Norma Shearer: The Queen of MGM

To Norma Shearer (1900-1983).

Born in Canada she came to Hollywood in the 1920s when MGM studios was first established. By the time "talkies" came into vogue Norma had established herself as one of the screens leading ladies.

In 1930, she won best actress for her work in "The Divorcee". Around that period, she was cast in not so ladylike roles but with the passing of the Hayes Code in the summer of 1934 she began playing classier characters.

Shearer was married to Irving G. Thalberg in November of 1929. Together they had two children. After Thalberg's death in 1936 she continued to work at MGM until her retierment in 1942 after the completion of "Her Cardboard Lover" with Robert Taylor.

Although she was offered roles in "Gone With The Wind", "Mrs. Miniver", and "Sunset Boulevard" Shearer chose to deny them all and spend the rest of her days in relative seclusion, helping to discover actress Janet Leigh along the way.

In her golden years, she lived at the now demolished County Motion Picture House and Hospital in Hollywood riddled from head to toe in Alzheimer's disease where she died in the summer of 1983.

Pictures courtesy of Dr. Macros High Quality Movie Scans

Song: "My Funny Valentine" by Rod Stewart

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• Norma
• Shearer
• tribute

[afrenchindublin]

wow, lovely pictures, many of them I'd never seen before. I need to watch more of Norma's films !

[kingwoofer]

We miss you, Norma!

[TheMidge29]

@unclealand did you watch any of her movies?

[Rosannasfriend]

@greateststarbyfar I think she was gorgeous, besides it is not just about looks, it was also about box office, popularity and talent back then too. She was also married to a big shot exec, lot.

[markdugan1972]

The music should be from the thirties to match the pictures.

[unclealand]

She bored me blind. Took a lot to make her half as glamorous as Crawford or Garbo.

[greateststarbyfar]

she wishes she was the queen of mgm. there has only been one queen of mgm. who by fact was the most famous actress of her generation of that time period. the highest paid and most famous of all associated with mgm is greta garbo. norma shearer was a ordinary face. not that of unsurpassed beauty as garbo. shearer had thalberg and that was all.  greta garbo was the queen of mgm. just look at katherine hepburn on dick cavett on greta garbo and retract this fantasy.

[geoff189d]

Lovely photos. I have one of the images on the front of an old film album - Stars and Films of 1938.