Marion Davies

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Marion Davies
Born	Marion Cecelia Dourvas January 3, 1897(1897-01-03) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died	September 22, 1961 (aged 64) Hollywood, California, United States
Years active	1917 - 1937
Spouse(s)	Horace G. Brown (1951-1961)

Marion Davies (January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American film actress.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Hollywood career 3 Ince scandal 4 Hearst's death 5 Marriage 6 Death 7 Legacy 8 Portrayals of Davies 9 Filmography 9.1 Silent features 9.2 Sound features 9.3 Short films 9.4 Uncompleted feature 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Early life

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. His name was subsequently given to Marion's favourite nephew, the screenwriter Charles Lederer, the son of Marion's sister Reine Davies.

The Douras family lived near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The sisters changed their surname to Davies, which one of them spotted on a realtor's sign in the neighborhood. Even at a time when New York was the melting pot for new immigrants, having an English surname greatly helped one's prospects.

The sisters all hit the Great White Way, and Marion was signed on as a chorine in Florenz Ziegfeld's annual "Ziegfeld Follies" revues.^[2]

[edit] Hollywood career

Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Even during her career, her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career. In her posthumously published memoirs, Davies claimed she wasn't an actress, knew nothing about politics, and described herself as a "silly, giggly idiot," but this is in keeping with her modest, self-deprecating personality.

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.^[3] It was a film written by herself and directed by her brother-in-law, the prominent Broadway producer George W. Lederer. The following year she starred in three films, The Burden of Proof, Beatrice Fairfax, and Cecilia of the Pink Roses. 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.^[2]

Cecilia of the Pink Roses in 1918 was her first film backed by Hearst. She was on her way to being the most famously advertised actress in the world. During the next 10 years she appeared in 29 films, an average of almost three films a year.^[4]

By the mid-1920s, however, her career was often overshadowed by her relationship with the married Hearst and their fabulous social life at San Simeon and Ocean House in Santa Monica dubbed the biggest house on the beach, "the beach between San Diego and Vancouver".

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. Davies, 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, but she also appeared 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). The Patsy contains her imitations, that she usually did for friends, of silent stars Lillian Gish, Mae Murray and Pola Negri.

The coming of sound made Davies nervous, because she had never completely overcome a childhood stutter.^[4] Her career survived, however, and she made several comedies and musicals during the 1930s, 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.^{[citation needed]}

Hearst reportedly had tried to push MGM executives to cast Davies for the role of Marie Antoinette in Marie Antoinette (1938). Louis B. Mayer cast producer Irving Thalberg's wife Norma Shearer for the part instead. This rejection came on the heels of Davies having been also denied the chance to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Elizabeth Barrett Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street; Shearer got both roles. Despite Marion's friendship with the Thalbergs, 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 included Page Miss Glory (1935), Hearts Divided, Cain and Mabel (both 1936), and Ever Since Eve (1937), her last film. Cosmopolitan Pictures folded, so she left the screen and retreated to San Simeon. Marion would later state in her autobiography that after many years of work, she had had enough, and decided to devote herself to being Mr. Hearst's "companion." In truth, Marion was intensely ambitious, but realized that at the age of forty, she still hadn't won over the public.

[edit] Ince scandal

Hearst and Davies lived as a couple for decades but were never married, as Hearst's wife refused to get a divorce. At one point, he reportedly came close to marrying Davies, but decided his wife's settlement demands were too high.

Hearst was incredibly jealous and possessive of her, even though he was married throughout their relationship.

An "urban legend" having to do with a rumored relationship with Chaplin has endured since 1924 when she, Hearst, and Chaplin (among other actresses and actors) were on Hearst's yacht with film producer Thomas Ince when, supposedly, Ince died.

Despite the lack of evidence to support them, rumors have circulated since that time that Hearst mistook Ince for Chaplin and shot him in a jealous rage. The rumors were dramatised in the play The Cat's Meow, which was later made into Peter Bogdanovich's 2001 film of the same name starring Edward Herrmann as Hearst, Kirsten Dunst as Davies, Eddie Izzard as Chaplin and Cary Elwes as Ince.

Patty Hearst co-authored a novel with Cordelia Frances Biddle titled Murder at San Simeon (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Ince.

The factual record is entirely different. Thomas Ince suffered an attack of acute indigestion while aboard the yacht and was escorted off the boat in San Diego by another of the guests, Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman. Ince was put on a train bound for Los Angeles, but was removed from train at Del Mar when his condition worsened. He was given medical attention by Dr. T. A. Parker and a nurse, Jesse Howard. Ince told them that he had drunk liquor aboard Hearst's yacht. Ince was taken to his Hollywood home where he died the following day of a heart condition. Source: Citizen Hearst by W. A. Swanberg. pages 445-446. Press hostile to Hearst created the "urban legend". Op cit p. 446 The District Attorney of San Diego, Chester C. Kempley made an inquiry into the events and issued a statement to the effect that he was satisfied that Ince's death was due to "heart failure due to an attack of acute indigestion". Op cit p.446 The quote is footnoted. The source for Mr. Kempley's statement is given as the New York Times Dec. 4, 1924.

[edit] Hearst's death

By the late-1930s, Hearst was suffering financial reversals; Davies bailed him out by selling off $1 million of her jewelry.^[5] 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.

[edit] Marriage

Ten weeks after Hearst's death, Davies married Horace Brown on October 31, 1951. ^{[6] [2]} It was not a happy marriage; he allegedly encouraged her drinking. Davies filed for divorce twice, but neither was finalised. Her friends, and the media, noticed a remarkable physical similarity between Brown and the young Hearst.

In her last years, 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.^[4]

She suffered a minor stroke in 1956, and was later diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. She had an operation which appeared to be successful; she soon after fell and broke her leg, however. 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.

[edit] Death

Davies died of cancer in Hollywood, California. ^[7] Her funeral was attended by many 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 Rosemary 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 in the Douras family mausoleum.

[edit] Legacy

Part of the Medical Center at UCLA is named the Marion Davies Clinic.^[8]

[edit] Portrayals of Davies

Davies was rumored to be the inspiration for the Susan Alexander character portrayed in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, which was based loosely on Hearst's life.^[9] This portrayal has led to various portrayals of Davies as a talentless opportunist, the most recent of which was Melanie Griffith's in HBO's RKO 281.

Welles himself, as stated in his foreword to Davies autobiography The Times We Had, said he deeply regretted that so many assumed Susan Alexander was a carbon copy of Davies, and that the real Davies was a great actress and a wonderful woman. He also claimed that the Susan Alexander character owed as much to the Chicago tycoon Samuel Insull's wife, for whom he built an opera house.

Davies was also portrayed by Virginia Madsen in the telefilm The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) with Robert Mitchum as Hearst, and Heather McNair 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^{[citation needed]}, and have worked to restore her image in the public eye. Their efforts included a documentary film Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001), which premiered on Turner Classic Movies and featured appearances by friends and costars.

Kristen Dunst portrayed Marion Davies in the 2001 movie The Cat's Meow.

[edit] Filmography

In addition to these films, Davies reputedly appeared as an extra in Chaplin's The Pilgrim (1923) and also as an extra in Ben Hur (1925).

[edit] Silent features

Year	No.	Title	Role
1917	1	Runaway, Romany	Romany
1918	2	Cecilia of the Pink Roses	Cecilia
	3	The Burden of Proof	Elaine Brooks
1919	4	The Belle of New York	Violet Gray
	5	Getting Mary Married	Mary
	6	The Dark Star	Rue Carew
	7	The Cinema Murder	Elizabeth Dalston
1920	8	April Folly	April Poole
	9	The Restless Sex	Stephanie Cleland
1921	10	Buried Treasure	Pauline Vandermuellen
	11	Enchantment	Ethel Hoyt
1922	12	Bride's Play	Enid of Cashel
			Aileen Barrett
	13	Beauty's Worth	Prudence Cole
	14	The Young Diana	Diana May
	15	When Knighthood Was in Flower	Mary Tudor
1923	16	Adam and Eva	Eva King
	17	Little Old New York	Patricia O'Day
1924	18	Yolanda	Princess Mary
			Yolanda
	19	Janice Meredith	Janice Maredith
1925	20	Zander the Great	Mamie Smith
	21	Lights of Old Broadway	Fely
			Anne
1926	22	Beverly of Graustark	Beverly Calhoun
1927	23	The Red Mill	Tina
	24	Tillie the Toiler	Tillie Jones
	25	The Fair Co-Ed	Marion
	26	Quality Street	Phoebe Throssel
1928	27	The Patsy	Patricia Harrington
	28	The Cardboard Lover	Sally
	29	Show People	Peggy Pepper
			Herself
1929	30	Marianne	Marianne

[edit] Sound features

Year	No.	Title	Role
1929	31	Marianne	Marianne 'Blondy'
	32	The Hollywood Revue of 1929	Herself
1930	33	Not So Dumb	Dulcinea 'Dulcy' Parker
	34	The Florodora Girl	Daisy Dell
1931	35	The Bachelor Father	Antoinette 'Tony' Flagg
	36	It's a Wise Child	Joyce Stanton
	37	Five and Ten	Jennifer Rarick
1932	38	Polly of the Circus	Polly Fisher
	39	Blondie of the Follies	Blondie McClune
1933	40	Peg o' My Heart	Margaret 'Peg' O'Connell
	41	Going Hollywood	Sylvia Bruce
1934	42	Operator 13	Gail Loveless
1935	43	Page Miss Glory	Loretta Dalrymple
			Miss Dawn Glory
1936	44	Hearts Divided	Elizabeth 'Betsy' Patterson
	45	Cain and Mabel	Mabel O'Dare
1937	46	Ever Since Eve	Miss Marjorie 'Marge' Winton
			Sadie Day

[edit] Short films

Year	No.	Title	Role
1922	1	A Trip to Paramountown	Herself
1930	2	Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 23	Herself
1931	3	Jackie Cooper's Birthday Party	Herself
	4	The Christmas Party	Herself
1935	5	A Dream Comes True	Herself
	6	Pirate Party on Catalina Isle	Herself

[edit] Uncompleted feature

Year	No.	Title	Role
1928	1	The Five O'Clock Girl	?

[edit] See also

• History of Santa Monica, California in the 1920s A short history of Ocean House. The Los Angeles Times reported on September 28, 2006 that the remaining portions of the residence may be restored as a public beach club, expected to open in 2010.^{[citation needed]} The property is located at 415 Pacific Coast Highway.

[edit] References

13. W. A. Swanberg: Citizen Hearst Copyright 1961, Scribners, pp. 445-446

[edit] External links

• Marion Davies at the Internet Movie Database
• Marion Davies at Find A Grave
• Photographs of Marion Davies and bibliography

Persondata
NAME	Davies, Marion
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Dourvas, Marion Cecelia
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	January 3, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH	September 22, 1961
PLACE OF DEATH	Hollywood, California, United States