Was Daisy "Granny" Moses' favorite movie star in The Beverly Hillbillies TV series. In referring to Swanson, Granny would always say: "We's lookalikes, y'know".
3
Most biographers overlook her appearance on the ABC TV variety show The Hollywood Palace (1964). At the end of the first winter-spring season, series producers Nick Vanoff and William O. Harbach scheduled the show's host Gene Barry with guest stars Swanson and Buster Keaton to appear together in a comedy sketch. Keaton was at that time appearing in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). Bringing famous Hollywood film stars onto the show was the producers' main goal. Getting Swanson and Keaton on the show was considered a coup and an opportunity to promote the film. The sketch starred Swanson as Cleopatra and Keaton as Marc Antony, staged on a stepped Roman platform terrace surrounded by a 20-inch-high parapet wall and Roman columns, with the pair falling in love. It was written by Joe Bigelow and Jay Burton, but director Grey Lockwood encouraged Swanson and Keaton to contribute any bits, routines and ideas that they wanted to, which they did. On the first day of rehearsal Swanson was on the stage, gazing up at the lighting fixtures overhead. She asked for lighting director Jack Denton to come to the stage, which he did, and Swanson began pointing out how she wanted which lights to focus on her and Keaton during the sketch--side light, key light, back light, which color gels to use, etc. Denton made sure that all of her suggestions were implemented. Keaton's idea was that the sketch should end with "Antony" and "Cleopatra" sitting on the parapet wall bench, join hands, and fall backwards out of sight over the wall. He and Swanson rehearsed the fall several times, and did the stunt themselves when it came time to actually shoot the scene for the show.
4
Her father was of Swedish descent. Her mother was of Polish, German, and French ancestry.
5
She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6750 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6301 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
6
Underwent an abortion in 1917 during her marriage to Wallace Beery. Swanson called it one of the biggest regrets of her life.
7
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 21, a daughter Gloria Swanson Somborn on October 7, 1920. Child's father was her 2nd husband, Herbert K. Somborn.
8
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 33, a daughter Michele Bridget Farmer (aka Michele Farmer on April 5, 1932. Child's father was her 4th husband, Michael Farmer.
In 1964, she was one of many guest speakers at the Project Prayer Rally in Los Angeles, California.
11
Upon her death, her remains were interred at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. Her location plot is the Columbium in the basement of the church on the left side of the wall towards the back of the room.
12
A Republican, she was the head of the council for "Seniors for Reagan-Bush".
13
She was the first star to win back-to-back Oscar nominations, for Sadie Thompson (1928) in 1929 and for The Trespasser (1929) in 1930.
14
The first film shown at the original Roxy Theatre at 153 West 50th Street, New York City, was Swanson's The Love of Sunya (1927) in March 1927, and she attended the premiere. At its demolition in 1961, she posed in its ruins as a final farewell.
15
Known for her extravagant lifestyle, it was reported that she earned $8,000,000 between 1918 and 1929 and spent nearly all of it. By the time of her death in 1983, her gross estate was valued at just over $1,440,000.
16
She cited Madame Sans-Gêne (1925) (now lost) as her personal favorite of all her films.
17
Claimed to have detested writing her autobiography.
18
During the early 1920s, she had a falling-out with close friend Blanche Sweet. The dispute was over a man, and Sweet never forgave her.
19
Cited Beyond the Rocks (1922) as one of her favorite films from her silent career.
20
Was very close friends with actor Dirk Benedict. She introduced him to macrobiotics. Dirk has said that she was like a mother to him. They met working on the play "Butterflies Are Free", where Swanson played Benedict's mother.
21
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 776-778. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
22
When she died, her book collection was sold to the Gotham Book Mart in New York City. All of the books were concerned with health and nutrition.
23
Her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950) is ranked #31 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Hated acting in slapstick comedy, which was pretty much all of her early career.
27
Mother of a biological daughter, Gloria, by her second husband, and also of an adopted son, Joseph Patrick, whom everyone thought (erroneously) was named for her lover at the time, Joseph P. Kennedy (father/founder of the Kennedy political clan).
28
Wrote her own autobiography in rebuttal to certain claims made by Rose Kennedy in her 1974 memoirs.
29
Met her third husband, the Marquis (or "Marquess") Henri de la Falaise, when he worked as her interpreter in France on Madame Sans-Gêne (1925).
30
Her last husband, William Dufty, was a well-known author of books and a few screenplays, such as Lady Sings the Blues (1972), the Billie Holiday story. It was Dufty, translator of "You Are All Sanpaku", by George Ohsawa, who was influenced by Swanson to take an interest in health and become involved in holistic-health related literature.
31
Godmother of director/writer Dirk Wayne Summers, and had signed to appear in The Great Sex War (1969), a film he was producing in Mexico. However, Swanson and her soon to be husband, William Dufty, took it upon themselves (without being asked) to rewrite the screenplay. The "changes" in the script that Swanson desired were not ones that Summers wanted to include, so they mutually released each other from their contracts. This did not impact their close relationship, apparently. Swanson accompanied Summers to Mexico for a location scouting trip.
32
Second husband Herbert K. Somborn ran Hollywood's legendary Brown Derby restaurant from 1926 until his death in 1934.
