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Alla Nazimova
Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (Russian: Алла Александровна Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 [O.S. May 22] 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
On Broadway, she was noted for her work in the classic plays of Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev. She later moved to film, where she served many production roles, both writing and directing films under pseudonyms.
Her film Salome (1922) is regarded as a cultural landmark. Nazimova was bisexual and openly conducted relationships with women while being married to a man. She created the Garden of Alla Hotel which became a retreat for many celebrities of the time. She is credited with having originated the phrase "sewing circle" as a discreet code for lesbian or bisexual actresses.
Nazimova was born Marem-Ides Leventon (Russian name: Adelaida Yakovlevna Leventon) in the resort town of Yalta, in Crimea, Russian Empire. Her accepted birth year is 1879, but other sources have mentioned 1876 as a possible birth year. Her stage name Alla Nazimova was a combination of Alla (a diminutive of Adelaida) and the surname of Nadezhda Nazimova, the heroine of the Russian novel Children of the Streets. She was widely known as just Nazimova. Her name was sometimes transcribed as Alia Nasimoff. The youngest of three children born to Jewish parents Yakov Abramovich Leventon, a pharmacist, and Sarah Leivievna Gorowitz (later known as Sofia or Sophie Lvovna Gorovitz/Horovitz/Herowitz), who moved to Yalta in 1870 from Kishinev, Nazimova grew up in a dysfunctional family. After her parents divorced when she was eight, she was shuffled among boarding schools, foster homes and relatives.
As a teenager, she began to pursue an interest in the theatre and took acting lessons at the Academy of Acting in Moscow. She joined Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre using the name of Alla Nazimova for the first time. She studied with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, co-founder of the Moscow Art Theater.
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 by the American producer Henry Miller and made her Broadway debut in New York City in 1906 to critical and popular success. Her English-language premiere in November 1906 was in the title role of Hedda Gabler. She reportedly learned English in five months. She quickly became extremely popular (Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre was named after her) and remained a major Broadway star, often starring in works by Ibsen and Chekhov. Dorothy Parker described her as the finest Hedda Gabler she had ever seen.[citation needed]
Nazimova's film career began when she was 37 years old. 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, which was produced by Lewis J. Selznick. She was paid $1,000 per day, and the film was a success. A young actor with a bit part in the movie was Richard Barthelmess, whose mother, Caroline W. Harris, had taught Nazimova English. Nazimova had encouraged him to try out for movies and he later became a star.
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Alla Nazimova
Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (Russian: Алла Александровна Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 [O.S. May 22] 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
On Broadway, she was noted for her work in the classic plays of Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev. She later moved to film, where she served many production roles, both writing and directing films under pseudonyms.
Her film Salome (1922) is regarded as a cultural landmark. Nazimova was bisexual and openly conducted relationships with women while being married to a man. She created the Garden of Alla Hotel which became a retreat for many celebrities of the time. She is credited with having originated the phrase "sewing circle" as a discreet code for lesbian or bisexual actresses.
Nazimova was born Marem-Ides Leventon (Russian name: Adelaida Yakovlevna Leventon) in the resort town of Yalta, in Crimea, Russian Empire. Her accepted birth year is 1879, but other sources have mentioned 1876 as a possible birth year. Her stage name Alla Nazimova was a combination of Alla (a diminutive of Adelaida) and the surname of Nadezhda Nazimova, the heroine of the Russian novel Children of the Streets. She was widely known as just Nazimova. Her name was sometimes transcribed as Alia Nasimoff. The youngest of three children born to Jewish parents Yakov Abramovich Leventon, a pharmacist, and Sarah Leivievna Gorowitz (later known as Sofia or Sophie Lvovna Gorovitz/Horovitz/Herowitz), who moved to Yalta in 1870 from Kishinev, Nazimova grew up in a dysfunctional family. After her parents divorced when she was eight, she was shuffled among boarding schools, foster homes and relatives.
As a teenager, she began to pursue an interest in the theatre and took acting lessons at the Academy of Acting in Moscow. She joined Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre using the name of Alla Nazimova for the first time. She studied with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, co-founder of the Moscow Art Theater.
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 by the American producer Henry Miller and made her Broadway debut in New York City in 1906 to critical and popular success. Her English-language premiere in November 1906 was in the title role of Hedda Gabler. She reportedly learned English in five months. She quickly became extremely popular (Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre was named after her) and remained a major Broadway star, often starring in works by Ibsen and Chekhov. Dorothy Parker described her as the finest Hedda Gabler she had ever seen.[citation needed]
Nazimova's film career began when she was 37 years old. 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, which was produced by Lewis J. Selznick. She was paid $1,000 per day, and the film was a success. A young actor with a bit part in the movie was Richard Barthelmess, whose mother, Caroline W. Harris, had taught Nazimova English. Nazimova had encouraged him to try out for movies and he later became a star.