Presenting the Beautiful Bebe Daniels..

Welcome to the first segment of Silent Saturdays in 2014. It has been a while since we did a Silent Saturdays post, our last one being done on the Master of the Monster, Boris Karloff. We are ready to kick off the new year with a beautiful star of the silent era whose career began over one hundred years ago...

Bebe Daniels

Born January 14, 1901

Died March 16, 1971

Hollywood knew her as Bebe Daniels, but she was born in Dallas, Texas in 1901, and the people there knew her as Phyllis Virginia Daniels. Daniels was born into the theater, some might even say born to be a star. Her father managed his own theater in Dallas, and her mother was an actress. Her parents made the decision to relocate to California for film opportunities when she was still very young. It was in Los Angeles that Daniels first began her career as a child actor. She was only 4 years old when she appeared in the first film production of The Squaw Man (1906), which was based on a play of the same name that had been written the previous year. That particular film would gain more interest through a remake later on in 1914. Later in 1906, her mother accompanied her on a theatrical tour of Richard III, a famous play by William Shakespeare. Though still quite small, Daniels acted in more Shakespearean plays in the following years. Gradually she began to take on small parts in various films, until she was cast in her first lead role at the age of 7 in the motion picture A Common Enemy (1908). She then acquired another lead part, this time in a short picture, as Dorothy Gale in the first motion picture release of The Wizard of Oz (1910), at the tender age of 9. Although those notable roles were important to building her career, nothing was so important as the recurring role that would really put her in the spotlight.

In 1913, one of the most rapidly rising stars of the silent era, Harold Lloyd, began the search for a female costar. He knew he had to find the perfect actress, and he knew that Daniels was exactly what he was looking for. She began working with Lloyd at the age of 14, the two first appearing together in a two-reel film called Giving Them Fits (1915). The two went on to make many more two-reel comedies together. They were not only a good team professionally, but the two also began a romantic relationship, which was highly publicized for that time period. The public affectionately referred to them as "The Boy" and "The Girl." Daniels always recalled her days working with Lloyd with great fondness, but she knew even in the very beginning that she could not stay with him forever. Lloyd was the king of comedy. He had found his niche in Hollywood, and due to his immense success in that genre, he had no intention of moving on to anything else. Daniels, on the other hand, still wished to be working on bigger budget motion pictures. She wanted to break into the darker world of drama, with genuinely emotional parts, and more dynamic characters.

So, in 1919, with a heavy heart but also high hopes, Daniels finished her contract with Lloyd and said goodbye to sign a contract with Cecil B. DeMille. She had smaller parts with him in the films Male and Female (1919), Why Change Your Wife? (1920), and The Affairs of Anatol (1921). A short time later she was offered a contract with Paramount Pictures, which she wisely accepted. It was with that studio that she was finally given the roles she was longing for, and finally broke free from her childhood star status with more adult and complex roles. She played

parts in films such as You Can Never Tell (1920), Ducks and Drakes (1921), and Nice People (1922). Her momentum was gaining with each new picture she released. In 1924 she was cast alongside legendary silent film actor Rudolph Valentino in the motion picture Monsieur Beaucaire (1924). This was exactly the kind of opportunity that she had been looking for, and which she undoubtedly would never have had if she had not made the decision to leave Lloyd and his studio.

Daniels remained with Paramount for the majority of the 1920s. In 1929, the studio decided to try going in a different direction with the development of sound equipment, so they terminated her contract. She was quickly picked up by Radio (RKO) Pictures. Not only that, but they immediately cast her in one of their biggest blockbuster pictures of the year. She survived the transition into talkies, and did so well that RKO even cast her in musicals such as Dixiana (1930). Musicals understandably had booming success rates when talkies first hit the scene, but that did not last terribly long. Unfortunately, Daniels had excelled in musicals at RKO so that when they decided to stop making them, they also couldn't decide what to do with her, so they released her. Warner Brothers was already waiting to offer her a contract. With them she starred in such films as Honor the Family (1931), and the first film production of The Maltese Falcon (1931), which was produced and released before the Motion Picture Production Code came into effect. She stayed with Warner Brothers for several years, her last picture with them being Registered Nurse (1934). The following year she officially retired from the film industry.

Daniels had met fellow actor Ben Lyon several years previously, and the two of them married in 1930. They both made the decision to go into retirement together. Following this decision, the two of them moved to London, England. While living in Europe, the couple worked together for BBC Radio. Their most successful venture with BBC was the series Hi Gang!, which Daniels wrote herself. When WWII hit Europe, especially England, Daniels and her husband devoted their time and work to war efforts aiding the allies. Not everything she did for them is known, although it has been historically noted that she was the first woman to set foot on the shore of Normandy after the invasion. Whatever work she did, it culminated in the honor of receiving the Medal of Freedom from Harry S. Truman for her services. Daniels remained in Europe until the war ended in 1945, and then she and her husband and 2 children returned to the United States. She found herself in Hollywood once again, working as a producer for Hal Roach and Eagle-Lion Films. She was quickly reminded of why she had decided to go into retirement in the first place, and returned to England 3 years later. Once reestablished in the UK, she and her family had moderate success with a sitcom called Life With The Lyons, which lasted for 10 years. She lived out the rest of her days in London with her family. On March 16, 1971, Bebe Daniels passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 70 years old.

After her passing she was cremated and her ashes were transported back to the United States, to be interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in honor of her achievements in the film industry--a total of 78 major motion pictures, 1 produced motion picture, and decades of successful radio programming.

Over 60 of her films were silent.

"...Someday I want to do really big things."

-Bebe Daniels

"When I was a little girl, I played in a great many Shakespearean plays, and when I saw 'Viola,' and 'Portia' and 'Juliet' presented in such a beautiful manner, I hoped with all my might that when I grew up, I too might play such parts."

-Bebe Daniels

"Now go out there and be so swell that you'll make me hate you."

-Bebe Daniels

New year, new look...

Hello everyone!

Happy 2014!

We are excited to post this first entry of the new year, even if it is fairly small and seemingly insignificant.

Thank you once again for participating in another immensely successful year of A Very Vintage Christmas throughout the month of December.

Have you noticed the new look here on the site? This will be our design for 2014, and we are excited that you finally get to see.

Things will run according to a regular schedule beginning in February, with regular Star of the Month and Movie of the Month posts. We would also like to begin Silent Saturday segments again, which would be once a month. You can also be looking forward to a classically sweet post in honor of Valentine's Day within the next couple weeks.

We are ready to take part in all kinds of classic adventures with you in 2014!

Stay tuned!

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