Film academy sets Garbo centennial tribute

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 11 (UPI) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hold a centennial tribute to legendary actress Greta Garbo, academy officials said Friday.

The academy said the 100th birthday tribute to Garbo, set for April 7 at academy headquarters in Beverly Hills, would also kick off the UCLA Film and Television Archive's seven-week screening series "Garbo: The Divine Woman."

The event, presented in conjunction with the consulate general of Sweden, will feature Oscar-nominated actress Lena Olin as host. Actress Joan Leslie and authors Gore Vidal and Gavin Lambert are scheduled to participate in the tribute.

Garbo was born on Sept. 18, 1905, in Stockholm, and trained with the Royal Dramatic Theater there. Her appearance in Mauritz Stiller's "Gösta Berlings Saga" ("The Atonement of Gösta Berling") led MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer to bring her to Hollywood in 1925.

Garbo was nominated for the Oscar for "Anna Christie" (1929/30), "Romance" (1929/30), "Camille" (1937) and "Ninotchka" (1939). She also starred in such classics as "Mata Hari" (1932), "Grand Hotel" (1932) and "Anna Karenina" (1935).

Garbo retired in 1941 at the age of 36, and received an Honorary Academy Award in 1954. She died in 1990.