Gloria Stuart died last night. She had turned 100 this summer, on July 4.
Although most famous for playing "Old Rose" in the 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic," that role came to her more than 60 years after her starlet days in "Old Hollywood" had ended. At age 87, she became the oldest Academy Award nominee.
No disrespect to "Young Rose," co-star Kate Winslet, but I think the young Gloria Stuart's appearance left most actresses of any era in the dust. As her early publicity photos prove, she was flat-out gorgeous.
Stuart's late-life celebrity was one of those uplifting stories that proves how fate sometimes keeps bright surprises hidden for us. A joyful moment may emerge when we least expect it, or perhaps after we have forgotten the possibility might even exist. Such was Gloria Stuart's Oscar-nominated portrayal of Rose Calvert, a marvelous role in a world-famous movie, one that Stuart embraced and made her own. She will be remembered.
