Constance Talmadge

Constance Talmadge was a silent movie star born on April 19, 1898. Born in Brooklyn, New York, was the sister of fellow actresses Norma Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge. Talmadge was born into a poor family. Her father, Fred, was an alcoholic, and left them when she was still very young. Her mother, Peg, made a living by doing laundry. When a friend recommended that Peg use Norma as a model for title slides in flickers, which were shown in early nickelodeons, Peg decided to try it. This led all three sisters into an acting career. Constance had many failed affairs and relationships. Having married four times, her early relationships rarely lasted more than a total of three years. Her first marriage, to John Pialoglou, occurred in 1920 at a double wedding with Dorothy Gish and James Rennie. She divorced Pialoglou two years later. She married Alastair McIntosh in February 1926, divorcing in 1927. She then married Townsend Netcher in May 1929, divorcing in 1931. Her final marriage was to Walter Michael Giblin in 1939. This marriage lasted until his death on May 1, 1964. Constance had no children. With the advent of talkies in 1929, Talmadge left Hollywood. Her sister Norma did make a handful of appearances in talking films, but for the most part the three sisters retired all together, investing in real estate and other business ventures. Only a few of her films survive today. Talmadge’s mother fostered the belief she might one day return to films. “Success and fame cast a spell that can never been quite shaken off,“ her mother pointed out in her autobiography. “A woman, because of her love, may say, and in the fervor of the moment believe, that she is ready to give up her chosen work. But there is sure to come a time when keen longing and strong regret for her lost career dominate over the more placid contentment’s of love and marriage. Then unhappiness and friction ensue.“ Along with her sister Norma, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, Talmadge inaugurated the tradition of placing her footprints in cement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater. She left a trail of five footprints in her slab. Like her sister Norma, Constance succumbed to substance abuse and alcoholism later in life and passed away on November 23, 1973.