John Gilbert (actor)

For other uses, see John Gilbert (disambiguation) and John Pringle (disambiguation).

John Gilbert
Born	John Cecil Pringle (1899-07-10)July 10, 1899 Logan, Utah, U.S.
Died	January 9, 1936(1936-01-09) (aged 36) Bel Air, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Nationality	American
Education	Hitchcock Military Academy
Occupation(s)	Actor, director, writer
Years active	1915–1936
Spouses	Olivia Burwell ​ ​ (m. 1918; div. 1921)​ Leatrice Joy ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1925)​ Ina Claire ​ ​ (m. 1929; div. 1931)​ Virginia Bruce ​ ​ (m. 1932; div. 1934)​
Children	2

John Gilbert (born John Cecil Pringle; July 10, 1899 – January 9, 1936) was an American actor, screenwriter and director. He rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as "The Great Lover". At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw.

Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive.

Early years

Born John Cecil Pringle in Logan, Utah, to stock company actor parents, John Pringle (1865-1929) and Ida Apperly Gilbert (1877-1913), he struggled through a childhood of abuse and neglect. His family moved frequently and Gilbert attended several schools throughout the United States. After his family settled in California, he attended Hitchcock Military Academy in San Rafael, California.

Gilbert first found work as an extra with the Thomas Ince Studios, and soon became a favorite of Maurice Tourneur, who also hired him to write and direct several pictures. He quickly rose through the ranks, building his reputation as an actor in such films as Heart o' the Hills (1919), with Mary Pickford.

In 1921, Gilbert signed a three-year contract with Fox Film Corporation, where he was cast as a romantic leading man. His films for Fox include Monte Cristo, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo; St. Elmo, an adaptation of a popular book of the period; The Wolf Man, not a horror film, but the story of a man who believes he murdered his fiancee's brother while drunk, and many others. These films made him a star, though not at the level he would presently achieve.

Career

Success and stardom

In 1924, Gilbert moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he became a full-fledged star with such high-profile films as His Hour directed by King Vidor and written by Elinor Glyn; He Who Gets Slapped (both 1924), co-starring Lon Chaney, and Norma Shearer, and directed by Victor Sjöström; and The Merry Widow (1925) directed by Erich von Stroheim and co-starring Mae Murray. In 1925 Gilbert was once again directed by Vidor in the war epic The Big Parade, which became the second-highest grossing silent film. His performance in this film made him a major star. The following year, Vidor reunited Gilbert with two of his co-stars from that picture, Renée Adorée and Karl Dane, for the film La Bohème which also starred Lillian Gish.

File:OhnGilbert-actor2.jpg

Press release photo

In 1926, Gilbert made Flesh and the Devil, his first film with Greta Garbo. They soon began a highly publicized relationship, much to the delight of their fans. Gilbert wanted to marry her, but Garbo continually balked. Legend has it that a wedding was finally planned but Garbo failed to appear at the ceremony. Recent Garbo biographers, however, have questioned the veracity of this story. Despite their rocky off-screen relationship, they continued to generate box-office revenue for the studio, and MGM paired them in two more silents Love (1927), which was a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina, and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The former film was slyly advertised by MGM as "Garbo and Gilbert in Love."

Decline

Throughout his time at MGM, Gilbert frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. Mayer over creative, social and financial matters. It was said, for example, that at the alleged double-wedding of Garbo and Gilbert and director King Vidor and actress Eleanor Boardman, Mayer made a crude remark about Garbo that led Gilbert to physically attack the mogul. This story has been disputed by some historians. Although one eyewitness—the bride, Eleanor Boardman—claimed to have seen the assault, others deny that it occurred.

In any case, Mayer apparently detested Gilbert and was disgruntled that the actor had signed a contract for six pictures at $250,000 each. It was suggested that Mayer deliberately gave Gilbert bad scripts and ineffective directors in an effort to void the contract.

