2013 Essays

Gladys Rosson

Oleson, Zack

Gladys Rosson was Cecil B. DeMille’s secretary for thirty-nine years, starting the summer she graduated high school in 1914 until her death in 1953 (DeMille and Hayne 1959, 95). She was also his mistress, part of his “harem,” or, as DeMille’s niece Agnes, calls it, his “seraglio”—the members of which vary according to sources (Agnes deMille 1990, 183). Regardless, she was intimately involved in DeMille’s work, ranging from the production of his films to the investment of his finances to the management of his image. If ever there was a woman behind the man, Gladys was she.