Norma Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1957)
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.A specialist in melodrama, her most famous film was Smilin’ Through (1922), but she also scored artistic triumphs teamed with director Frank Borzage in Secrets (1924) and The Lady (1925). Her younger sister Constance Talmadge was also a movie star. Talmadge married millionaire film producer Joseph M. Schenck and they successfully created their own production company. After reaching fame in the film studios on the East Coast, she moved to Hollywood in 1922.
Talmadge was one of the most elegant and glamorous film stars of the Roaring '20s. However, by the end of the silent film era, her popularity with audiences had waned. After her two talkies proved disappointing at the box office, she retired a very wealthy woman.
1894May, 26
Norma Talmadge
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Events on 1894
- 14Apr
Kinetoscope
The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films. - 11May
Pullman Palace Car Company
Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois. - 4Jul
Sanford B. Dole
The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole. - 25Aug
Bubonic plague
Kitasato Shibasaburō discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet. - 1Nov
Annie Oakley
Buffalo Bill, 15 of his Indians, and Annie Oakley were filmed by Thomas Edison in his Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey.