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Frances Howard (actress)

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Frances Howard
Howard in 1953
Born
Frances Howard McLaughlin

(1903-06-04)June 4, 1903
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 1976(1976-07-02) (aged 73)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
OccupationActress
Years active1925–1935
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1925; died 1974)​
ChildrenSamuel Goldwyn Jr.
Relatives

Frances Howard Goldwyn (née McLaughlin; June 4, 1903 – July 2, 1976) was an American actress. She was the second wife of producer Samuel Goldwyn, and the paternal grandmother of actors Tony and John Goldwyn.

Early life

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Frances Howard McLaughlin[1] was born in Kansas City, Kansas[2] or Omaha, Nebraska in 1903[3] to Helen Victoria (née Howard) and Charles Douglas McLaughlin.[4] She was raised as a Catholic. Her mother, nicknamed Bonnie, had been raised a Quaker but converted to Catholicism, and she predeceased her daughter by five years. Her father was reportedly a grandson of Irish nationalist politician Daniel O'Connell. Howard had two sisters and a brother.[4]

Career

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Howard began her professional career at age 16 with a stock theater company.[5] When she was 21, Howard portrayed a flapper on Broadway in The Intimate Strangers.[6] She followed that part with another flapper role in The Best People. Paramount signed her to a five-year contract, and she co-starred in the film The Swan.[2] She also appeared in Too Many Kisses (1925).[7] She had the contract canceled when she decided to marry.[2]

Personal life

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Howard married Samuel Goldwyn, more than two decades her senior, on April 23, 1925.[8] They remained married until Goldwyn's death on January 31, 1974. They had one son, Samuel Goldwyn Jr..[9]

Death

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On July 2, 1976,[2] at the age of 73, Howard died in Beverly Hills, California more than a year after being diagnosed with advanced cancer, for which she refused treatment which would have required invasive and disfiguring surgery.[4] She was funeralized at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills and interred next to her husband at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.[10][11]

Filmography

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Howard made four films from 1925 to 1935:

Legacy

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The Hollywood Branch Library in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles is named for Howard, and it acts as an archival repository for many film collections.[12][13] The library was funded by The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation in 1982 after the previous building was destroyed by arson.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Easton, Carol. The Search for Sam Goldwyn (2014)
  2. ^ a b c d Illson, Murray (July 3, 1976). "Frances Howard Goldwyn Dies; Actress and Husband's Partner". The New York Times. p. 19. ProQuest 122950314. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ Born in 1903 per Intelius
  4. ^ a b c Berg, A. Scott (2013). Goldwyn: A Biography. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781471130069. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Bailer, Don (November 18, 1959). "34 Goldwyn Years -- For Only $310". The Miami Herald. p. 33. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Woollcott, Alexander (November 8, 1921). "The New Play". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. 28 – via NYTimes.com.
  7. ^ Dickstein, Martin S. (March 4, 1925). "The Cinema Circuit". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. p. 9. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Magill, Frank N. (2014). The 20th Century Go-N: Dictionary of World Biography. Routledge. p. 1417. ISBN 9781317740605. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  9. ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2016). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2015. McFarland. p. 135. ISBN 9780786476671. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  10. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 9780786409839. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  11. ^ Illson, Murray (July 3, 1976). "Frances Howard Goldwyn Dies; Actress and Husband's Partner". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library - Collection Information". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Hollywood Branch Library". Water and Power Associates. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
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