ALLA NAZIMOVA

Alla Nazimova (almost always billed as "Nazimova"), she was born Mariam Edez Adelaida Leventon in Russia in 1879. She was a pupil of Stanislavsky (and his "method" style of acting). She became a major stage star there, and came to the United States in the mid-1910s and made eleven movies for Metro in three years, including "Camille" opposite Rudolph Valentino. She produced movies that flopped badly, and she returned to the stage, returning to make a very few movies in the 1940s. She is as famous for her off screen behavior as for her on screen behavior, including the lavish parties she held at her villa/hotel named "The Garden of Alla"! Some of her movies include: Since You Went Away, In Our Time, Blood and Sand, Billions, A Woman of France, and War Brides. She passed away in 1945 at the age of 66.