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

Frances Howard McLaughlin was born in Kansas City, Kansas or Omaha, Nebraska in 1903 to Helen Victoria (née Howard) and Charles Douglas McLaughlin. She was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Her mother, nicknamed Bonnie, had been raised a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

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.

Career

Howard began her professional career at age 16 with a stock theater company. When she was 21, Howard portrayed a flapper on Broadway in '' The Intimate Strangers''. 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''. She also appeared in ''Too Many Kisses'' (1925). She had the contract canceled when she decided to marry.

Personal life

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

Death

On July 2, 1976, at the age of 73, Howard died in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, California more than a year after being diagnosed with advanced cancer, for which she refused treatment which would have required invasive and disfiguring surgery. She was funeralized at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills and interred next to her husband at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...

Filmography

Howard made four films from 1925 to 1935: * '' Too Many Kisses'' (1925) as Yvonne Hurja * '' The Swan'' (1925) as Alexandra, the Swan * '' The Shock Punch'' (1925) as Dorothy Clark * '' Mary Burns, Fugitive'' (1935) as Landlady

Legacy

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. The library was funded by The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation in 1982 after the previous building was destroyed by arson.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Frances 1903 births 1976 deaths American people of Irish descent American film actresses American silent film actresses Actresses from Omaha, Nebraska Catholics from Nebraska Catholics from California Actresses from Greater Los Angeles Deaths from cancer in California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses Goldwyn family University of Nebraska alumni