Gloria Swanson - Tuesday February 24, 1925

Cooler today.

Gloria Swanson is quite ill in Paris.1
Reva and I rode to Kenmore2 with B.
D. + H. had dished washed when we got home.
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Gloria Swanson 1921
 1. We found a likely explanation for her illness in the following article from the Rudolph Valentino Society:
Gloria Swanson (March 27, 1899 – April 4, 1983) *In Paris 1925, Swanson began work on her most notorious lost film Madame Sans Gene.  After speaking with Andre Daven (who had a small role in Monsieur Beaucaire) Swanson approached the French government about doing the film.  After acquiring their permission and blessing Swanson traveled to France on a wave of publicity.  Again on the advice of Daven she hired Henri who was the Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye to be her translator.  Despite the title (akin to a Duke in English nobility) the Marquis was not wealthy and ran an insurance company.  Swanson found him indispensable.  The Marquis eventually admitted he had never seen a Swanson film, but the two got along well and soon fell in love.
To celebrate the end of filming Swanson held a costume party.  In the middle of planning the party she realized she was pregnant.   Her divorce from current husband Herbert K. Somborn would not be finalized for another month and by that time it would be easy to prove she had been pregnant if she married the Marquis at that time.  Fearing the morals clause in her contract, and what that could mean for her children, Swanson decided to have an abortion.
She quietly married the Marquis, the day before the scheduled abortion.  Daven took her to the appointment, and brought her home.  Swanson became seriously ill from blood poisoning, spending 2 weeks in and out of consciousness.  Her hair had to be cut so towels could be easily wrapped around her head.  A death watch had been kept in the press.  Finally well enough again she and the Marquis headed to Paris, to promote the film.  Swanson was severely depressed and considered retiring.  At the end of her life she would cite the abortion as her biggest regret.  source*The Rudolph Valentino Society http://rudolphvalentino.org/gloria.html
2. Kenmore Ohio: Kenmore is a community in southwest Akron, Ohio.

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