Marion Davies
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Marion Davies illustrated by Hamilton King, 1920 |
Marion Davies (born
January 3,
1897; died
September 23,
1961) was an
American comedic
actress.
Davies was born
Marion Cecilia Douras in
Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of five children born to Bernard J. Douras,[
1] a lawyer who moved in
New York City political circles, and Rose Reilly, formerly of
Jersey City, New Jersey. Her elder siblings included Rose, Reine, and Ethel. A brother, Charles, drowned at the age of 15 in
1906.
The Douras family lived near
Prospect Park in Brooklyn, but already the bright lights of
Manhattan beckoned to the sisters. The sisters changed their surname to Davies, which one of them spotted from a realtor's sign in the neighbourhood. Even at a time when
New York was the melting pot for new immigrants, having an
Anglo-Saxon surname greatly helped one's prospects.
The Davies girls all hit the
Great White Way, and Marion was signed on as a
chorine in
Florenz Ziegfeld's spectacular annual "
Ziegfeld Follies" revues. Massively and expensively staged and brimming with the best comedic and musical talent, Ziegfeld's productions also showcased some of the most sensationally attractive young women in the world.
Though one of the greatest silent screen comediennes, Marion Davies is best remembered today for her relationship with newspaper tycoon
William Randolph Hearst. Even during her career, her high-profile social life often obscured her professional achievements.
Along with other lovelies starting out in the
1916 "Follies" â€"â€" like
Olive Thomas and
Mae Murray â€"â€" Marion's beauty, vivacity and talent made her a star, and she soon outgrew the chorusline. Also like Thomas and Murray, she exchanged her popularity on stage for success in the movies.
After making her screen debut in late 1916 in a fashion newsreel, modeling gowns by Lucile (
Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon), she appeared in her first feature film in
1917's
Runaway Romany, for which she also wrote the script. Playing mainly light comedic roles, she quickly became a major movie personality, making a small fortune which enabled her to provide financial assistance for her family and friends.
By the mid-
1920s, however, Marion's career was often overshadowed by her relationship with married media mogul
William Randolph Hearst and their fabulous social life at
San Simeon and Ocean House in
Santa Monica.
Hearst had met her soon after she'd started working in movies, and formed
Cosmopolitan Pictures solely to produce starring vehicles for her. Hearst's relentless efforts to promote her career instead had a detrimental effect, but he persisted, making Cosmopolitan's distribution deals first with
Paramount, then
Goldwyn, and then
Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Marion, herself, in her published memoirs
The Times We Had, concluded that Hearst's over-the-top promotion of her career, in fact, had a negative result.
Hearst loved seeing her in expensive costume pictures such as
When Knighthood Was in Flower (
1922),
Little Old New York (
1923),
Janice Meredith (
1924) and
Quality Street (
1927), but in retrospect she seems to have fared just as well, if not better, in contemporary comedies like
Tillie the Toiler,
The Fair Co-Ed (both 1927), and especially two directed by
King Vidor,
The Patsy and the backstage-in-Hollywood saga
Show People (both
1928), where she showed a shining comedic talent and
pantomimic skills.
The Patsy contains her wonderful imitations, that she usually did for friends, of silent stars
Lillian Gish,
Mae Murray and
Pola Negri.
The coming of sound made Marion nervous, because she had never completely overcome a childhood
stutter. But with her usual persistence she did well, and made several memorable comedies and musicals during the 1930's, including
Marianne (1929),
Not So Dumb (1930),
The Florodora Girl (1930),
The Bachelor Father (1931),
Five and Ten (1931) with
Leslie Howard,
Polly of the Circus (1932) with
Clark Gable,
Blondie of the Follies (1932),
Peg o' My Heart (1933),
Going Hollywood (1933) with
Bing Crosby, and
Operator 13 (1934) with
Gary Cooper. She was involved with many aspects of her films and was considered an astute businesswoman. Her career, however, was hampered by Hearst's insistence that she play distinguished, dramatic parts, as opposed to the comic roles that were her forte. She also harboured an increasing dependence on alcohol, hiding bottles of liquor in San Simeon's toilet tanks. However, her body of work has often been praised by contemporary critics.
Hearst reportedly had tried to push MGM executives to hire Marion for the role of
Marie Antoinette in
Marie Antoinette (1938).
Louis B. Mayer had other ideas and hired producer
Irving Thalberg's wife
Norma Shearer for the part instead. Hearst reacted by pulling his newspaper support for MGM, and moved Cosmopolitan Pictures to
Warner Bros.'s studios, but stayed only a few years. Davies' films there, including
Page Miss Glory (1935),
Hearts Divided,
Cain and Mabel (both 1936), and
Ever Since Eve (1937), her last film. Cosmopolitan Pictures folded, so Marion left the screen and retreated to San Simeon.
