Who was Gloria Pressman?

Was Gloria Pressman a child star who appeared as part of the "Our Gang" comedies and in several of the most iconic films of the late 1920s and early 1930s...or not?

I often find several other interesting stories I want to write about when I research a particular post for Midwest Guest.

Other story ideas just don't pan out.

Such was the case with Gloria Pressman.

I recently wrote a story about Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery for the Discovering Ohio blog and found Pressman's name on several lists of famous folks buried there.

I'm a big fan of silent and early sound films, so stories about Pressman as an original "Our Gang" cast member, her appearance in the first talking movie (The Jazz Singer with Al Jolson), and appearances in well known films of the era like The Virginian (with Gary Cooper) and Moby Dick (with John Barrymore) caught my eye.

I found references to Pressman, her reported stage name of Mildred Jackson, and her burial place at Lake View Cemetery in the historical trail guide published by the cemetery and in the book Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio.

I recognize names of early child stars like Jackie Cooper, Jane Withers, Shirley Temple, Baby Peggy, Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Coogan and "Our Gang" cast members like Spanky McFarlane, Darla Hood and Matthew "Stymie" Beard. I didn't recognize Gloria Pressman or Mildred Jackson, although child actress Mary Ann Jackson played a major "Our Gang" character during the very late 1920s and early 1930s.

There were entries for every other person I considered including in my Discovering Ohio article at the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, a Web site by Case Western Reserve University and the Western Reserve Historical Society, but not a word about Pressman.

The Internet Movie Database had no entry for Pressman or for a Mildred Jackson who would have been a very young girl during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Pressman/Jackson also failed to appear on cast lists for The Jazz Singer, The Virginian, or Moby Dick.

Meanwhile, I found numerous mentions of Pressman as a child star on sites like Dead Ohio and in brochures, press releases, and newspaper articles about Lake View Cemetery or history themed events sponsored there by various civic and tourism groups.

A possible clue to the mystery of Gloria Pressman surfaced at Find A Grave, a crowd-sourced site I don't consider particularly authoritative, but often useful because of the gravestone photos submitted by readers.

Find A Grave noted that conflicting evidence exists about Pressman and said some feel someone invented her movie star biography after her death. Find A Grave was the only place I found mentioning the controversy surrounding Pressman's biography, but it failed to prove, or disprove, her background as a movie star.

Disappointed that I couldn't verify what seemed to be a fun story about an old-time movie star from Cleveland, I found another name for my list of famous burials in the cemetery for my story.

The Web makes it easy to find, and pass along, information.

It's not always easy to make sure the information you share is particularly accurate.

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Comments

[Suzy Oreilly]

In 1976 I worked for Dr Wesley Pressman at his office in Shaker Heights I knew the Pressman family . I knew his wife Gloria ..it was my understanding that Gloria's father worked at the movie studio in California and gotten his daughter the role in Our Gang . She supposedly had a scape book that was full of clippings from this time in her childhood . She has a son who followed in his fathers footprints and became a Podatrist and practiced in Clevelad .He might be the contact you need to validate the information ..Dr Bradley Pressman

[Dominique King]

It appears that Dr. Wesley Pressman died in 1996 and is buried in Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery.
I found an article about Dr. Bradley Pressman was a story from Crain's Cleveland Business magazine from 2007 saying that Pressman (who was a retired podiatrist and working as a developer by that time) was part of an effort to get approval to open a casino southeast of Dayton. The Web site the article mentioned Pressman and his business partner is no longer active. Dr. Bradley Pressman's name comes up again in 2012 in an article from the Columbus Business First publication-saying that he and his business partner were seeking approval for a Youngstown casino.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2012/03/developers-seeking-ballot-issue-for.html
http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20071102/FREE/71102021/local-men-pursue-casino-initiative
This sounds like it could be your Dr. Pressman, but I've reached a dead end in terms of trying to confirm the story again :(

[Linda Preston]

I knew Gloria and Wes for 30 years and saw her autograph book. It was almost full and had signatures of Gary Cooper, who she was in the movie "The Virginian" with, Jackie Cooper, who she was in Our Gang with and many other stars. Even as an adult, you could see that she and little Mary Jackson were one and the same. And her son Brad, as a child, looked like Gloria's character in Our Gang. It's a shame better records weren't kept to verify her career. She was a wonderful friend and an honorable woman. L.Preston

[Dominique King]

I wish there were records to prove or disprove your friend's career as well. It's very frustrating not be able to find supporting evidence for a story like this as I really wanted to include her in the original story I did, but just couldn't do so because I just couldn't verify it...and still haven't been able to do so after various tries to find the info since I wrote this story.