Lucile Gleason

Lucile Webster Gleason (February 6, 1888 – May 18, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress. Gleason was also a civic worker who was active in film colony projects.

Lucile Gleason
Lucile Gleason in the 1929 film The Shannons of Broadway
Born	Lucile Webster February 6, 1888 Pasadena, California, U.S.
Died	May 18, 1947 (1947-05-19) (aged 59) Brentwood, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Spouse(s)	James Gleason ​ ( m. 1905)
Children	Russell Gleason

Early life

Lucile Webster was born on February 6, 1888, in Pasadena, California.

Stage

Lucile Gleason and James Gleason in the Broadway production of The Shannons of Broadway (1928)

Lucile Webster went on stage as a teen working with her father's stock company. After she married actor James Gleason, she realized stage success in New York City in a production of The Shannons of Broadway (1927), written by her husband. The play was adapted for a 1929 film of the same name, and was later made into the film Goodbye Broadway (1938).

Film

Gleason's motion picture career started with several movies in 1929 and continued until 1945. The Gleasons continued to perform together in Hollywood. In 1929 they co-starred in The Shannons of Broadway.[1] In 1945, they made The Clock, with Lucile playing the role of Mrs. Al Henry, the wife of her husband's character.

Higgins Family films

The Gleasons as the Higgins Family in the 1939 film, The Covered Trailer

Their son, Russell, was paired with his parents in the farcical family comedy, The Higgins Family, in 1938. The story centers around Lucile's performance in two radio programs which threaten to derail her husband's advertising business. The trio was also featured in Grandpa Goes to Town, another Higgins saga, in 1940.[2]

Activism

She was a vice-president of the Screen Actors Guild[3] and was a member of the Hollywood U.S.O. and the Veterans' Service Council. In 1947 she was named Mother of 1947 in a Mother's Day observance conducted by the U.S.O. In the 1930s Gleason served on the advisory board of the Federal Theater Project. On several occasions she was an unsuccessful candidate for political office. In 1944 Gleason ran for the Assembly from the 59th District in California. In 1946 she was defeated by then incumbent Secretary of State Frank Jordan.

Personal life

Gleason became the wife of actor James Gleason in 1905, when the couple married in Oakland, California. She took his surname as her professional and legal surname.

Her only child was actor Russell Gleason (1908-1945), whose most prominent role came in the Academy Award-winning version of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), in which he played the role of Private Mueller.

On December 26, 1945, Russell Gleason was in New York City when he fell to his death out of a fourth story window in the Hotel Sutton. He had been awaiting deployment to Europe with his regiment in the hotel, which the army had commandeered to house the troops. Reports varied, some saying the fall was accidental, while others stating it was a suicide.[4]

Death

Gleason died in her sleep, apparently of heart disease in 1947,[5] aged 59, at her home in Brentwood, California.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	The Shannons of Broadway	Emma Shannon
1931	The Pagan Lady	Nellie
1931	Girls About Town	Mrs. Benjamin Thomas
1931	Nice Women	Mrs. Girard
1932	Girl of the Rio	Matron
1933	Don't Bet on Love	Mrs. Gilbert
1933	The Solitaire Man	Mrs. Arthur Peabody
1933	Love, Honor, and Oh Baby!	Flo Bowen
1934	Beloved	The Duchess
1934	Woman Unafraid	Augusta Winthrop
1934	I Like It That Way	Mrs. Anderson
1934	A Successful Failure	Mrs. Cushing
1936	Klondike Annie	Big Tess
1936	The Ex-Mrs. Bradford	Mrs. Hutchins
1936	Rhythm on the Range	Penelope 'Penny' Ryland
1936	Red Lights Ahead	Molly 'Ma' Wallace
1937	Navy Blues	Aunt Beulah
1937	First Lady	Mrs. Ives
1938	The Higgins Family	Lillian Higgins
1938	The Nurse from Brooklyn	'Ma' Hutchins
1938	The Beloved Brat	Miss Brewster
1939	My Wife's Relatives	Lil Higgins
1939	Should Husbands Work?
1939	The Covered Trailer
1939	Money to Burn
1940	Grandpa Goes to Town
1940	Lucky Partners	Ethel's Mother
1940	Earl of Puddlestone	Lil Higgins
1941	The Gay Falcon	Vera Gardner
1942	She's in the Army	Sgt. Hannah Walters
1943	Stage Door Canteen	Herself
1944	Take It Big	Sophie
1945	The Clock	Mrs. Al Henry
1945	Don't Fence Me In	Mrs. Prentiss	(final film role)

References

1. "(movie theater advertisements)". Indiana, Indianapolis. The Indianapolis News. February 3, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved January 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Walker, Paul (April 26, 1940). "'Grandpa' at the Rio: 'Black Friday,' Senate". Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 17. Retrieved January 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Film Actors' Guild Headed by Arnold". California, Oakland. Oakland Tribune. September 16, 1940. p. 9. Retrieved January 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Russell Gleason". Find a Grave. Archived from the original on January 11, 2002. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
5. "Lucile Gleason Dies". Texas, Waco. The Waco News-Tribune. May 19, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved January 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

• Fresno Bee, "Actress Lucile Gleason Dies In Hollywood", May 19, 1947, p. 3
• Los Angeles Times, "Lucile Gleason, Film Actress, Dies in Sleep", May 19, 1947, p. A1
• Oakland Tribune, "Gleasons Score At Grand Lake", October 28, 1938, p. 37

External links

• Lucile Gleason at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lucile Gleason on IMDb
• Lucile Gleason at Find a Grave