Gloria Grey (born Maria Dragomanovich; October 23, 1909 – November 22, 1947) was an American screen and stage

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

, appearing in mainly dramatic/romantic films during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

and after.

Career

Grey was born Maria Dragomanovich in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

in 1909. She was educated in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California. Before beginning her career in film, Grey appeared onstage in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

shows with the Gus Edwards Revue. Her career was spent chiefly during the 1920s in Hollywood, and the 1940s in Argentina. Her first film credit was the 1923 movie ''Bag and Baggage''. She was given praise for her starring role in the 1924 adaptation of

Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservati ...

's '' A Girl of the Limberlost'', which garnered her the honor of being selected as one of the

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

in 1924. However, the film did little else to improve her career. She also appeared in an action serial titled '' Blake of Scotland Yard''. Grey appeared in 33 films during the 1920s, as well as five Spanish-language films made in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

during World War II, notably ''

Back in the Seventies ''Back in the Seventies'' (Spanish:''Allá en el setenta y tantos'') is a 1945 Argentine historical drama film directed by Francisco Múgica and starring Silvana Roth, Carlos Cores and Felisa Mary. Roth plays Cecilia Ramos, a fictionalized ve ...

'' and ''Fragata Sarmiento''.

Death

Grey was found deceased in bed at her mother's home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California on November 22, 1947, having succumbed to a two-month bout of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. She was survived by her husband, magazine editor Ramón Romero, and their daughter. She is interred at the

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

in Los Angeles. She is resting by her husband, mother, and daughter.

Filmography

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Gloria 1909 births 1947 deaths American expatriates in Argentina American film actresses American silent film actresses American film directors Actresses from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American actresses Deaths from influenza Expatriate actresses in Argentina WAMPAS Baby Stars