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

Witches, and ghost, and cats, Oh my!

Everybody knows that there is a surprisingly high number of people that wake up on Halloween and still don't have a costume, whether they've been trying to come up with something for the last few months, weeks, or hours.

So, we decided to do a really simple post on this All Hallows Eve with old Halloween costume pictures and ideas--none of which should be too difficult to create for your party.

What's more iconic than a Marilyn Monroe costume?

Not only is it recongizable, sexy, and fun, but it is also easy to put together.

What You'll Need:
A white dress, OR white skirt and top

Red lipstick

Platinum blonde wig OR a good curling iron

Round white earrings (ex. pearls)

Heels

If you're really last minute, and don't have the time or money to invest in the above look,

here is a more casual Marilyn Monroe look. It may seem simple, but this was just one photo from one of the most memorable photoshoots with Marilyn.

What You'll Need:

Long sleeved black turtleneck OR long sleeved black shirt

White linen pants, either cropped or rolled up

Blonde wig OR a good curling iron

Classic makeup

Flats (optional)

Speaking of sexy, classic movie stars, another easy look to recreate would be this number from Rita Hayworth's scandalous strip tease in her film Gilda.

What You'll Need:

A little black satin dress

High black gloves

Strappy black heels

Classic makeup

A curling iron to give you those classic waves

Feeling patriotic? Try going for this classic navy outfit that still shows off those curves.

What You'll Need:
White flared pants

A navy blue shirt or fitted blazer

White collared shirt beneath

An iconic navy hat you can get from a costume store

Another classic Halloween idea is to go as a 1920s flapper. A basic look that is easy to do, but still flirty and fun.

What You'll Need:

Hat (optional)

Straight/pleated skirt or dress

Mary-Jane shoes (either flat or heels)

If you're looking for something super sexy, try going for the naughty witch look.

What You'll Need:

Witch's hat

Little black dress OR black corset set

Classic black heels

Gloves (optional)

Broom

Couples costumes are all the rage. An idea like Frankenstein and his bride can be edgy, fun, and classically spooky if you're willing to put in the work.

What You'll Need for Him:

Distressed black suit

Heavy monster makeup

Platform black shoes

What You'll Need for Her:

Simple white dress (with cape or train)

White heels

Heavy monster makeup

A Bride of Frankenstein costume wig OR very good styling products

"A thin moon faints in the sky o'erhead

And dumb in the churchyard lie the dead.

We walk not, Sweet, by garden ways,

Where the late rose hangs and the phlox delays,

But forth of the gate and down the road,

Past the church and the yews, to their dim abode.

For it's turn of the year, and All Souls' Night,

When the dead can hear and the dead have sight."

Happy All Hallows Eve!

"Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic."-Rosalind Russell

We apologize for the delay, but here is the last post for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Think PINK post #3:

Rosalind Russell

Born June 4, 1907

Died November 28, 1976

Catherine Rosalind Russell was born in the summer of 1907 to parents James and Clara. She was the middle child out of 7 children in a Catholic family with Irish heritage. Growing up, Russell and her siblings all attended Catholic school. Later on, she enrolled in Marymount College for a time. She had a secret desire to be an actress, although her parents wanted her to become a teacher. When she did begin to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, she was away from home, and told her parents that she was studying education.

Even though she was working to be an actress on Broadway, her first form of recognition was as a model.  She was a natural comedian, and soon earned several bit parts in plays on the big stage. In the late 1920s,

Russell was offered a job with a stock company at Saranac Lake. She finally came clean to her parents and told them about the job offer. They were not supportive and tried to persuade her not to take it, but she eventually accepted the offer despite her parents objections. She remained in that company for about 7 months, before joining up with a new stock company in Hartford. When her run was over there, she relocated to Boston and joined a theater group run by Edward E. Clive. From Boston, she later returned to New York and continued to act on the stage. Many people do not realize that Russell also had a beautiful singing voice. She decided to take vocal lessons and was soon singing in the opera. She did well there, but eventually decided it was not the place for her. She had a lower vocal range, and her inability to hit some of the higher notes meant that she was not usually given lead roles. Having spent several years developing her craft and gaining experience on the east coast, Russell decided to officially relocate to Hollywood to see what the silver screen had to offer.

