Norma Talmadge

Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was a silent-film actress and producer who dominated the box office for over ten years, hitting her stride in the early 1920s as one of America’s most beloved screen idols. She made her name in melodrama, with *Smilin’ Through* (1922) as her best-known picture, though she also delivered acclaimed work with director Frank Borzage on *Secrets* (1924) and *The Lady* (1925). Her younger sister Constance was a star too. Talmadge married wealthy producer Joseph M. Schenck, and together they launched their own production company. She rose to fame on the East Coast before relocating to Hollywood in 1922. Known for her elegance and glamour during the Roaring Twenties, her popularity faded as the silent era ended. After two talkies failed at the box office, she retired, still very rich.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 2, 1894, she later admitted she and her mother had told fan magazines she was from Niagara Falls, New York, because it sounded more romantic. She was the eldest daughter of Frederick O. Talmadge, an unemployed alcoholic, and Margaret “Peg” Talmadge. Her younger sisters Natalie and Constance also became actresses. The family was poor. One Christmas, Fred left to buy food and never returned, leaving Peg to raise the three girls alone in Brooklyn by taking in laundry, selling cosmetics, teaching painting, and renting rooms.

After Norma mentioned a classmate who modeled for illustrated song slides, Peg tracked down the photographer and arranged an interview. Initially rejected, Norma was soon hired. When they saw her debut at a theater, Peg decided to push her into movies.

As the eldest, Norma was the first daughter Peg steered toward film. They went to Vitagraph Studios in Flatbush, a streetcar ride from home, but the casting director threw them out. Scenario editor Beta Breuil, struck by Norma’s beauty, gave her a small part in *The Household Pest* (1909). With Breuil’s help, she played bit parts in over 100 films between 1911 and 1912, eventually joining the stock company at $25 a week. Her first contract role was *Neighboring Kingdom* (1911) with John Bunny. Her first real success came in Vitagraph’s three-reel *A Tale of Two Cities* (1911), playing the unnamed seamstress who goes to the guillotine with Sidney Carton. Star Maurice Costello helped her improve. She played everything from leads to extras, taking roles as a colored mammy, a clumsy waitress, and a reckless modern girl, gaining notice from critics and audiences. By 1913, she was Vitagraph’s most promising young actress, working in Van Dyke Brooke’s unit and often opposite Antonio Moreno.

Her big break came in 1915 with Vitagraph’s anti-German propaganda feature *The Battle Cry of Peace*. Peg, ambitious for more, secured a two-year contract with National Pictures Company for eight features at $400 a week. Her last Vitagraph film was *The Crown Prince’s Double*. In five years, she had made over 250 films. That summer, she left Vitagraph.

In August, the Talmadges went to California, where Norma’s first role was in *Captivating Mary Carstairs*. It was a disaster—cheap sets and costumes, a poorly backed studio—and the film flopped, shutting down National Pictures. Stranded after one picture, they aimed higher and went to Triangle Film Corporation, where D. W. Griffith was supervising. Thanks to *The Battle Cry*, she signed with Griffith’s Fine Arts Company. Over eight months, she starred in seven Triangle features, including the comedy *The Social Secretary* (1916), written by Anita Loos, which let her disguise her beauty to dodge unwanted male attention.

When her contract ended, the family returned to New York. At a party, she met Broadway and film producer Joseph M. Schenck, a wealthy exhibitor eager to produce his own movies. Taken with her personally and professionally, he proposed marriage and a production studio. They wed on October 20, 1916. Norma called her much older husband “Daddy.” He managed and nurtured her career alongside her mother. In 1917, they formed the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation.