Dolores Costello

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Dolores Costello
Costello in 1926
Born(1903-09-17)September 17, 1903
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMarch 1, 1979(1979-03-01) (aged 75)
Fallbrook, California, U.S.
Resting place
Calvary Cemetery (East Los Angeles, California)
OccupationActress
Years active1909–1943
Spouses
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1928; div. 1934)​
      John Vruwink
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1939; div. 1950)​
      Children2, including John Drew Barrymore
      Parent(s)Maurice Costello
      Mae Costello (née Altschuk)
      RelativesHelene Costello (sister)
      Drew Barrymore (grand-daughter)

      Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903[1][note 1] – March 1, 1979)[2][3] was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen" by her first husband, the actor John Barrymore. She was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and grandmother of actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore.

      Early years

      Dolores Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of actors Maurice Costello[2] and Mae Costello (née Altschuk). She was of Irish and German descent. She had a younger sister, Helene, and the two made their early film appearances from 1909 to 1915 as child actresses for the Vitagraph Film Company. They played supporting roles in several films starring their father, who was a popular matinee idol at the time.

      Film career

      Costello, age 20, as a Ziegfeld girl, c. 1923
      A few scenes of Dolores Costello acting in the 1927 silent film Old San Francisco.
      Costello with husband John Barrymore and their children, John Drew and Dolores, 1934

      The two sisters appeared on Broadway together as chorus line dancers, and their success resulted in contracts with Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1926, following small parts in feature films, Dolores Costello was selected by John Barrymore to star with him in The Sea Beast,[4] a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, after which Warner soon began starring her in her own vehicles. Meanwhile, she and Barrymore became involved romantically, and married in 1928.[2]

      Within a few years of achieving stardom, Costello had become a film personality in her own right. As a young adult, her career developed to the degree that in 1926, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star,[5] and had acquired the nickname "The Goddess of the Silver Screen".

      Warners alternated Costello between films with contemporary settings and elaborate costume dramas. In 1927, she was re-teamed with John Barrymore in When a Man Loves, an adaptation of Manon Lescaut. In 1928, she co-starred with George O'Brien in Noah's Ark, a part-talkie epic directed by Michael Curtiz.

      Theater poster for Tenderloin (1928) starring Dolores Costello

      Costello spoke with a lisp and found it difficult to make the transition to talking pictures, but after two years of voice coaching she was comfortable speaking before a microphone. One of her early sound film appearances was with her sister Helene in the Warner Bros. all-star extravaganza The Show of Shows (1929).

      Her acting career became less of a priority for her following the birth of her first child, Dolores Ethel Mae "DeeDee" Barrymore, on April 8, 1930, and she retired from the screen in 1931 to devote time to her family. Her second child, John Drew Barrymore, was born on June 4, 1932, but the marriage proved difficult due to her husband's increasing alcoholism, and they divorced in 1935.[6][7]

      She resumed her career a year later and achieved some successes, most notably in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). She retired permanently from acting following her appearance in This Is the Army (1943), again under the direction of Michael Curtiz.

      Making a rare radio appearance, Costello appeared as the Danish Countess Elsa on the radio program Suspense on August 28, 1943. The title of the episode was The King's Birthday, written by Corporal Leonard Pellitier, U.S. Army.

      Later years

      Costello's final film was This Is the Army (1943). The destructive effects of early film makeup, which affected her complexion too severely to camouflage, is blamed for the end of her film career.[8][9] In 1939, she married Dr. John Vruwink, an obstetrician who was her physician during her pregnancies; they divorced in 1950. She died of emphysema in California in early March 1979 at age 75. Costello has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures at 1645 Vine Street.[10]

      Filmography

      Child roles

      Costello appeared as a child actress in many films made from 1909 to 1915. Among them are:

      Year Film Source
      1909 A Midsummer Night's Dream
      1910 The Telephone
      1911 Consuming Love, or St. Valentine's Day in Greenaway Land a Geranium
      1911 The Child Crusoes
      1911 His Sister's Children
      1911 A Reformed Santa Claus
      1911 Some Good in All
      1912 Captain Jenks' Dilemma
      1912 The Meeting of the Ways
      1912 For the Honor of the Family
      1912 She Never Knew; Lulu's Doctor
      1912 The Troublesome Step-Daughters
      1912 The Money Kings
      1912 A Juvenile Love Affair
      1912 Wanted...a Grandmother
      1912 Vultures and Doves
      1912 Her Grandchild
      1912 Captain Barnacle's Legacy
      1912 Bobby's Father
      1912 The Irony of Fate
      1912 The Toymaker
      1912 Ida's Christmas
      1913 A Birthday Gift
      1913 The Hindoo Charm
      1913 In the Shadow
      1913 Fellow Voyagers
      1914 Some Steamer Scooping
      1914 Etta of the Footlights
      1914 Too Much Burglar
      1915 The Evil Men Do

      Adult roles

      Costello and George O'Brien in Noah's Ark (1928)

      She restarted her movie career in 1923 after spending several years modeling in New York.

      Year Film Role Director Notes
      1923 The Glimpses of the Moon bit part Allan Dwan Lost film
      Lawful Larceny Nora the maid Allan Dwan Lost film
      1925 Greater Than a Crown Isabel Frances / Princess of Lividia Roy William Neill
      Bobbed Hair Bit part Alan Crosland
      1926 Mannequin Joan Herrick James Cruze
      The Sea Beast Esther Harper Millard Webb
      Bride of the Storm Faith Fitzhugh J. Stuart Blackton Lost film
      The Little Irish Girl Dot Walker Roy Del Ruth
      The Third Degree Annie Daly Michael Curtiz A copy is preserved at the Library of Congress
      1927 When a Man Loves Manon Lescaut Alan Crosland
      A Million Bid Dorothy Gordon Michael Curtiz An incomplete copy is held at the Library of Congress with Italian intertitles
      Old San Francisco Dolores Vasquez Alan Crosland Copies held at the Library of Congress, George Eastman House and Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
      The Heart of Maryland Maryland Calvert Lloyd Bacon An incomplete copy is held at the Library of Congress
      The College Widow Jane Witherspoon Archie Mayo Lost film
      1928 Tenderloin Rose Shannon Michael Curtiz Lost film
      Glorious Betsy Betsy Patterson Alan Crosland Preserved at the Library of Congress, while its Vitaphone track survives incomplete at the UCLA Film & Television Archive
      Noah's Ark Marie/Miriam Michael Curtiz Film survives as a partially restored 108 minute version; the original 138 minute version is lost
      1929 The Redeeming Sin Joan Billaire Howard Bretherton Lost film
      Glad Rag Doll Annabel Lee Michael Curtiz Lost film
      Trailer survives
      Madonna of Avenue A Maria Morton Michael Curtiz Lost film
      Hearts in Exile Vera Zuanova Michael Curtiz Lost film
      The Show of Shows Meet My Sister number John G. Adolfi Survives in black and white copy, fragments of color segments exist
      1930 Second Choice Vallery Grove Howard Bretherton Lost film
      1931 Expensive Women Constance "Connie" Newton Hobart Henley Preserved at the Library of Congress
      1936 Little Lord Fauntleroy "Dearest" Erroll John Cromwell
      Yours for the Asking Lucille Sutton Alexander Hall
      1938 The Beloved Brat Helen Cosgrove Arthur Lubin
      Breaking the Ice Martha Martin Edward F. Cline
      1939 King of the Turf Eve Barnes Alfred E. Green
      Whispering Enemies Laura Crandall Lewis D. Collins
      Outside These Walls Margaret Bronson Ray McCarey
      1942 The Magnificent Ambersons Isabel Orson Welles
      1943 This Is the Army Mrs. Davidson Michael Curtiz
      1980 Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film Herself her scenes broadcast posthumously

      Notes

      1. Costello's obituary in The New York Times says that she was born on September 17, 1905.

      References

      1. Shulman, Terry Chester (2019). "Film's First Family: The Untold Story of the Costellos (Screen Classics)" · University Press of Kentucky, 2019 ·ISBN 0-8131-7810-X
      2. Flint, Peters B. (March 3, 1979). "Dolores Costello, 73, Film Star". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
      3. Motion Picture Performers. A bibliography of magazine and periodical articles, 1900–1969; compiled by Mel Schuster. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1971.
      4. Rainho, Manny (March 2015). "This Month in Movie History". Classic Images (477): 26.
      5. Brody, Richard (June 18, 2009). "Stars Are Born". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
      6. "John Drew Barrymore". Syracuse Post Standard. November 30, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
      7. "WIFE DIVORCES JOHN BARRYMORE; Former Dolores Costello, Charging Desertion, Gets Children and $163,000 in Securities". The New York Times. October 10, 1935. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
      8. Olive Borden: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Joy Girl   by Michelle Vogel page 89; Retrieved February 10, 2016
      9. Orson Welles: A Biography   by Barbara Leaming page 222; Retrieved February 10, 2016
      10. "Dolores Costello". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2023.