Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903 – March 1, 1979) was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen". By her first husband, the actor John Barrymore, she was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and the grandmother of Drew Barrymore.

-

================================================

Wednesday, May 05, 2021. 08:40.PM.
Dolores Costello - Actress.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Profile :


Born September 17, 1903, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Died March 1, 1979 (aged 75), Fallbrook, California, U.S.

Resting place Calvary Cemetery

----------------------------------------

Occupation Actress

Years active 1909–1943

---------------------------------------

Spouse(s)

*1. John Barrymore, ?(m. 1928; div. 1934)

2. John Vruwink, ?(m. 1939; div. 1950)

----------------------------------

Children 2, including John


--------------------------------------------------

Parent(s) Maurice Costello, Mae Costello

Relatives Helene Costello (sister)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Introduction :

Dolores Costello

Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903 – March 1, 1979) was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen". By her first husband, the actor John Barrymore, she was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and the grandmother of Drew Barrymore.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Early years :


Dolores Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the daughter of actors Maurice Costello and Mae Costello (née Altschuk). She was of Irish and German descent. She had a younger sister, Helene, and the two made their first film appearances in the years 1909–1915 as child actresses for the Vitagraph Film Company. They played supporting roles in several films starring their father, who was a popular matinee idol at the time. Dolores Costello's earliest listed credit on the IMDb is in the role of a fairy in a 1909 adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Film career :

*Costello as a Ziegfeld girl, c. 1923

The two sisters appeared on Broadway together as chorines and their success resulted in contracts with Warner Brothers Studios. In 1926, following small parts in feature films, she was selected by John Barrymore to star opposite him in The Sea Beast,[3] a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. Warner Bros. soon began starring her in her own vehicles. Meanwhile, she and Barrymore became romantically involved and married in 1928.

*Costello in 1926

Within a few years of achieving stardom, the delicately beautiful blonde-haired actress had become a successful and highly regarded film personality in her own right. As a young adult her career developed to the degree that in 1926, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star , and had acquired the nickname "The Goddess of the Silver Screen". Warners alternated Costello between films with contemporary settings and elaborate costume dramas. In 1927, she was re-teamed with John Barrymore in When a Man Loves, an adaptation of Manon Lescaut. In 1928, she co-starred with George O'Brien in Noah's Ark, a part-talkie epic directed by Michael Curtiz.

*Theater poster for Tenderloin (1928) starring Dolores Costello

Costello spoke with a lisp and found it difficult to make the transition to talking pictures, but after two years of voice coaching she was comfortable speaking before a microphone. One of her early sound film appearances was with her sister Helene in Warner Bros.'s all-star extravaganza, The Show of Shows (1929).


*Costello with husband John Barrymore and their children, John Drew and Dolores, 1934

Her acting career became less a priority for her following the birth of her first child, Dolores Ethel Mae "DeeDee" Barrymore, on April 8, 1930, and she retired from the screen in 1931 to devote time to her family. Her second child, John Drew Barrymore, was born on June 4, 1932, but the marriage proved difficult due to her husband's increasing alcoholism, and they divorced in 1935.


She resumed her career a year later and achieved some successes, most notably in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). She retired permanently from acting following her appearance in This is the Army (1943), again under the direction of Michael Curtiz.


Making a rare radio appearance, Costello appeared as the Danish Countess Elsa on the radio program Suspense with an air date of August 28, 1943. The title of the episode is The King's Birthday written by Corporal Leonard Pellitier US Army.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Later years :


In 1939, she married Dr. John Vruwink, an obstetrician who was her physician during her pregnancies, but they divorced in 1950. Costello spent the remaining years of her life in semi-seclusion, managing an avocado farm. Her film career was largely ruined by the destructive effects of early film makeup, which ravaged her complexion too severely to camouflage.[7][8] Her final film was This Is the Army (1943). In the 1970s her house was inundated in a flash flood which caused a good deal of damage to her property and memorabilia from her movie career and life with John Barrymore.


Shortly before her death, she was interviewed for the documentary series Hollywood (1980) discussing her film career. She died from emphysema in Fallbrook, California, in 1979, and is interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.


Dolores Costello has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1645 Vine Street.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Filmography :



6.1. Child roles :

Dolores Costello appeared as a child actress in many films made between 1909 and 1915 . Among them are:

Year Film Source

1909 A Midsummer Night's Dream

1910 The Telephone

1911 Consuming Love, or St. Valentine's Day in Greenaway Land A Geranium

1911 The Child Crusoes

1911 His Sister's Children

1911 A Reformed Santa Claus

1911 Some Good in All

1912 Captain Jenks' Dilemma

1912 The Meeting of the Ways

1912 For the Honor of the Family

1912 She Never Knew; Lulu's Doctor

1912 The Troublesome Step-Daughters

1912 The Money Kings

1912 A Juvenile Love Affair

1912 Wanted ... a Grandmother

1912 Vultures and Doves

1912 Her Grandchild

1912 Captain Barnacle's Legacy

1912 Bobby's Father

1912 The Irony of Fate

1912 The Toymaker

1912 Ida's Christmas

1913 A Birthday Gift

1913 The Hindoo Charm

1913 In the Shadow

1913 Fellow Voyagers

1914 Some Steamer Scooping

1914 Etta of the Footlights

1914 Too Much Burglar

1915 The Evil Men Do

----------------------------------------

6.2. Adult roles :


*Costello and George O'Brien in Noah's Ark (1928)

She restarted her motion picture career in 1923 after spending several years modeling in New York.

