Of all three Talmadge sisters, I think Constance is the one I would have enjoyed hanging out with the most. She was the cutesy, funny blonde sister. Also, she was the middle child, just like me! While older sister Norma acted in tear jerkers and dramas, Constance was acting in comedies. She was known as "Dutch" to her family and friends and seemed like a real darling of the silent era.
Constance Alice Talmadge was born April 19, 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Fred and Margaret "Peg" Talmadge, and had an older sister Norma. (Natalie followed a year later).
Even though Peg pushed Norma the hardest to star in movies, she really wanted all her girls to be actresses. Constance followed in her sister's footsteps and made her film debut in 1914. She had a bigger role in Intolerance as The Mountain Girl and Marguerite de Valois in 1916. Her role in this film was so popular, that her sequences alone were released as its own feature film.
She appeared in more than 80 films, most of which were comedies. She didn't like slapstick though, saying, "I enjoy making people laugh...you see, in my way, I take my work quite as seriously as my sister does."
When the talkies came around, Constance left Hollywood. She invested in real estate and other business ventures to keep up her lifestyle.
Constance married four times. First, to John Pialoglou in 1920. It was a double ceremony with them and friend Dorothy Gish and her husband, James Rennie. She and Pialoglou divorced in 1922. Next, she married Alastair McIntosh in 1926 and divorced him in 1927. Townsend Netcher was next in 1929 and again divorced, in 1931. The fourth and final marriage was to Walter Michael Giblon in 1939. This marriage lasted until her death. She never had children.
Constance married four times. First, to John Pialoglou in 1920. It was a double ceremony with them and friend Dorothy Gish and her husband, James Rennie. She and Pialoglou divorced in 1922. Next, she married Alastair McIntosh in 1926 and divorced him in 1927. Townsend Netcher was next in 1929 and again divorced, in 1931. The fourth and final marriage was to Walter Michael Giblon in 1939. This marriage lasted until her death. She never had children.
Constance Talmadge died on November 23, 1973 of pneumonia. She survived her two sisters, and was buried along side of them and their parents at Hollywood Forever.
Sadly, like sister Norma, not many of her films survive.
"Screen actors are the funniest people in the world. I adore them!" ~ Constance Talmadge
I've only seen Constance in Intolerance, but she was mesmerizing in that film.
ReplyDeleteThat is the only one I have seen her in as well sadly.
ReplyDeleteThere is a rumor that Norma and Constance both appear as extras in Buster Keaton's "Seven Chances" but I have yet to spot them.
Norma is not in Seven Chances, but Constance is very visible as one of the many women who Keaton asks to marry him. It's a quick gag; they're each in a convertible as they drive down the road, side by side. The conversation ends due to an inconveniently placed tree.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr/Mrs. Mysterious! I need to re-watch it with an eagle eye out for Constance.
ReplyDelete