Gloria Holden

Gloria Holden

Holden in Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Born Gloria Anna Holden
(1903-09-05)5 September 1903
London, England, UK
Died 22 March 1991(1991-03-22) (aged 87)
Redlands, California, U.S.
Resting place Hillside Memorial Park, San Bernardino County, California
Occupation Actress
Years active 1931–1958
Spouse(s) Harry Dawson Reynolds (1921-19??)
Harold A. Winston (1932-1937)
William Hoyt (1944–1991; her death) (1 son)
Children Christopher Hoyt (1944-1970)

Gloria Anna Holden (September 5, 1903 – March 22, 1991) was an American film actress, best known for her role as Dracula's Daughter.

Early life

Born in England, Gloria Holden emigrated to the U.S. as a child. Her mother Eska (née Bergmann) was German.[1] She attended school in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and later studied at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Theatre

Holden's early stage work included small parts in plays such as The Royal Family, in which she spoke four lines playing a nurse. She was an understudy to Mary Ellis in Children of Darkness, and had a minor role in That Ferguson Family.[2] She succeeded Lilly Cahill as in As Husbands Go at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway, in June 1931. In August 1932, Holden was part of the cast of Manhattan Melody, at the Longacre Theatre. The Lawrence Hazard play, adapted by L. Lawrence Weber, also featured Helen Lowell, Minnie Dupree and William Corbett as players. She was the leading lady in Survivor (1933), written by D.L. James. Holden was among the cast members in Memory (1933), a Myron Fagan play.

Films

She may be best remembered for two roles in her long career, that of Mme. Zola in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), and her "exotic" depiction of the title role in Dracula's Daughter (1936). Her performance in the latter influenced the writings of horror novelist Anne Rice, and Dracula's Daughter is directly mentioned in Rice's novel The Queen of the Damned. In July 1937, Holden was assigned to play the character of Marian Morgan in The Man Without a Country (1937). The Technicolor short co-starred John Litel and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Other films in which she appeared include:

Radio

Holden played a non-singing Julie La Verne on the 1940 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Show Boat, based on the 1936 film version.[3]

Personal life

Gloria Holden was married three times. She married Harry D. Reynolds in 1921 and later divorced him, then married Harold A. Winston on December 17, 1932 and divorced him on December 2, 1937. In 1944, she married her third husband, William Hoyt, to whom she remained married until her death. They had one son, William Christopher Hoyt, who was born 1948 and killed in an automobile accident in 1970 that was listed as a homicide.[4]

Harold Winston, who is credited with helping discover actor William Holden, named him in honor of Gloria Holden. A version of how William Holden obtained his stage name is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard magazine. George Ross stated: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in "Golden Boy", used to be Bill Beadle. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Not long ago he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. Winston was one of those who discovered the "Golden Boy" newcomer and who renamed him—in honor of his former spouse!..."[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Genealogy". Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ ""House Unguarded at Little" - New Play of the Panama Canal Zone Will Open on Broadway on Jan. 15 - Gossip of the Players". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle: 12A. January 4, 1929.
  3. ↑ Profile at otr.net
  4. ↑ "Boulder dropped on his car - Chris Hoyt, 22, dies from head injuries". Redlands Daily Facts: 3. October 23, 1970.
  5. ↑ Ross, George (April 12, 1939). "Broadway: 'Golden Boy'". The Pittsburgh Press: 23.

Sources

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