William R. Hearst and Marion Davies lived as a couple for decades but were never married as Hearst never
divorced his wife. At one point he reportedly came close to marrying Davies, but decided his wife's settlement demands were too high.
Davies, although with Hearst for years, also privately dated other actors. In the mid-1920s, Davies became involved in an affair with actor
Charlie Chaplin, and in the mid-1930s she was involved with actor
Dick Powell. Hearst was incredibly jealous and possessive of her, even though he was married throughout their relationship.
The alleged affair with Chaplin became the stuff of legend in
1924 when Hearst, Davies and Chaplin (among other actresses and actors) were on Hearst's yacht with film producer
Thomas Ince when Ince was killed.
In spite of no supporting evidence, rumours have circulated since that time that
Hearst mistook Ince for
Chaplin and shot him in a jealous rage. The rumours were dramatised in the play
The Cat's Meow, which was later made into a
2001 film (of the same name) starring
Edward Herrmann as Hearst,
Kirsten Dunst as Davies,
Eddie Izzard as Chaplin and
Cary Elwes as Ince.
By the early
1930s, Hearst's empire crumbled, and he was beginning to lose everything. Over Hearst's objections, Davies sold many of the gifts he had given her over the years (supposedly worth 2 million USD) to raise money to bail him out; Davies commented that the "gold digger had fallen in love." When Hearst died, his family had every trace of Davies' presence in his home removed, and when discussing his life and legacy, made no reference to her.
Ten weeks after Hearst's death, Davies married for the first time, on
October 31,
1951, at the age of fifty-four. Her husband was former sea captain, policeman and sometime actor,
Horace G. Brown. It was not a happy marriage (he allegedly encouraged her drinking): Davies filed for divorce twice, but neither was finalised. Marion's friends, and the media, noticed a remarkable physical similarity between Brown and the youngWilliam Randolph Hearst.
In her last years, the generous Marion Davies was involved with charity work: in
1952 she donated $1.9 million to establish a children's clinic at
UCLA, which still bears her name. She also fought childhood diseases through the
Marion Davies Foundation.
She suffered a minor stroke in 1956, and was later diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. Although she had an operation which appeared to be successful, Davies fell and broke her leg in 1960. The last time Davies was seen by the American public was on
January 10,
1960 on an
NBC TV special called
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood. Hosted by
Hedda Hopper, guest interviews included (besides Davies herself) an extremely eclectic mix of then-current and former stars such as:
Lucille Ball (a friend of Hopper's),
Francis X. Bushman,
John Cassavetes,
Robert Cummings,
Walt Disney,
Janet Gaynor,
Bob Hope,
Hope Lange,
Anthony Perkins,
Debbie Reynolds,
James Stewart, and
Gloria Swanson.
Her health continued to decline, and Davies died of
cancer in
1961, in Hollywood. Her funeral was attended by many old-time Hollywood legends including
Mary Pickford and Mrs.
Clark Gable (Kay Spreckels), as well as President
Herbert Hoover. She is buried in the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. She left an estate estimated at more than $30 million.
After the death of Davies' niece,
Patricia Lake (née Van Cleeve), Lake's family announced that she was in fact the
daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst; prior to the announcement, it had been said that Lake was the daughter of Rose Davies (Marion's sister) and her first husband, George Van Cleeve. Although the claim does not appear to have been verified independently, Lake and her husband—
Arthur Lake, who played
Dagwood in numerous films—were buried beside Davies.
Davies was rumoured to be the inspiration for the shrill, talentless Susan Alexander character portrayed in
Orson Welles'
Citizen Kane, which was based loosely on Hearst's life. (Writer
Gore Vidal has also claimed that the movie's use of the term "Rosebud" is a sly reference to Hearst's nickname for Davies's
clitoris.[
2]) This portrayal has led to various portrayals of her as a loose, drunken woman, the most recent of which was
Melanie Griffith's in
HBO's
RKO 281. Welles himself deeply regretted that so many assumed Susan Alexander was a carbon copy of Davies— he felt that the real Davies was a great actress and a wonderful woman. Davies was also portrayed by
Virginia Madsen in the
telefilm The Hearst and Davies Affair (
1985) (with
Robert Mitchum as Hearst) and
Heather Macnair in
Chaplin (
1992). Madsen later became a Davies fan and said that she felt she had inadvertently portrayed her as a
stereotype, rather than as a real person. Many film historians and fans resent the negative reputation
Kane garnered her, and have worked to restore her image in the public eye. Their efforts included a 2001
documentary which featured appearances by friends and costars who tearfully remembered Davies, even four decades after her death.
In 2001,
Kirsten Dunst played the role of Marion in the film
The Cat's Meow.
*
History of Santa Monica, California in the 1920s A short history of Ocean House.
*
Marion Davies at Classic Actresses