Year Film Role Notes

1923 The Glimpses of the Moon Bit part lost

Lawful Larceny Nora the maid lost; six minutes survive

1925 Greater Than a Crown Isabel Frances / Princess of Lividia ?

Bobbed Hair Bit part extant ; foreign archive Spain

1926 Mannequin Joan Herrick extant ; Library of Congress

The Sea Beast Esther Harper extant (George Eastman House)

Bride of the Storm Faith Fitzhugh lost film

The Little Irish Girl Dot Walker lost film

The Third Degree Annie Daly extant (Library of Congress)

1927 When a Man Loves Manon Lescaut extant (Turner/Warner Bros.)

A Million Bid Dorothy Gordon incomplete (Library of Congress- Italian title cards)

Old San Francisco Dolores Vasquez extant (Turner/Warner Bros.)

The Heart of Maryland Maryland Calvert extant (incomplete; Library of Congress)

The College Widow Jane Witherspoon lost film

1928 Tenderloin Rose Shannon lost film

Glorious Betsy Betsy Patterson extant (silent only, Vitaphone talking, music and sound effects missing)

Noah's Ark Marie/Miriam extant (Turner and/or UCLA Film & Television Archives)

1929 The Redeeming Sin Joan Billaire lost film

Glad Rag Doll Annabel Lee lost film (trailer survives)

Madonna of Avenue A Maria Morton lost film

Hearts in Exile Vera Zuanova lost film

The Show of Shows Meet My Sister number extant (Turner/Warner Bros.)

1930 Second Choice Vallery Grove lost film

1931 Expensive Women Constance "Connie" Newton extant (Library of Congress)

1936 Little Lord Fauntleroy "Dearest" Erroll

\

Yours for the Asking Lucille Sutton

1938 The Beloved Brat Helen Cosgrove

Breaking the Ice Martha Martin

1939 King of the Turf Eve Barnes

Whispering Enemies Laura Crandall

Outside These Walls Margaret Bronson

1942 The Magnificent Ambersons Isabel

1943 This Is the Army Mrs. Davidson

1980 Hollywood (documentary) Herself her scenes broadcast posthumously

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End.



=========================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford, August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress.

-
Image
======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20/10/2019. Shirley Booth - Actress ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Profile : Shirley Booth 1950. Born Marjory Ford, August 30, 1898, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Died October 16, 1992 (aged 94), North Chatham, Massachusetts, U.S. Resting place Mount Hebron Cemetery, Montclair, New Jersey Education P.S. 152 Occupation Actress Years active 1925–1974 Spouse(s) 1. Ed Gardner - (m. 1929; div. 1942) 2. William H. Baker, Jr. - (m. 1943; died 1951) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Introduction : Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford, August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992) was an American stage, film, rad...
Read more

Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a showbiz family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett then appeared in more than 70 films from the era of silent movies, well into the sound era. She is possibly best-remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's movies such as Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945).

-
Image
======================================================================== ======================================================================== 24/12/2019. Joan Bennett - Actress ======================================================================== 1. Profile : #Joan Bennett in Photoplay December 1932 Born Joan Geraldine Bennett, February 27, 1910, Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S. Died December 7, 1990 (aged 80), Scarsdale, New York, U.S. Resting place Pleasant View Cemetery, Lyme, Connecticut, U.S. Nationality American Occupation Actress Years active 1916–1982 Spouse(s) 1.John Marion Fox (m. 1926; div. 1928) 2.Gene Markey (m. 1932; div. 1937) 3.Walter Wanger (m. 1940; div. 1965) 4.David Wilde (m. 1978) Children 4 Parent(s) Richard Bennett, Adrienne Morrison Relatives Lewis Morrison (grandfather), Constance Bennett (sister), Barbara Bennett (sister), Morton Downey Jr. (nephew) -----------------------------------------------------------...
Read more

Martha Raye (born Maggie Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994) and nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored in 1969 at the Academy Awards as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient for her volunteer efforts and services to the troops.

-
Image
======================================================================== ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26/03/2020. Martha Raye - Actress, Singer, Comedian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Profile : Martha Raye in  1944 Born Margy Reed, August 27, 1916. Butte, Montana, U.S. Died October 19, 1994 (aged 78), Los Angeles, California, U.S. Resting place Main Post Cemetery in Fort Bragg, North Carolina ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Occupation Actress, singer, comedian Years active 1934–1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spouse(s) 1.Bud Westmore (m. 1937; div. 1937) --------------------------------...
Read more