Russell arrived in Los Angeles in 1930 and within no time, she had her first film contract with Universal Pictures. She later recalled that during her time with Universal, she felt that she was passed over and ignored most of the time. She said that no one there treated her with any respect, and whenever she was working with people, they humiliated her. No matter how much she wanted to be an actress, Russell was not willing to remain tied to a studio that constantly attacked her self esteem. She terminated her contract, and managed to extricate herself from Universal without too much difficulty, and on her own terms, which was practically

unheard of at the time. Russell directly moved to Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Given that her first experience with a film studio was so terrible, she was nervous about her screen test with MGM. She did her best, and the studio liked her. Later on, she swore that the only reason they decided to hire her was because of her close up picture that was taken by Harold S. Bucquet.

Russell's film debut was in the motion picture Evelyn Prentice (1934), which gave her quite a bit of notoriety even though she did not have the lead role. It quickly became clear that she excelled in comedies such as Forsaking All Others (1934), Man Proof (1938), Four's a Crowd (1938), her famous role in His Girl Friday (1940), and many more. However, she also showed audiences that she could act in dramatic roles like Reckless (1935), or Craig's Wife (1936), and also in thrillers like Fast and Loose (1939). Despite the fact that Russell had shown that she could play in any genre, she was still subject to typecasting. She was soon pigeonholed as the sophisticated and dignified lady. Russell approached directors with pleas to help her change her image, which eventually resulted in her role in The Women (1939), as the frivolous and deplorable gossip Sylvia Fowler. The film was a hit and helped audiences look at her in a new light.

.

Russell spent most of the 1940s devoting her time to comedies. One of her most famous comedic roles was as Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940) alongside Cary Grant. She also excelled in the motion picture My Sister Eileen (1942), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. While she was dominating the silver screen in Hollywood, Russell was also adjusting to changes in her personal life during the early 1940s. She married Frederick Brisson in 1941. Brisson was the son of famous Danish actor Carl Brisson. The two were introduced by fellow actor Cary Grant during the filming of His Girl Friday (1940), and were married a year later, with Grant serving as best man at the wedding. Brisson was the love of Russell's life, and the two remained married until her death.

In the early 1950s, Russell returned to the east coast for a lead role in the Broadway musical Wonderful Town (1953). The play was based on My Sister Eileen (1942), and was an immediate success. She would play the lead role a third time on television in 1958. It was later that same year that she would take up the role in one of the most memorable films of her career, playing the title role in Auntie Mame (1958). She remained active in her career throughout the 1960s. Towards the end of the decade, in 1966, Auntie Mame was casting for a Broadway production. Naturally, Russell was offered the part, but she declined due to ill health.

Russell was diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in the mid to late 60s. She greatly struggled with the disease, and eventually lost the battle. Rosalind Russell died from complications due to breast cancer on November 28, 1976 at the age of 69. In the 38 year span of Russell's career, she starred in over 50 major motion pictures, 2 films made for television, and many plays. She was nominated 4 different times for an Academy Award for Best Actress, won 5 Golden Globe Awards, and won 2 Laurel Awards for Top Female Comedy Performances. Rosalind Russell was a true actress and genuine comedian, and a strong and beautiful woman who suffered from the effects of breast cancer.

"Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly."

-Rosalind Russell

"A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity until he has tasted adversity."

-Rosalind Russell

"An impeccably dressed lady is always viewed with suspicion in real life and when you strut onto the screen with beautiful clothes and charming manners, the most naive of theatergoers senses immediately that you are in a position to do the hero no good."

-Rosalind Russell

"Flops are a part of life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses."

-Rosalind Russell

Thank you all so much for joining in this month for what we hope will be an annual segment of Think PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness. These beautiful and talented women that we have posted about struggled with breast cancer and eventually died from complications many years ago. But there are still beautiful and strong women who struggle with the same disease today.

Always hope and work for a cure, and always Think PINK!

Join us both Wednesday and Thursday, the 30th and 31st of October for some vintage costumes and the history of trick-or-treating.

Happy Halloween!

