Alla Nazimova

 Alla Nazimova born Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon in 1879  was one of three children of Yakov Leventon and Sonya Horowitz. The family was Jewish and lived in Yalta, Crimea, then part of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). She grew up in a dysfunctional family and after her parents' separation was shuffled among boarding schools, foster homes, and relatives. A precocious child, she was playing the violin by age seven. 

As a teenager she began to pursue an interest in the theatre and took acting lessons at the Academy of Acting in Moscow before joining Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre as "Alla Nazimova," and later just "Nazimova." (Her stage name was a combination of her middle name Adelaida and the surname of Nadezhda Nazimova, the heroine of the Russian novel Children of the Streets.

Nazimova's theater career blossomed early; and by 1903 she was a major star in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. She toured Europe, including London and Berlin, with her boyfriend Pavel Orlenev a flamboyant actor and producer. In 1905 they moved to New York City and founded a Russian-language theater on the Lower East Side. The venture was unsuccessful; and Orlenev returned to Russia while Nazimova stayed in New York

She was signed up by the American producer Henry Miller and made her Broadway debut in 1906 to critical and popular success. She quickly became extremely popular (a theater was named after her) and remained a major Broadway star for years, often acting in the plays of Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekhov.

Due to her notoriety in a 35-minute 1915 play entitled War Brides, Nazimova made her silent film debut in 1916 in the filmed version of the play. A young actor with a bit part in the movie was Richard Barthelmess whose mother taught Nazimova English. This appearance brought her to the attention of Lewis J. Selznick. Over the next few years she made a number of highly successful films that earned her a considerable amount of money. By 1917 her contract was earning her $13,000 per week.

In 1918, Nazimova felt confident enough in her abilities that she began producing and writing films in which she also starred. In her film adaptations of works by such notable writers as Oscar Wilde and Ibsen she developed her own film making techniques, which were considered daring at the time. Her projects, including A Doll's House (1922), based on Ibsen, and Salomé (1923), based on Wilde's play, were critical and commercial failures.

By 1925 Nazimova could no longer afford to invest in more films; and financial backers withdrew their support. Left with few options, she gave up on the film industry, returning to perform on Broadway, notably starring as Natalya Petrovna in Rouben Mamoulian's 1930 New York production of Turgenev's A Month in the Country. In the early 1940s, she appeared in a few more films, playing Robert Taylor's mother in Escape (1940) and Tyrone Power's mother in Blood and Sand (1941).

In 1899 she married Sergei Golovin, a fellow actor. However, the marriage was "in name only"; and the two never legally divorced.

While still in Russia and before coming to America in 1905, Nazimova may have given birth to a child. The father has been speculated to be either her husband Golovin or her lover Orlenev.

From 1912 to 1925 Nazimova lived in a "lavender marriage" with Charles Bryant (1879–1948),a New York actor.

Between the years of 1917 and 1922 Nazimova wielded considerable influence and power in Hollywood. By all accounts she was extremely generous to young actresses in whom she saw talent and became involved with at least some of them romantically. For instance, after meeting a young Patsy Ruth Miller at a Hollywood party, Nazimova assisted in getting Miller's career launched. (Miller got her first break with a small role in Camille.) Another noteworthy example was Anna May Wong, whose first film role at age 14 was as an extra in The Red Lantern.

Nazimova helped start the careers of both of Rudolph Valentino's wives, Jean Acker and Natacha Rambova. Although she was involved in an affair with Acker, it is debated as to whether her connection with Rambova ever developed into a sexual affair. Nevertheless, there were rumors that Nazimova and Rambova were involved in a lesbian affair (they are discussed at length in Dark Lover, Emily Leider's biography of Rudolph Valentino) but those rumors have never been definitely confirmed. She was very impressed by Rambova's skills as an art director; and Rambova designed the innovative sets for Nazimova's film productions of Camille and Salomé.

 Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova

Natacha Rambova

Of those Nazimova is confirmed to have been involved with romantically, the list includes actress Eva Le Gallienne, director Dorothy Arzner, writer Mercedes de Acosta, and Oscar Wilde's niece, Dolly Wilde. It was allegedly Nazimova who coined the phrase "Sewing circles" as code to refer to lesbian or bisexual actresses of her day who concealed their true sexuality.

Nazimova lived with Glesca Marshall from 1929 until her death in 1945.

 

Nazimova with Rudolph Valentino

Her private lifestyle gave rise to widespread rumors of outlandish and allegedly debauched parties at her mansion on Sunset Boulevard known as The Garden of Alla, built in 1919. This mansion in 1927 became the Garden of Allah apartment-hotel complex. In later years, she continued to live in one of the villas there.

 The Garden of Allah, it has quite a story of it's own, to read more about this fascinating place go here

 

In 1921, Nazimova, a friend of actress Edith Luckett and her husband, Dr. Loyal Davis, was made godmother to future first lady Nancy Davis Reagan, Luckett's daughter from a previous marriage. She was also the aunt of American film producer Val Lewton.

Nazimova became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1927.

A breast cancer survivor, Nazimova died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 66 on July 13, 1945, in the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California; and her ashes were interred in  in Glendale, California. Her contributions to the film industry have been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Promotional Poster for Hedda Gabler 1907

Nazimova has been portrayed in film three times. The first two were biographical films about Rudolph Valentino: 1975's The Legend of Valentino, in which she was portrayed by Alicia Bond; and 1977's Valentino, in which she was portrayed by Leslie Caron. The most recent film portrayal was in Return to Babylon of 2004, a film about Hollywood's silent movie era, in which Laura Harring played Nazimova.

The character of Nazimova appears also in Dominick Argento's opera Dream of Valentino in which she also plays the violin.

Nazimova was also featured in make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin's 2004 book Face Forward, in which he made up Isabella Rossellini to resemble her.

Aubrey Beardsley inspired sets and costumes, for Camille and Salome designed by Natacha Rambova

Nazimova by Steichen for Vanity Fair October 1932

Lady GaGa, inspiration from Nazimova

Isabella Rossellini made up as Nazimova by the late Kevin Aucoin

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