Norma Talmadge

Norma Talmadge was born on May 26, 1895, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The daughter of an unemployed alcoholic and his wife, Norma did not have the idyllic childhood that most of us yearn for. Her father left the family on Christmas Day and his wife and three daughters had to fend for themselves. Her mother, Peggy, took in laundry to help make ends meet. By the time Norma was 14 she took up modeling. She was successful enough that she attracted the attention of studio chiefs in New York City (where the Vitagraph studio was located at the time).

Like her sisters, her grave marker gives a false date of birth (1897).

Norma landed a small role in The Household Pest (1910).

With her mother's prodding, she landed other small roles with the studio in 1910, such as Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910), Love of Chrysanthemum (1910), A Dixie Mother (1910) and A Broken Spell (1910).

By 1911 she was improving as an actress, so much so that she landed a good part in A Tale of Two Cities (1911).

By 1913 she was Vitagraph's most promising young actress.

During 1914 Talmadge was co-starred with the young Antonio Moreno, and they soon became one of the screen's most popular screen teams.

In August of 1915 Norma and her mother left for California and the promise of success in the fledgling film industry there.

Her first film in Hollywood was Captivating Mary Carstairs (1915). The film was not only a flop but the studio that made it, National Pictures, went out of business. During this time her sister, Constance Talmadge, was working for legendary director D. W. Griffith. Constance managed to get Norma a contract with Griffith's company. Over the following eight months Norma made seven feature films and a few shorts. After the contract ran out, the family returned to the East Coast.

In 1916 she met and married producer and businessman Joseph M. Schenck.

With his backing they formed their own production company and turned out a number of films, the first of which was Panthea (1917). It was a tremendous hit, as was Norma.

Another street, Norma Place in West Hollywood, California, is also named for her. The street was originally an easement road that led to the entrance of a tiny studio Norma's husband, Joseph M. Schenck, built for her when she joined his company, First National, in 1919. The studio was used solely to produce movies made by Norma's and Constance's production companies. It was abandoned in 1926 when the production company owned by Norma and her sister Constance Talmadge moved to First National's new home, the Burbank Studios (now home to Warner Brothers). The studio, too small to be properly converted to sound production, was torn down in the 1930s. Norma Place was lengthened, making it a through street, and houses were built where the old studio once stood. Dorothy Parker and her husband, Alan Campbell, lived on Norma Place for most of the years they worked in Hollywood.

In 1920 the production company moved to Hollywood, where the big hits of the day were being produced.

Her company produced hits such as The Wonderful Thing (1921), The Eternal Flame (1922) and The Song of Love (1923).

Another Los Angeles monument named for her is The Talmadge, a ten-story luxury apartment building located on the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South Berendo Street in Koreatown. Built in 1923, the rose-brick building was designed by the architectural firm of Curlett and Beelman. Among the ornamental features they included in the design are large plaster cameos inlaid on the third-story corners that face the two streets. The cameos show three women - two seated and one standing between them - that represent the three Talmadge sisters. The building is one of the stops on the city's Angels Walk self-guided tour.

Fooprints of the stars started accidentally when, in 1927, she stepped into wet cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater.

By 1928 Norma's popularity had begun to fade.

Her film The Woman Disputed (1928) was a flop at the box-office.

Her final film was Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930). By that time "talkies" were all the rage, but Norma's voice did not lend itself to sound and she was out of work. She divorced Schenck and married George Jessel. Jessel had his own radio show and Norma was added to the cast to help its sagging ratings. She thought this might be the vehicle by which she would revive her stalled film career, but the show continued its decline and was ultimately canceled, and with it the hopes of rebuilding her shattered career. She was finished for good.

She divorced Jessel in 1939 and married Dr.

Carvel James in 1946.

Her image appears on the cover of the 2009 album, "Electro Swing".

Her image appears on the cover of the 2011 album, "Top Hits of the 1930s" Vol. 1.