Norma Talmadge

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Norma Talmadge in 1920
Norma Talmadge's hand and footprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theater .

Norma Talmadge (born May 2, 1894 in Jersey City , New Jersey , † December 24, 1957 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American actress of the silent and early talkies era .

Life

Her father, an alcoholic, left Norma, her mother and their two other daughters Natalie Talmadge (who later married Buster Keaton ) and Constance Talmadge . At the age of 14, Norma played in her first film productions and quickly rose to become one of the stars of Vitagraph , which among others also had Alice Joyce under contract. In August 1915, the Talmadge family moved to Hollywood , where a year later Norma married the film producer Joseph Schenck , who produced her films and coordinated her rise to one of the greatest stars alongside Mary Pickford .

Norma quickly specialized in tearful melodramas, making $ 25,000 plus profit-sharing per film by the middle of the decade. While her sister Constance established herself as a comedian (an area in which she had little competition from Marion Davies ), Norma's success was based on an endless flow of tears. However, with the advent of new big screen stars like Colleen Moore , Greta Garbo , Norma Shearer and Clara Bow , Norma's box office appeal began to wane from the middle of the decade. A move to United Artists , which the Talmadge sisters made in 1927, did not help against the dwindling popularity.

Despite a heavy Brooklyn accent , she decided, unlike her sister Constance, to take up the challenge of the talkie . After the half-hearted success of her first sound films, she made - against the express advice of her mother and all acquaintances - in 1930 the film for which she is best known to this day: Du Barry - Woman of Passion . The film about Madame Dubarry , the famous mistress of the French King Louis XV. was such a failure and Norma's inadequate portrayal was so panned that it was parodyed twenty years later in the musical Singin 'in the Rain . This ended her film career. With the legendary quote that she was too rich to carry on, Norma Talmadge withdrew more and more into her own world of pills, alcohol and illusions. Her bizarre behavior inspired Billy Wilder to characterize Norma Desmond in the movie Sunset Boulevard .

Director Clarence Brown praised Norma Talmadge as one of the best actresses of the silent movie era.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1920: The Branded Woman
  • 1920: Yes or No
  • 1920: The Woman Gives
  • 1920: A Daughter of Two Worlds
  • 1920: She Loves and Lies
  • 1921: Love's Redemption
  • 1921: The Wonderful Thing
  • 1921: The Sign on the Door
  • 1921: Passion Flower
  • 1922: The Eternal Flame
  • 1922: Smilin 'Through
  • 1923: Ashes of Vengeance
  • 1923: Within the Law
  • 1923: The Voice from the Minaret
  • 1924: The Only Woman
  • 1924: Secrets
  • 1924: The Song of Love
  • 1925: Kiki
  • 1925: gray
  • 1925: The Lady
  • 1926: Camille
  • 1927: The Dove
  • 1928: The Woman Disputed
  • 1928: Things are happening in Hollywood (Show People)
  • 1928: The Woman Disputed
  • 1929: New York Nights
  • 1930: You Barry, Woman of Passion

Web links

Commons : Norma Talmadge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ according to the birth certificate , other sources give May 26, 1893, 1894 or 1895 as the date of birth
  2. ↑ Norma Talmadge: Self-Portrait of a Star. Illustrated Film Week 1926, accessed on May 10, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Talmadge, Norma
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress of the silent and early talkies era
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Jersey City , New Jersey, USA
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 1957
Place of death Las Vegas , Nevada, USA