Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2012 - (Page 128)

h e R i Ta g e gloria swanson T h e R i T z - C a R l T o n , a T l a n T i C C i T y, 1 9 2 6 128 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m EvErEtt CollECtion/rEx USA One of the great actresses of the silent film era, Gloria Swanson was a prototypical Hollywood movie star — a figure so much larger than life that even her costume changes made headlines. At her professional peak by the mid-1920s, she catapulted into legend by marrying a dashing French aristocrat and becoming the Marquise de la Falaise de la Coudraye. She and Henri de la Falaise had met in Paris when he was drafted as her interpreter on the set of “Madame SansGêne,” a historical drama, and the story of their love affair turned the movie, and their lives, into a public fairy tale. Their stay in Atlantic City, a year into their marriage, likely coincided with a trip to Fredericksburg, Va., where the marquis, a decorated war hero, had been invited to dedicate a World War I memorial. More certainly, we know that the hotel was, like its celebrity guests, a phenomenon of the Roaring ’20s. Opening in 1921, it ushered in Atlantic City’s Golden Age, a time when U.S. presidents, showbiz legends and gangsters seemed to casually rub shoulders off the famed oceanfront boardwalk. If that sounds like a Hollywood storyline, it now is: The hit TV series “Boardwalk Empire” has its lead character occupying an entire floor of the hotel. In real history, the hotel struggled during the Depression, became a military barracks in World War II, and subsequently was converted into condominiums. The mythic marriage between Gloria Swanson and her marquis declined more rapidly; after a passionate affair between her and Joseph Kennedy, the father of JFK, the couple quietly divorced in 1930. The film that brought them together, “Madame Sans-Gêne,” has sadly been lost to history. http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2012

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2012
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Tokyo
Technology
Design
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Family Travel
Wellness
Golf
Philadelphia
Culinary
Let Us Stay With You
Heritage

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2012