BIO

Gladys George was born Gladys Clare Evans in Patten, Maine, in 1900.   Both of her parents were actors.   By the time she was three years old, they had formed a family act for vaudeville - The Three Clares.

George went on to make her Broadway debut in 1919, at the age of 19.   That same year she also appeared in a co-starring film role for Thomas Ince.   George pursued her film career through 1921. Unfortunately, she was severely burned in an accident which curtailed her early movie career.   She returned to regional stage acting and married the actor Ben Enway in 1922.   George returned to Broadway in 1934 and had a starring role in Personal Appearance (1934-1935).   She appeared in two more productions through 1941.

By 1934, she was re-married to a wealthy manufacturer who helped further her career and she signed a contract with MGM. Soon thereafter, her spouse found her in the arms of the leading man of her first film.   She was divorced in 1935, but re-married quickly to the actor Leonard Penn.

George received a Best Actress nomination for the movie Valiant Is The Word For Carrie (1936).

She appeared in more than 35 feature films. Her last film was released in 1953.

George married four times:

1. Ben Enway, actor, 1922-1930, divorced;
2. Edward Fowler, industrialist, 1933-1935, divorced;
3. Leonard Penn, actor, 1935-1944, divorced;
4. Kenneth Bradley, 1946-1950, divorced.

Alcoholism, heavy smoking and cumulative heart disease took their toll.   George died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Los Angeles, in 1954. She was 54 years old.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at: