Gladys McConnell (October 22, 1905 – March 4, 1979) was a movie actress and aviatrix. She was born in Oklahoma City, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Some sources list her date of birth as October 22, 1906. She was the daughter of William Marshall McConnell (born April 28, 1876 in McNairy County, Tennessee) and Harriet (aka Hattie) Sharp (born October 10, 1882 in Newbern, Tennessee). She had a sister, Hazel McConnell (born ca. 1902, Tennessee). She attended Hollywood High School.

Actress

Her film career was brief, about four years from the late silent to early sound era (1926 – 1930). She sometimes used the professional name Gladys Morrow. One of her first parts came in The Devil Horse (1926). The film featured Rex the Wonder Horse, a stallion that was featured in at least fifteen films.McConnell starred with Harry Langdon in Three's A Crowd (1927). In The Chaser (1928), she played Langdon's talkative wife in a story about a married man and his tumultuous domestic life. She broke ties with the Fox Film Company over differences over her roles, choosing to freelance instead.

McConnell was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1927. WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) was a Hollywood promotional campaign that selected thirteen baby stars (slang at the time for starlets) as most likely to gain success. Others in the 1927 group included Iris Stuart, Natalie Kingston, Sally Phipps, and Rita Carewe.

Marriage

McConnell married Arthur Q. Hazerman in 1926. They were divorced in August 1929.

In September 1931, she married Hollywood attorney, A. Ronald Button, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. William Jennings Bryan Jr., a friend of the bridegroom, was best man at the wedding. McConnell was attended by her sister, Mrs. Harold O. Wright. They had a daughter, Mary Barbara Button (b. 9 Feb. 1937, Los Angeles), now known as Barbara McAllister, a commercial real estate broker at CB Richard Ellis .

Pilot

A 1920 US Federal Census shows her at about age 15 residing in Portland, Oregon with her mother, father and older sister Hazel. About 1924, McConnell became an aviatrix who began flying in Portland. Aside from Ruth Elder, she logged more air hours than any woman in the film colony. She was once hostess on a Maddux Airlines passenger plane for an aerial breakfast party. McConnell also flew to various location settings to make films with actors like Harry Langdon and Ken Maynard.

Gladys McConnell died in Fullerton, California in 1979, aged 73.

External links

• Photos of Gladys McConnell

References

Other Sources

• Los Angeles Times, New Baby Stars Stud Film Firmament, January 7, 1927, Page A1.
• Los Angeles Times, Three Crowd?, Not In Roomy New Roadster, September 11, 1927, Page G11.
• Los Angeles Times, Film Actress Marries Lawyer, September 4, 1931, Page 13.
• Lowell, Massachusetts The Sun, Go To Hollywood High School If You Would Be A Screen Star, March 3, 1927, Page 26.
• Modesto, California News-Herald, Film Actress, February 19, 1926, Page 2.
• Syracuse Herald, Gladys McConnell Granted Divorce, August 8, 1929, Page 10.
• Woodland, California Daily Democrat, Hollywood Close Ups, October 5, 1928, Page 11.