"The Wavishing Kay Fwancis."

Think PINK post #2

Kay Francis

Born January 13, 1905

Died August 26, 1968

In the early days of the new year of 1905, Katharine Edwina Gibbs was born in Oklahoma City, OK to parents Joseph and Katharine. She was the couple's only child. Her father left the family by the time Kay was 4 years old. Her mother, known as "Katie," was a trained vocalist and actress in the theater. The mother-daughter pair lived on the road, traveling between cities. Most of the time, Kay was educated by her mother. Occasionally, they would stay in the city for a long enough stretch of time that her mother would enroll her in Catholic school. Between the ages of 15 and 17, she attended secretarial school in New York City. At the tender age of 17, she met and quickly wed a man by the name of James Dwight Francis. Their marriage did not last, and it was the first of several failed romantic relationships for Kay. It was from her first marriage that she took the surname that she would use throughout her career--Francis.

By 1925, Francis was working as a stage actress. She regularly commuted between Boston and New York, but eventually decided to settle in the latter and pursue a career on Broadway. Her big debut on the city's stage was a role in a modern version of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. She knew how to interact with the kind of people who could boost her career. Francis later said that her early parts were given to her because she "lied a lot, to the right people." This eventually got her a place in The Portmanteau Theatre Company, where she played a wide range of characters, and gained much experience. She did 2 Broadway plays in 1927, playing parts in Crime, and Venus. Her last appearance on the stage was in Elmer the Great (1928). For the play, she was working alongside Walter Huston, who told her she was good enough to make it in Hollywood. Because of this, Francis went for a screen test, which gave her a part in Gentlemen of the Press (1929), and also in The Cocoanuts (1929) alongside The Marx Brothers.

Although her parts in those first 2 films were not big, she still earned herself a contract with Paramount Pictures, which led to her relocation in California. Once established in Hollywood, everyone's eyes were on Francis. Aside from the fact that she was the tallest woman in Hollywood, standing just short of 6 ft, everyone knew that she had the potential to be the next big star. She made 21 films between 1929 and 1931

alone, many of which she starred in alongside William Powell. Some film critics were surprised that Francis managed to build a solid career so quickly, as she had to work around a speech impediment which she never fully recovered from. Since childhood, Francis had pronounced the letters "r" and "l" as a "w." In the midst of the monumental transition from silent films to talkies, when many actors and actresses who had speech impediments or unpleasant speaking voices were cut from the industry, it is somewhat surprising that Francis was not turned away. On the contrary, everyone fell in love with her, and most people thought her impediment was endearing, and she was affectionately given the title of "The Wavishing Kay Fwancis."

Although she was already doing well with Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros came to her with an offer that would launch her into ultimate stardom. Her last picture with Paramount was Trouble in Paradise (1932). She accepted the offer from Warner Bros, and her first pictures with the studio were George Cukor's Girls About Town, and Twenty-Four Hours later that same year. Within the next few years, Francis

became one of the highest paid women in Hollywood. She was known as the Queen of the Warner Bros lot from 1932 to 1936.

As time went on, Francis's relationship with the studio turned sour, as all of her parts were written to showcase her as a fashion icon during the Depression era, so as to appeal to female audiences. To her, the scripts became meaningless, and she had no desire to act in most of the films she was cast in, but she was bound by her contract. She began to openly feud with the studio, which eventually led to her getting demoted. Later on, Warner Bros released her from her contract. She had a brief taste of freedom, before she began to feel the anxiety over not being able to secure another contract with a studio at all. Fellow actress and good friend, Carole Lombard, gave her the push she needed to get back into acting when she made sure she was given a part in her upcoming film In Name Only (1939), alongside Cary Grant. Francis knew that she would be nothing more than a supporting character in the film, but she tactfully accepted, knowing that it was the best move for her career at the time. Her role in the film started a chain-like reaction which led to similar parts in other films. While none of these parts were starring roles, Francis used them to slowly rebuild her reputation. Her next leading role would not be until she was cast in King of the Underworld (1939) with Humphrey Bogart.

Like many of her fellow comrades in Hollywood, Francis focused much of her time during WWII on volunteer work. She did many tours of war-zones, which led to the book (and later film of the same name) Four Jills in a Jeep. With all of this going on, Francis was often in the public eye. While people commended her for her efforts, she was virtually unemployed. She was given the opportunity to do a 3 film deal with Poverty Row, which led to her last 3 films, Divorce (1945), Allotment Wives (1945), and Wife Wanted

(1946). She might have spent more time after that trying to find more film work, but Francis suffered from various health issues; that combined with an accident in 1948, led her to make the decision to end her career. She officially retired in 1948.

In 1966, Francis was diagnosed with breast cancer. She began to fight the disease and tried to take preventative measures, even undergoing a mastectomy, but her efforts proved futile. On a late summers day in August of 1968, Kay Francis died from complications with breast cancer. She was 63 years old.  Despite the fact that her overall career in Hollywood was short, Kay Francis was a beautiful actress who displayed her talent in no less than 68 motion pictures during the 17 years that she was active.

"I can't wait to be forgotten."

-Kay Francis

Kay Francis is the second star from classic films that is a part of our Think PINK campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Click here to view the post from last week on Bette Davis.

Come back again next Thursday, October 24, for our last post on a famous actress who battled breast cancer.

Always hope for a cure, and remember to Think PINK!

Silent Saturday

Welcome to the second installment of Silent Saturdays, but most importantly, welcome back to Think Classic! We sincerely apologize fore being so useless and silent for the last few months. We are looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, starting with this post!

Today we are honoring a radiant jewel who still holds her luster from the silent era, despite the fact that she so often gets overlooked due to unfortunate circumstances at the time of her career.

Marion Davies

Born January 3, 1897

Died September 22, 1961

Marion Cecilia Douras was born in Brooklyn, New York in the winter of 1897. She was the youngest of five children--four daughters and one son, born to Rose and Bernard Douras. Marion's father was a judge in New York City. She came from a respectable family, but as she and her sisters grew older, they all willingly changed their surname to "Davies." One of the girls had seen the name on a real estate sign and they felt that it might be helpful in their future careers to be represented by a name that alludes to British ancestry. The Davies family was very religious, and all of the children were educated in a private state convent. Eventually, Marion decided that her goals lay beyond the realm of academic achievement, so she left school to build her career.

Davies soon found work as a model and she had several jobs posing for different artists and magazines. At the age of 18 she became one of the infamous Ziegfeld girls and joined up with the Ziegfeld Follies. It was later that same year that her modeling career landed her in front of a different kind of camera. She was chosen to model gowns by designer Lady Duff-Gordon on a newsreel. The next year, Davies appeared on the screen in the film Runaway Romany (1917), which she was also privileged enough to be able to take part in behind the scenes. Davies actually wrote the film herself, and was allowed some creative license due to the fact that the renowned director, George W. Lederer, was her brother-in-law. Critics and audiences alike seemed to automatically take a liking to this beautiful new talent--they wanted to see more of her.

And so they did. She starred in three different films in 1918--The Burden of Proof, Beatrice of Fairfax, and Cecilia of the Pink Roses. These roles turned out a good profit for Davies, who led a comfortable lifestyle. She was also always very generous with her earnings, and used them to help out her family and friends in any way she could. As time went on, she would also prove to be a very astute businesswoman with investments and donations.

In 1917, Davies became romantically involved with newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, who played an interesting part in her career. The two apparently truly cared for one another, and yet they were often at odds within their relationship. Hearst genuinely wished to further Davies in her career, but thought that she would excel in elaborate and expensive costume dramas, rather than the lighthearted comedies that suited her so much better. This difference of opinion might not have been so significant had Hearst not had the financial means to so thoroughly manage her career. As it was, he took it upon himself to relentlessly promote her in the papers, and would even step in and fervently insist that she be given specific roles. No one refused him. In 1918, Hearst outdid himself when he opened his own studio called Cosmopolitan Productions, with the sole intent of using it to bolster Davies' career. Certainly the publicity played its part, and Davies was very quickly becoming one of the most promising stars in the industry.

