Dolores Costello (September 17, 1903Shulman, Terry Chester (2019). "Film's First Family: The Untold Story of the Costellos (Screen Classics)" · University Press of Kentucky, 2019 ·Costello's obituary in The New York Times says that she was born on September 17, 1905. – March 1, 1979)Motion Picture Performers. A bibliography of magazine and periodical articles, 1900–1969; compiled by Mel Schuster. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1971. was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen" by her first husband, the actor John Barrymore. She was the mother of John Drew Barrymore and grandmother of actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore.
Early years
Dolores Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of actors Maurice Costello and Mae Costello (née Altschuk). She was of Irish and German descent. She had a younger sister, Helene, and the two made their early film appearances from 1909 to 1915 as child actresses for the Vitagraph Film Company. They played supporting roles in several films starring their father, who was a popular matinee idol at the time.
Film career
The two sisters appeared on Broadway together as chorus line dancers, and their success resulted in contracts with Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1926, following small parts in feature films, Dolores Costello was selected by John Barrymore to star with him in The Sea Beast, a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, after which Warner soon began starring her in her own vehicles. Meanwhile, she and Barrymore became involved romantically, and married in 1928.
Within a few years of achieving stardom, Costello had become a film personality in her own right. As a young adult, her career developed to the degree that in 1926, she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star, and had acquired the nickname "The Goddess of the Silver Screen".
Warners alternated Costello between films with contemporary settings and elaborate costume dramas. In 1927, she was re-teamed with John Barrymore in When a Man Loves, an adaptation of Manon Lescaut. In 1928, she co-starred with George O'Brien in Noah's Ark, a part-talkie epic directed by Michael Curtiz.
Costello spoke with a lisp and found it difficult to make the transition to talking pictures, but after two years of voice coaching she was comfortable speaking before a microphone. One of her early sound film appearances was with her sister Helene in the Warner Bros. all-star extravaganza The Show of Shows (1929).
Her acting career became less of a priority for her following the birth of her first child, Dolores Ethel Mae "DeeDee" Barrymore, on April 8, 1930, and she retired from the screen in 1931 to devote time to her family. Her second child, John Drew Barrymore, was born on June 4, 1932, but the marriage proved difficult due to her husband's increasing alcoholism, and they divorced in 1935.
She resumed her career a year later and achieved some successes, most notably in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). She retired permanently from acting following her appearance in This Is the Army (1943), again under the direction of Michael Curtiz.
Making a rare radio appearance, Costello appeared as the Danish Countess Elsa on the radio program Suspense on August 28, 1943. The title of the episode was The King's Birthday, written by Corporal Leonard Pellitier, U.S. Army.
Later years Costello's final film was This Is the Army (1943). The destructive effects of early film makeup, which affected her complexion too severely to camouflage, is blamed for the end of her film career.Olive Borden: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Joy Girl by Michelle Vogel page 89; Retrieved February 10, 2016Orson Welles: A Biography by Barbara Leaming page 222; Retrieved February 10, 2016 In 1939, she married Dr. John Vruwink, an obstetrician who was her physician during her pregnancies; they divorced in 1950. She died of emphysema in California in early March 1979 at age 75. Costello has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures at 1645 Vine Street.
Filmography
Child roles Costello appeared as a child actress in many films made from 1909 to 1915. Among them are:
Year Film Source A Midsummer Night's Dream The Telephone Consuming Love, or St. Valentine's Day in Greenaway Land a Geranium The Child Crusoes His Sister's Children A Reformed Santa Claus Some Good in All Captain Jenks' Dilemma The Meeting of the Ways For the Honor of the Family She Never Knew; Lulu's Doctor The Troublesome Step-Daughters The Money Kings A Juvenile Love Affair Wanted...a Grandmother Vultures and Doves Her Grandchild Captain Barnacle's Legacy Bobby's Father The Irony of Fate The Toymaker Ida's Christmas A Birthday Gift The Hindoo Charm In the Shadow Fellow Voyagers Some Steamer Scooping Etta of the Footlights Too Much Burglar The Evil Men Do
Adult roles
She restarted her movie career in 1923 after spending several years modeling in New York.
Year Film Role Director Notes1923 The Glimpses of the Moon bit part Allan Dwan Lost film Lawful Larceny Nora the maid Allan Dwan Lost film1925 Greater Than a Crown Isabel Frances / Princess of Lividia Roy William Neill Bobbed Hair Bit part Alan Crosland 1926 Mannequin Joan Herrick James Cruze The Sea Beast Esther Harper Millard Webb Bride of the Storm Faith Fitzhugh J. Stuart Blackton Lost film The Little Irish Girl Dot Walker Roy Del Ruth Lost film The Third Degree Annie Daly Michael Curtiz A copy is preserved at the Library of Congress1927 When a Man Loves Manon Lescaut Alan Crosland A Million Bid Dorothy Gordon Michael Curtiz An incomplete copy is held at the Library of Congress with Italian intertitlesOld San Francisco Dolores Vasquez Alan Crosland Copies held at the Library of Congress, George Eastman House and Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Heart of Maryland Maryland Calvert Lloyd Bacon An incomplete copy is held at the Library of Congress The College Widow Jane Witherspoon Archie Mayo Lost film1928 Tenderloin Rose Shannon Michael Curtiz Lost film Glorious Betsy Betsy Patterson Alan Crosland Preserved at the Library of Congress, while its Vitaphone track survives incomplete at the UCLA Film & Television Archive Noah's Ark Marie/Miriam Michael Curtiz Film survives as a partially restored 108 minute version; the original 138 minute version is lost1929 The Redeeming Sin Joan Billaire Howard Bretherton Lost film Glad Rag Doll Annabel Lee Michael Curtiz Lost filmTrailer survives Madonna of Avenue A Maria Morton Michael Curtiz Lost film Hearts in Exile Vera Zuanova Michael Curtiz Lost film The Show of Shows Meet My Sister number John G. Adolfi Survives in black and white copy, fragments of color segments exist1930 Second Choice Vallery Grove Howard Bretherton Lost film1931 Expensive Women Constance "Connie" Newton Hobart Henley Preserved at the Library of Congress 1936 Little Lord Fauntleroy "Dearest" Erroll John Cromwell Yours for the Asking Lucille Sutton Alexander Hall1938 The Beloved Brat Helen Cosgrove Arthur Lubin Breaking the Ice Martha Martin Edward F. Cline1939 King of the Turf Eve Barnes Alfred E. Green Whispering Enemies Laura Crandall Lewis D. Collins Outside These Walls Margaret Bronson Ray McCarey1942 The Magnificent Ambersons Isabel Orson Welles1943 This Is the Army Mrs. Davidson Michael Curtiz1980Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film Herself her scenes broadcast posthumously
Notes
References
External links
Dolores Costello photo gallery
Photographs of Dolores Costello Dolores and Anita Louise with the legendary Daniel Frohman in 1936 at Actors Fund Benefit (Corbis Images)