With the coming of sound, Gilbert's vocal talents made a good first impression in the all-star musical comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929, appearing in a Technicolor sequence with Norma Shearer. They played the "balcony scene" from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, first as written, and then using current slang. Most reviewers did not note any problems with Gilbert's voice at this time and some praised it.

Gilbert with Greta Garbo in A Woman of Affairs (1929)

Audiences awaited Gilbert's first romantic role on the talking screen. The vehicle was the Ruritanian romance His Glorious Night (also 1929). According to reviewers, audiences laughed nervously at Gilbert's performance. The fault was not Gilbert's voice, it was said, but the awkward scenario along with overly ardent love scenes. In one, Gilbert keeps kissing his leading lady, (Catherine Dale Owen), while saying "I love you" over and over again. The scene was parodied in the MGM musical Singin' in the Rain (1952) in which a preview of the fictional The Dueling Cavalier flops disastrously. Director King Vidor stated that Rudolph Valentino, Gilbert's main rival in the 1920s for romantic leads, probably would have suffered the same fate in the talkie era, had he lived. It was rumored that L.B. Mayer ordered Gilbert's voice to be gelded to a higher pitch to ruin him.

Gilbert became increasingly depressed by progressively inferior films and idle stretches between productions, but he resolved to thwart Louis B. Mayer and see the six-picture contract through. Gilbert's fortunes were temporarily restored when MGM's production chief Irving Thalberg gave him two projects that were character studies, giving Gilbert an excellent showcase for his versatility. The Phantom of Paris (1931), originally intended for Lon Chaney (who died from cancer in 1930), cast Gilbert as a debonair magician and showman who is falsely accused of murder and uses his mastery of disguise to unmask the real killer. Downstairs (1932) was based on Gilbert's original story, with the actor playing against type as a scheming, blackmailing chauffeur. The films were well received by critics and fans but failed to revive his career. Shortly after making Downstairs, he married co-star Virginia Bruce; the couple divorced in 1934. Gilbert fulfilled his contract with an unimportant "B" picture and left the studio in 1933.

Greta Garbo insisted that Gilbert return to MGM to play her leading man in Queen Christina (1933), directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Garbo was top-billed, with Gilbert's name beneath the title. Again, the picture failed to revive his career. Columbia Pictures gave him what would be his final chance for a comeback in The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) in which he gave a capable performance as a frustrated playwright. But the off-screen cast of heavy drinkers encouraged his alcoholism and the film was his last.

Personal life

Gilbert was married four times. His first marriage was to Olivia Burwell, a native of Mississippi whom Gilbert had met after her family moved to California, on August 26, 1918. They separated the following year and Olivia Burwell Gilbert returned to Mississippi for a while. She filed for divorce in Los Angeles in 1921.

In February 1921, Gilbert announced his engagement to actress Leatrice Joy. They married in Tijuana in November 1921. As Gilbert had failed to secure a divorce from his first wife and the legality of Gilbert and Joy's Mexican marriage was questionable, the couple separated and had the marriage annulled to avoid a scandal. They remarried on March 3, 1922. The marriage was tumultuous and, in June 1923, Joy filed for legal separation after she claimed that Gilbert slapped her face after a night of heavy drinking. They reconciled several months later. In August 1924, Joy, who was pregnant with the couple's first child, filed for divorce. Joy later said she left Gilbert after discovering he was having an affair with actress Laurette Taylor. Joy also claimed that Gilbert had conducted affairs with Barbara La Marr (with whom he had a romance before his marriage to Joy), Lila Lee and Bebe Daniels. Their daughter, Leatrice Gilbert, was born on September 4, 1924. Joy was granted a divorce in May 1925.

In 1929, Gilbert eloped with actress Ina Claire to Las Vegas. They separated in February 1931 and divorced six months later. Gilbert's fourth and final marriage was to actress Virginia Bruce in August 1932. They had a daughter, Susan Ann, the following year before divorcing in May 1934.

Before his death, Gilbert dated actress Marlene Dietrich. When he died, he had recently been slated to play a prominent role in support of Dietrich in the film Desire.

Death

By 1934, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health. He suffered a serious heart attack in December 1935 which left him in poor health. Gilbert suffered a second heart attack at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936, which was fatal. A private funeral was held on January 11 at the B.E. Mortuary in Beverly Hills. Among the mourners were Gilbert's two ex-wives, Leatrice Joy and Virginia Bruce, his two daughters, and stars Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy, and Raquel Torres. Gilbert was cremated and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Glendale, California.

Gilbert left the bulk of his estate, valued at $363,494 (equivalent to $7.98 million in 2023), to his last ex-wife Virginia Bruce and their daughter, Susan Ann. He left $10,000 to his eldest daughter Leatrice, and other amounts to friends, relatives and his servants.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, John Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1755 Vine Street and in 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

Filmography

1918	Films	Role	Notes
1915	The Coward	Minor role	Uncredited
1915	Matrimony	Extra	Short film Uncredited
1915	Aloha Oe	Extra	Uncredited
1916	The Corner	Extra	Uncredited
1916	Bullets and Brown Eyes
1916	The Last Act	Extra	Uncredited
1916	Hell's Hinges	Rowdy townsman	Uncredited
1916	The Aryan	Extra	Uncredited
1916	Civilization	Extra	Uncredited
1916	The Apostle of Vengeance	Willie Hudson
1916	The Phantom	Bertie Bereton
1916	Eye of the Night		Uncredited
1916	Shell 43	English Spy
1916	The Sin Ye Do	Jimmy
1917	The Weaker Sex
1917	The Bride of Hate	Dr. Duprez's Son
1917	Princess of the Dark	'Crip' Halloran
1917	The Dark Road	Cedric Constable
1917	Happiness	Richard Forrester	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1917	The Millionaire Vagrant	James Cricket
1917	The Hater of Men	Billy Williams
1917	The Mother Instinct	Jean Coutierre
1917	Golden Rule Kate	The Heller
1917	The Devil Dodger	Roger Ingraham
1917	Up or Down?	Allan Corey
1918	Nancy Comes Home	Phil Ballou	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	Shackled	James Ashley	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	More Trouble	Harvey Deering	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	One Dollar Bid		Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	Wedlock	Granger Hollister	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	Doing Their Bit		Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	The Mask	Billy Taylor	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	Three X Gordon	Archie	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1918	The Dawn of Understanding	Ira Beasly	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	The White Heather	Dick Beach	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	The Busher	Jim Blair	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	The Man Beneath	James Bassett	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	A Little Brother of the Rich	Carl Wilmerding
1919	The Red Viper	Dick Grant	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	For a Woman's Honor	Dick Rutherford
1919	Widow by Proxy	Jack Pennington	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	Heart o' the Hills	Gray Pendleton	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1919	Should a Woman Tell?	The Villain	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1920	The White Circle	Frank Cassilis	Credited as Jack Gilbert Writer
1920	The Great Redeemer	Undetermined role	Uncredited Adaptation
1920	Deep Waters	Bill Lacey	Credited as Jack Gilbert Writer
1921	The Servant in the House	Percival	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1921	The Bait	–	Lost film Writer
1921	Love's Penalty	–	Writer, director, editor
1921	Shame	William Fielding/David Field
1921	Ladies Must Live	The Gardener	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1922	Gleam O'Dawn	Gleam O'Dawn
1922	Arabian Love	Norman Stone
1922	The Yellow Stain	Donald Keith
1922	Honor First	Jacques Dubois/Honoré Duboois
1922	Monte Cristo	Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo
1922	Calvert's Valley	Page Emlyn	Credited as Jack Gilbert
1922	The Love Gambler	Dick Manners
1922	A California Romance	Don Patricio Fernando
1923	While Paris Sleeps	Dennis O'Keefe
1923	Truxton King	Truxton King
1923	Madness of Youth	Jaca Javalie
1923	St. Elmo	St. Elmo Thornton	Lost film
1923	The Exiles	Henry Holcombe
1923	Cameo Kirby	Cameo Kirby
1924	Just Off Broadway	Stephen Moore
1924	The Wolf Man	Gerald Stanley	Lost film
1924	A Man's Mate	Paul
1924	The Lone Chance	Jack Saunders	Lost film
1924	Romance Ranch	Carlos Brent
1924	His Hour	Gritzko
1924	Married Flirts	Guest at party	Cameo appearance Lost film
1924	He Who Gets Slapped	Bezano
1924	The Snob	Eugene Curry	Lost film
1924	The Wife of the Centaur	Jeffrey Dwyer	Lost film
1925	The Merry Widow	Prince Danilo Petrovich
1925	The Big Parade	James Apperson
1925	Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ	Crowd extra in chariot race	Uncredited
1926	La Bohème	Rodolphe
1926	Bardelys the Magnificent	Bardelys
1926	Flesh and the Devil	Leo von Harden
1927	The Show	Cock Robin
1927	Twelve Miles Out	Jerry Fay
1927	Man, Woman and Sin	Albert Whitcomb
1927	Love	Captain Count Alexei Vronsky	Director (Uncredited)
1928	The Cossacks	Lukashka
1928	Four Walls	Benny Horowitz	Lost film
1928	Show People	Himself	Cameo appearance Uncredited
1928	The Masks of the Devil	Baron Reiner
1928	A Woman of Affairs	Neville 'Nevs' Holderness
1929	Desert Nights	Hugh Rand	Last silent film
1929	His Glorious Night	Captain Kovacs	Sound film debut
1929	The Hollywood Revue of 1929	Himself
1930	Redemption	Fedya
1930	Way for a Sailor	Jack
1931	Gentleman's Fate	Giacomo Tomasulo/Jack Thomas
1931	The Phantom of Paris	Chéri-Bibi
1931	West of Broadway	Jerry Seevers
1932	Downstairs	Karl Schneider	Story
1933	Fast Workers	Gunner Smith
1933	Queen Christina	Antonio
1934	The Captain Hates the Sea	Steve Bramley

