Although at that time she hadn't appeared in a film for several years and wasn't to make one for several for several more, Gloria Swanson remained a presence in the Hollywood of the thirties, the only legendary silent star to sustain an image and continue to interest the film studios, which put her under contract and announced her to star in a series of projectsnone of which were realized While she wasn't to regain her former eminence until her celebrated comeback as Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard," a scathing satire on Hollywood and the self-delusions of its former heroes, she maintained her silent-screen image as the personification of glamor, and as such wasn't the initial choice for the role of the faded silent star <br /><br />Like many small people who achieve greatness, Swanson was a powerhouse of energy, vitality, ambition and shrewdness, untroubled by insight humor to slow down her pace <br /><br />The key to her success, the charm of her personality, the glamor of her career and the secret of her survival was superbly captured by herself in one of the best autobiographies, Swanson on Swanson