Birth
Name: Gloria May Josephine Svensson
Height: 4' 11½"
Spouses:
William Davey (1945 - 1948) (divorced)
Michael Farmer (I) (1931 - 1934) (divorced)
Wallace Beery (1916 - 1919) (divorced)
Herbert K. Somborn (20 December 1919 - 9 August 1922) (divorced)
William Dufty (1976 - 4 April 1983) (her death)
Second
husband 'Herbert K. Somborn' ran the legendary Brown Derby
restaurant from 1926 until his death in 1934; at that time,
their daughter, 'Gloria Swanson Somborn', took over.
God-mother
of director/writer Dirk Summers, and had signed to appear
in "The Great Sex War" (1969), a film he was producing in
Mexico. However, Swanson and her soon to be husband, William
Dufty, took it upon themselves (without being asked) to
rewrite the screenplay. The "changes" in the script that
Swanson desired were not ones that Summers wanted to include,
so they mutually released each other from their contracts.
This did not impact their close relationship, apparently.
Swanson accompanied Summers to Mexico for a location scouting
trip.
Swanson's
last husband, William Dufty, was a well known author of
books and a few screenplays, such as "Lady Sings The Blues,"
the Billie Holiday story.
Gloria
Swanson's last husband was Author William Dufty. It was
Mr. Dufty, author of "You Are All San Paku," who influenced
Ms. Swanson's decision to eat only a 'macrobiotic' diet.
Wrote
her own autobiography in rebuttal to certain claims made
by Rose F. Kennedy in her 1974 memoirs.
Mother
of a biological daughter, Gloria, by her second husband,
and also of an adopted son, Joseph Patrick, whom everyone
thought (erroneously) was named for her lover at the time,
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (father/founder of the Kennedy political
clan).
Mother
of actress Michele Farmer. Hated acting in slapstick comedy,
which was pretty much all of her early career.
Was
engaged to Mickey Neilen for some time in the 1920s.
One
of her best friends was the actress Lois Wilson.
Nominated
for Three Academy Awards, but never won. The films she was
nominated for are: Sunset Blvd., Sadie Thompson and The
Trespasser.
Nominated
for two Golden Globes in her lifetime and won one for the
film Sunset Blvd.
Gloria
has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for Motion
Pictures, which is located at At 6748 Hollywood Blvd and
the other for television, which is located at At 6301 Hollywood
Blvd.
In
1915, Gloria made $3.25 a day for her uncredited work in
the Charlie Chaplin film, "His New Job."