In popular culture

John Gilbert is the subject of a mini-documentary film called Rediscovering John Gilbert (2010) featuring an on-camera interview with John Gilbert's daughter and biographer, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain. The short film, directed and produced by film historian Jeffrey Vance, has aired on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel and is also available on DVD from home video distributor Flicker Alley.

Fictional portrayals

Gilbert has been portrayed in several films. In 1980, Barry Bostwick appeared as the actor in the television film The Silent Lovers. Gilbert has also been portrayed by his grandson, John Fountain, (in 1988's Sunset), Christopher Renstrom (in 1989's La Divina), and Adnan Taletovich (in 2012's Return to Babylon).

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Fountain, Leatrice Gilbert (1985). Dark Star: The Untold Story of the Meteoric Rise and Fall of Legendary Silent Screen Star John Gilbert. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312182755.
• DeBartolo, John (2001). "Man, Woman and Sin." Retrieved May 6, 2005.
• Lussier, Tim (2002). "Merry Widow" commentary. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
• Golden Silents (2004). "John Gilbert, Silent and Sound Film Star, Actor, Director, Writer." Retrieved May 5, 2005.
• Thompson, Dean (2004). "Woman of Affairs" Commentary. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
• Golden, Eve (2013). John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813141626.

External links

• John Gilbert at IMDb
• John Gilbert at AllMovie
• Interview with Marlene Dietrich's daughter mentioning Gilbert
• Photographs of John Gilbert
• Sidereality review of "Gilbert and Garbo in Love" Book review/essay with considerable biographical material concerning John Gilbert
• John Gilbert at Find a Grave