Meg Swan

Meg Swan (1935)

**Margaret Constance Swanson** (July 19, 1907 - January 16, 1990), known professionally as **Meg Swan**, was an American actress, model and dancer.

## Biography

### Early Life

Margaret Constance Swanson was born on July 19, 1907 in Grape Creek, Texas, the first of four children born to Christine (née Ware, 1886-1958) and Stanley Swanson (1884-1935). She had two brothers, Timothy and Todd, and a sister Ruth, who was the youngest of siblings. Through her father she was of Scottish descent and her ancestors came from North Lanarkshire, Scotland, while her English maternal ancestors were from East Midlands, England. Soon after Ruth's birth, family moved to San Angelo, a city located 12,7 miles from Grape Creek. She dropped out education at fifteen and started working in a grocery store. Soon afterward, she took a filing job at the San Angelo telephone office for $14 a week, which allowed her to become financially independent. She disliked the job; her real goal was to enter show business. She then took a job cutting dress patterns for Vogue magazine, but customers complained about her work and she was fired. Her next job was a typist for a local music company, as she said, she kind of enjoyed the job but still wanted work in show business. At 16, she moved to Brooklyn, New York City.

### Career

#### Theatre jobs and Broadway

In 1922, she auditioned for a place in the chorus at a night club, which was located over the Strand Theatre in Times Square. Few months later, she took a job as dancer at New Amsterdam Theater. Later she was working as a chorus singer at night club. Most of the people who known her in this time described her as "wary of sophisticates and phonies." One of her friends, Henry Durham, introduced Meg to impresario Ben Woodward in late 1925. Woodward was searching for people who could play in his play *The Swallows*, and Henry told him that Meg could be a chorus girl or play a minor role either. Woodward agreed, and gave the role to Meg. *The Swallows* premiered on February 2, 1926, and became one of the most succesful Broadway performances in season. Swan became a Broadway star soon afterward, after playing major role in play *Pretty Woman* (1927). She received many positive opinions and *Pretty Woman* became a Broadway hit. In late 1927, she was given a script by Sean Baird for his upcoming 1927 silent film *Broadway Girl*. She played the lead role, and *Broadaway Girl* became Meg's first film appearance.

#### Film career

Her first sound film was *English Rose* (1929), directed by Wilson Davies, her future husband. In 1930, she was casted in Midnight, where she played a ballet dancer who turns into a vampire during Midnight. Midnight is known as the one of the first films to include a vampire character in United States. At this time, she was best known for her role in this movie. In *Night Escapes* (1933), she portrayed a theatre actress who during nights is espacing her boss, who wants her to marry her every single night. In 1937, she received an Academy Award nommination in the category of Best Actress, for her role in film *They Want It*. In 1937, she also provided her voice to Disney film *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* playing Snow White. From 1940 to 1949, she played in films like *Bubblegum* (1940), *Would You?* (1942), *Breaking Hearts of Innocent Girls* (1945), *Wearing Your Words* (1946), *Golden Ring Which I Stole* (1947), *Garden Flowers* (1948) and *Stay With Me* (1949).

#### Television career

In the 1950s, she decided to pursue career in television. In 1953, she co-starred in an episode of western *A Hut on The Prairie* (1952-1958), as a nanny who took care of children of main character. In 1955, she was casted in the series as local nurse. In 1959, she was casted in another western series *Hats Off* (1959-1965), where she played wife of sheriff. From 1965 until series' end in 1979, she was playing matriarch of the Stanton family in *Forgotten*. In 1985, she made a few cameos in soap opera *Legacy*. She retired from acting in 1986, after sixty-four-year career, at the age of seventy nine.

### Personal Life

During filming *English Rose* in spring 1929, she met her future husband Wilson Davies, a director of the film. Davies engaged to her in September, and they wed on December 2, 1929. They lived in Manhattan, New York. Their marriage lasted five years and ended up in divorce. In June 1936, she met Scottish showman Hamish Kirkpatrick. They developed close friendship soon after. Their relationship started in May 1937, and was followed by Hamish's proposal in January 1938. The two wed on August 16, 1938 in Malibu, California, where they later moved. Meg gave birth to their son Dean Earl Louis Kirkpatrick on March 2, 1941. She and Kirkpatrick divorced in May 1951, after thirteen years of marriage. From 1952 until his death in 1970, Meg's life partner was actor Bradley Wayne Gordon. Her sister Ruth's granddaughters, (Meg's great-nieces), are late actress Rita Gail Hayden and actress Donna McMillan.

### Death

Swan died on January 16, 1990, aged 82, of heart failure. She was buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary.