

Margaret Waverton, The Old Dark House, Kino, 1932.

Ruth Barnes, Air Mail (also known as Airmail ), 1932.

The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood, 1932.

Phoebe Pardway, Sweepings, 1933.

Princess Sylvia, Roman Scandals, 1933.

Mary Gregg, Private Jones, 1933.

Dorothy Wilton, It's Great to Be Alive, 1933.

Flora Cranley, The Invisible Man, Universal, 1933.

Hollywood on Parade No. 9, 1933.

Mary Dolan, The Girl in 419, 1933.

Mrs. Bernsdorf, The Kiss before the Mirror, 1933.

Irene von Helldorf, Secret of the Blue Room, 1933.

Lorraine, Laughter in Hell, 1933.

Alice Trask, The Love Captive, 1934.

Jane Hamilton, I'll Tell the World, 1934.

Barbara Kelton, Gift of Gab, 1934.

Lucy Hausmann, Beloved, 1934.

Anne Rogers, I Like It That Way, 1934.

Dorothy "Dot" Martin, Here Comes the Navy, 1934.

Bobby Halevy, Maybe It's Love, 1935.

Pamela Pryor, Laddie, 1935.

Ann Prentiss, Gold Diggers of 1935, Metro–Goldwyn– Mayer/United Artists, 1935.

Doris Martin, Wanted: Jane Turner, 1936.

Countess Sonia, Professional Soldier, 1936.

Mrs. Peggy Mudd, The Prisoner of Shark Island, 1936.

Margaret Allen, Poor Little Rich Girl, 1936.

Mary Chesbrooke, Girl Overboard, 1936.

Joan Langford, The Girl on the Front Page, 1936.

Ellen Godfrey, The Crime of Dr. Forbes, 1936.

Anne Marvis, Thirty–Six Hours to Live (also known as 36 Hours to Kill ), 1936.

Janet O'Hara, Life Begins in College (also known as The Joy Parade and Life Begins at College ), 1937.

Linda Ryan, The Lady Escapes, 1937.

Margie Ross, Time Out for Murder, 1938.

Gwen Warren, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, 1938.

Ann Adams, The Lady Objects, 1938.

Carol Walters, Keep Smiling, 1938.

Julie Hayes, Island in the Sky, 1938.

Carol Murdock, Change of Heart, 1938.

Julie Harrison, Winner Take All, 1939.

Doris Winslow, It Could Happen to You, 1939.

Queen Anne d'Autriche, The Three Musketeers (also known as The Singing Musketeer ), 1939.

Glenda Forbes, Here Comes Elmer, 1943.

Alice Walker, The Whistler, 1944.

Bertha, Enemy of Women (also known as Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Mad Lover, and The Private Life of Paul Joseph Goebbels ), 1944.

Phyllis Fowler, She Wrote the Book, 1946.

Mrs. Horn, My Favorite Year, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists, 1982.

Mrs. Curry, Mass Appeal, Universal, 1984.

Mrs. Connoly, Wildcats (also known as First and Goal ), Warner Bros., 1986.

Rose Dawson Calvert, Titanic, Paramount, 1997.

Eleanor, The Love Letter, DreamWorks, 1999.

Mrs. Helen Bishop, The Titanic Chronicles, 1999.

The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale, Universal Studios Home Video, 1999.

I Used to Be in Pictures, 2000.

Jessica, The Million Dollar Hotel, Kintop, 2000.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Adventures of the Queen, CBS, 1975.

Store customer, The Legend of Lizzie Borden, ABC, 1975.

Mrs. Parker, Flood!, NBC, 1976.

Mrs. Bowman, In the Glitter Palace (also known as A Woman Accused ), NBC, 1977.

Roberts, The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan, CBS, 1978.

Rose Hooper, The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel, CBS, 1979.

Fun and Games, ABC, 1980.

Mrs. Fowler, The Violation of Sarah McDavid, CBS, 1981.

Merlene of the Movies, 1981.

Gertrude, Shootdown, 1988.

(As Gloria Stuart Sheekman) Kiki Watwood, She Knows Too Much, 1989.

Grandma, My Mother, the Spy, Lifetime, 2000.

Eliza Hoops, Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man, CBS, 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

The Horror of It All, PBS, 1983.

Middle–aged woman, There Were Times, Dear, PBS, 1987.

Here He Is … the One … the Only … Groucho, HBO, 1991.

Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling, PBS, 1992.

Unscripted Hollywood, AMC, 1995.

Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star, Arts and Entertainment, 1996.

Humphrey Bogart: You Must Remember This … (also known as Bogart: The Untold Story ), TNT, 1997.

Universal Horror, TCM, 1998.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Beyond Titanic (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 1998.

(As Gloria Stewart) Fox Studios Australia: The Grand Opening (documentary), Nine Network, 1999.

Forever Hollywood (documentary), 1999.

Hollywood, D.C. (documentary), Bravo, 2000.

Interviewee, The Desilu Story: The Rags to Riches Success of the Desilu Empire, Bravo, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Saleswoman, "The Woman," The Waltons, 1975.

Bag lady, "Female of the Species," Manimal, 1983.

Edna Jarvis, "The Days Dwindle Down," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1986.

Entertainment Tonight, syndicated, 1998.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 1998.

Madeline Fawkes, "Father Figure," The Invisible Man, Sci–Fi Channel, 2001.

Grams, "The Birthday Present," Touched by an Angel, CBS, 2001.

Catherine, General Hospital, ABC, 2002, 2003.

Rosanna Wye, "Little Miss Lost," Miracles, ABC, 2003.

Also appeared as guest, "Legends," Sidewalks Entertainment.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

The Best Place to Be, NBC, 1979.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Presenter, The GQ Men of the Year Awards, TNT, 1998.

The 70th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1998.

Presenter, The 5th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, VH1, 1999.

Stage Appearances:

Masha, The Seagull, Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA, c. 1932.

Also appeared in Peer Gynt, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night, all at Pasadena Playhouse; also appeared in a production of Our Town.

RECORDINGS

Music Videos:

Appeared in River by Hanson, 1998.

WRITINGS

Books:

(And illustrator) Haiku, Imprenta Glorias, 1985.

(And illustrator) Beware the Ides of March, Imprenta Glorias, 1987.

Writing a Poem about Flying a Kite, Imprenta Glorias, 1987.

(And illustrator) The Inscriptions at Tor House and Hawk Tower, Imprenta Glorias, 1988.

Eve, Venus, and Others: Keats, Sappho, Baudelaire, and Others, Imprenta Glorias, 1990.

Boating with Bogart, Imprenta Glorias, 1993.

(With Sylvia Thompson) Gloria! I Just Kept Hoping (autobiography), Little, Brown, 1999.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, January 30, 1998, p. 68.

New York Times, December 29, 1997.

People Weekly, February 23, 1998, p. 52; May 11, 1998, p. 149.