Gloria Swanson, The Ultimate Star, by Stephen Michael Shearer,published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2013.

Gloria Swanson is no longer a familiar name to film audiences, but she is considered by many to have been the "Ultimate Star." The author, Stephen Michael Shearer, has not only written a biography of a legendary film star but, also, as a result of extraordinary research, a valuable history of the golden age of silent films. As the author writes in his summary of Swanson's career, "Truly, before Hollywood created stars, there were stars who created Hollywood."

Gloria Swanson was discovered by Cecil B. DeMille who said, "When you put them all together and add them up, Gloria Swanson was the movie star of all movie stars." She made millions for the studios and she was eventually recognized as the biggest star in the world. Known for her sparkling vivacity, glamorous presentation, extravagant lifestyle, romantic attachments (including six husbands), and an innate ability to seize the limelight ("She never met a camera she didn't like."), Gloria held center stage for decades. Gloria not only has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in films, but also a star for her pioneering efforts in television.

But above all else, Gloria is recognized for her 1950 comeback role in the movie Sunset Boulevard in which she portrayed a legendary star of yesteryear named Norma Desmond. (The film was directed by Billy Wilder, and co-written by Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman, Jr., and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards.) Like the character she portrayed, Gloria "lived opulently, spending every dime she earned." In the film, Norma Desmond (Gloria) lives in a Hollywood mansion with her butler Max Von Mayerling, played by Erich von Stroheim. Enter Joe Gillis (William Holden), who is much younger. Norma falls in love with Joe and things turn out badly. But not for Gloria Swanson. She recognized that Sunset Boulevard would endure as her lasting legacy in Hollywood. And it has.