As time went on, most people began to take note of Davies for other reasons. The lavish

lifestyle she lived, largely due to Hearst, escaped nobody's notice. In all of the years that she spent with Hearst, she never complained about the way that he managed things. It was not until much later in her life that she admitted via her memoirs that he ended up playing a part in the downfall of her career. She seemingly gladly accepted the roles that Hearst placed in front of her, which cast her as more elegant and dramatic characters. But Hearst could never completely eliminate her natural bend for comedy. As Davies rubbed shoulders with Hollywood's most elite, many people could not help but notice her gracious and amusing personality which allowed her to shine as the center of attention at any social gathering. Directors such as King Vidor did their best to tap into her true personality for the roles that they gave her in more contemporary comedies such as Not So Dumb (1930), or The Patsy (1928).

Many of the high points of Davies' career in film happened before talkies dominated the big screen. Davies was apprehensive with the developments of microphones which would enable people to hear her speaking voice, since she had never fully recovered from a stutter since childhood. She was one of the lucky ones, however, who managed a relatively smooth transition and was therefore able to continue on in her career. She did well in the early 1930s, finding herself cast alongside the likes of Leslie Howard, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, and Gary Cooper in such pictures as Five and Ten (1931), Polly of the Circus (1932), Going Hollywood (1933), and Operator 13 (1934).

The relief that came after her transition to talkies at the beginning of the 1930s was short-lived. In another attempt to steer her away from comedy, Hearst tried to cut a deal with producer Irving Thalberg. He wanted Thalberg to cast Davies as the lead in the epic drama Marie Antoinette. Thalberg ended up giving the famous part to his own wife, actress Norma Shearer. Davies, who was good friends with the Thalbergs at the time, had no objection to this decision. Hearst became angry and severed all ties with Thalberg and publicly pulled his support from MGM--a fatal move for Davies' career. He instead moved Cosmopolitan Productions to team up with Warner Brothers. Davies made only three more pictures under these new arrangements before Cosmopolitan folded. She then made the decision to retire from the film industry, knowing that after the last 20 years, she had done all she could. She devoted herself to caring for Hearst for the next decade, until his death in 1951.

Later in 1951, Davies moved on and married Horace Brown. It was a tumultuous marriage, but the couple remained married until her death. She spent the rest of her life tirelessly doing charity work, founding the Mattel Children's Hospital and the Marion Davies Foundation to fight children's diseases. Marion Davies struggled with various illnesses and injuries in her older age, and she eventually succumbed to stomach cancer on September 22, 1961 at the age of 61.

About 30 years after her death, Davies' niece, Patricia Lake died from lung cancer. Just after her death, a secret was broadcast which Lake had kept to herself since she was 17--that she was not, in fact, Davies' niece, but her daughter. Davies became pregnant in the early 1920s and Hearst sent her to Europe until the baby was born. They decided to give the baby to one of Davies' sisters who had recently lost a child in infancy, so that she could raise her as her own. So Patricia was raised as Davies' niece, despite the fact that she looked remarkably like Marion and spent most of her time with her and Hearst. Davies and Hearst privately passed on the finances to make sure that Patricia received the best possible care and education, and it was even the two of them who gave her away at her wedding, which was also the time when Hearst finally told her that they were her parents.

It was a scandalous piece of news that shocked many, especially since it had been kept a secret for so many years. But it is not the only thing that Davies is remembered for. Her work has stood the test of time. Although Hearst may have prevented her career from fully developing to the heights that she was capable of reaching during her lifetime, she still made her mark on Hollywood. During her 20 year career in the film industry, she starred in 55 motion pictures, 34 of which were silent. She made a name for herself, especially during the first part of her career which developed during the silent era. Audiences and critics today still look back at her work and are drawn to her talent just as they were 95 years ago--they want to see more of her.

"Somebody told me I should put a pebble in my mouth to cure my stuttering. Well, I tried it, and during a scene I swallowed that pebble. That was the end of that."

-Marion Davies

And now, as a little something extra which allows you to see an example of Marion Davies' comedic talents. This is a clip from her 1928 silent film The Patsy. Davies was known for her party impersonations of other actresses. In these scenes, King Vidor allowed her free reign to act out her own imitations of actresses Mae Murray, Lillian Gish, and Pola Negri: