Marion Davies
Robert Guerrero 
Moderately talented comedic actress in silent and early sound films and mistress of William Randolph Hearst.
I used to believe the story that WR killed director Thomas Ince on his yacht because he mistook him for Charlie Chaplin, who was having an affair with Marion at the time (see the movie The Cat's Meow, or read Kenneth Anger's gossippy book Hollywood Babylon, which is full of long-disproven lies), but not anymore. I do believe she and Chaplin carried on. But I don't believe WR ever tried to kill Chaplin and didn't kill Ince. I think Ince died of a heart attack or whatever natural cause it was the cornoner said at the time.
Anyway, Marion and WR had a love child that was covered up well into the 1990s long after they were both dead.
Some years ago I read Marion's silly, shallow autobiography (forgot the title) and didn't find her to be especially intelligent or interesting herself, although she had some fun anecdotes about the famous people she knew.
She was certainly beautiful. Apparently WR plucked her out of Zeigfield's Follies when she was like 17, and bought her jewels and furs and eventually a tepid movie career (for all his money and newspaper marketing, he couldn't make her happen as big as many other stars at the time).
What else?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 98 | January 7, 2021 2:54 AM |
^ Rumor had it that "rosebud" was WR's nickname for Marion's teenaged clitoris.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | December 22, 2017 6:21 AM |
Marion ( while drunk) supposedly called Louella Parsons a " old bag" or a "old shit" in public.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | December 22, 2017 6:31 AM |
OP, he "couldn't make it happen" because he insisted she take on serious roles for which she wasn't suited. Despite the fact that he created a production studio for her so she'd be guaranteed top billing, she wasn't good. She would probably have been successful as a lightweight comedienne actress had Hearst kept his controlling paws off of her career.
Also, the L.A. Times ran headlines that Ince was shot on Hearst's yacht, which disappeared afterward. There were witnesses who saw Ince bleeding from a hole in his head. Not to mention that Hearst set up his widow financially for life afterward. Do you actually read anything, or are you just fond of shooting off your unresearched speculation, like so many others?
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | December 22, 2017 6:33 AM |
^ Rumor had it that "rosebud" was WR's nickname for Marion's teenaged clitoris.
Actually the real dying words of WR were: "Stink-hole"!
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 22, 2017 6:36 AM |
People assume so much about Marion Davies that is just plain wrong. Of course we all assume she was very similar to the caricature in "Citizen Kaine" we are all so familiar with, which is shamefully dissimilar to the real Marion Davies.
Firstly, she was considered quite talented, especially in comedies and had many successes. Her late silent-era comedies/light dramas, "The Patsy", "The Floradora Girl", "Show People" and "The Cardboard Lover" were all critical and box office hits. It has been speculated that the reviled Hearst probably prevented Marion from being even more popular than she was, so difficult was he in promoting her so aggressively when she was popular already. Marion also wrote her first starring feature herself at the age of twenty and somehow got it produced. No easy task, I imagine.
TCM does the occasional tribute to her and shows her most popular films in which she is gorgeous and a delight to watch. Her popularity waned in the mid 30s, but not for a lack of talent, more so because Marion was aging out of the roles in which she had been so successful. It was in this period where Marion actually bailed out Hearst when he suffered financial reversals,. She founded a number of charitable organizations to which she was devoted, and she remained very popular to her many friends who adored her until her death.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 22, 2017 7:19 AM |
I have read about all that r4, and just don't believe it anymore. Ince lived a couple days after leaving the yacht and getting medical treatment with several witnesses, including doctors and his wife. His funeral had an open casket viewing period. He had health problems already. The (non-Hearst) newspapers nicked the gunshot wound stories because they were based on unconfirmed rumors. Still the "debate" continues because it's exciting to believe in conspracies, and WRH was an asshole and we'd like to believe he murdered someone. But the simple, most obvious, most boring explanation is usually the correct one. I also believe Marilyn Monroe overdosed and was not murdered by a Kennedy conspiracy.
Thanks for reminding me about Marion's book title, though.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | December 22, 2017 7:19 AM |
Lovely girl, but didn't age well due to heavy drinking. Which didn't stop Marion and Hearst from loving each other as long as they both lived, which is better than I've done!
And yeah, Hearst was as much a hindrance and a help to her career. Sure, he paid for her pictures, but mucked them up with his clueless interference. A writer recalled the time Mario was making a comedy, one that had a really good scripot, and Hearst was watching the dailies, which involved two other characters exchanging exposition. "What is this, Marion isn't in this scene!" he yelled. When told it was vital to the plot, he scoffed and told the director to cut it and put in a scene of Marion picking daisies instead. Which was done, which meant that the plot didn't make any sense and the comedy fell flat, but Marion looked very pretty in the daisy patch.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 22, 2017 10:11 AM |
It was said that, if you ever wanted to see the color drain out of WR 's face, just mention Ince. Hearst had the kind of power and money to buy silence, and I believe he did. Bogdanovich based "The Cat's Meow" on the account of that fatal trip on the Onieda on a first person report from someone who was on the Onieda at the time. Heart's fortune was made because he OWNED a newspaper and, in those days long before rapid-fire mass media, incidents such as that trip on the Onieda could be easily covered up, with right amount of muscle and money.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | December 22, 2017 10:32 AM |
She was charming in some of her comedies. The character of the untalented blonde second wife of Kane was supposedly based on her, but Davies did have talent and was well liked.
R9, why would anyone want to see the color drain out of WR's face? He looked bad enough WITH color.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 22, 2017 10:39 AM |
She had grand fun houses.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 11 | December 22, 2017 11:47 AM |
The money all originated with the father of WR who made his fortune in the Comstock Lode during the gold rush,
WR inherited it all and never worked a day in his life.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | December 22, 2017 12:30 PM |
Think of all the massive uncut sizemeat needing 'relief' in that fish-free environment!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 13 | December 22, 2017 12:35 PM |
These things happen at sea.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | December 22, 2017 1:00 PM |
What I find sad is that Marion and WR actually spent quite a lot of time with their daughter and tried to be part of her life, even though they couldn't let her know who they were. She was wanted, and they really wanted to be her parents. It sucks that it was all shrouded in deception for so many years.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 22, 2017 1:10 PM |
You can visit her beach house (and swim in its pool) in Santa Monica.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | December 22, 2017 4:06 PM |
^Really? I thought the beach house was torn down. Is there another one?
[quote] Bogdanovich based "The Cat's Meow" on the account of that fatal trip on the Onieda on a first person report from someone who was on the Onieda at the time.
Which Onieda guest provided this info? Source, please.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | December 22, 2017 4:15 PM |
The majority of Marion's beach house was torn down years ago. Only a small portion of it remains & was incorporated into usable housing.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | December 22, 2017 4:17 PM |
* Patricia Van Cleve, WR' love child with Marion was raised by her sister.
* On her wedding day WR revealed the truth to Patricia.
* Patricia married actor Arthur Lake who is best remembered for playing Dagwood Bumstead in the old BLONDiE movies.
* Patricia & Arthur are interred in the DOURAS masoleum in Hollywood. Douras was Marion's real surname.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 19 | December 22, 2017 4:21 PM |
WR, Marion, Patricia & Arthur
She looked like her father.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 20 | December 22, 2017 4:22 PM |
The only Davies film I've seen is Blondie of the Follies. That was around 40 years ago, but I remember enjoying her very much in it.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 21 | December 22, 2017 4:24 PM |
I did not know that, R19. thank you. It's wonderful to learn things about the era I adore, still.
Her niece, Joesphine Rose, aka Pepi Lederer, a lesbian, killed herself after Davies and Hearst checked her into a sanitarium. Louise Brooks wrote about her in Lulu in Hollywood, as did Anita Loos in Kiss hollywood Goodbye. I have always found this fascinating. This would make a good little film, I think.
Her brother, Tom, wrote the screenplay for Gentleman Prefer Blonds, which had almost nothing of Anita Loos's book, but was perfect, she said, because it captured the spirit. He once famously ran into a room at San Simeon and said "Hide me! I just put my foot through a Goya!", which always struck me as the perfect summation of the excess of the 1920s.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | December 22, 2017 4:26 PM |
*Her brother= Pepi's brother, Marion's nephew.
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | December 22, 2017 4:27 PM |
Seriously, how did I miss the story of Patricia Van Cleve?! I am a fan of the era, and have done extensive non-internet reading about Davies...I suppose this was well enough covered up, and I missed some delicious reading somewhereI thought I was up on my Hollywood lovechildren.
Having a moment. thank you for the Christmas present!
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | December 22, 2017 4:33 PM |
Well......she was NO Helen Twelvetrees!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 25 | December 22, 2017 4:36 PM |
R22
WR & Marion had Pepi committed to help her with her drug addiction. Just wanted to clarify so no one thought it was because of her allegedly dubious sexuality.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 26 | December 22, 2017 4:40 PM |
Bogdanovich got the version of the story presented in "The Cat's Meow" from Orson Wells (O.W. supposedly recounted it when P.B. was interviewing him for a book he wrote). Wells claimed that Marion's nephew told him all about it.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | December 22, 2017 4:52 PM |
^ Marion's nephew wasn't on the yacht. Who told HIM?
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | December 22, 2017 4:55 PM |
Yes, R26. I was excited to post and left out that detail. I do not take Wikipedia as gospel; I'd prefer to reference works by people who knew her. I've found many mistakes about classic Hollywood over the years.
We can never know for certain, of course, why someone killed themselves, or whether a woman was lesbian or bisexual in this era.
Both Louise Brooks and Anita Loos knew her and referred to her as strictly lesbian. Louise Brooks, in LuLu in Hollywood has a whole chapter dedicated. I've followed this thread of a story through many biographies and books, but she and Loos wrote the most about Pepi. Their stories were consistent.
Pepi was involved with Monica Morris, know as the " Stagedoor Ferret" to actresses in London, most noteably Tallulah Bankhead, she was a social climber of the first order. Monica had been given Pepi's diamond ring just before she suicided. Monica was put on a ship by Marion soon after, without the ring. I can't find my copy of Brooks's LLiH at the moment, but the chapter on "Marion Davies' Niece" has some excellent details about Marion as well. I recommend the book wholly, not just this chapter.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | December 22, 2017 5:03 PM |
For r17 and r18. Yes, it's just the "guest house," but it is still around. As is the pool.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 30 | December 22, 2017 5:16 PM |
[quote] Do you actually read anything, or are you just fond of shooting off your unresearched speculation, like so many others?
Ooh my, get a big whiff of little Miss Harvard Professor and her serious claims of scholarship!
Throw down, bitch!
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | December 22, 2017 5:25 PM |
Thanks for killing a great thread, R31, who I suspect is the OP.
| by Anonymous | reply 32 | December 23, 2017 1:45 AM |
didn't Orson Welles actually apologize to her, or at least about her, and admit he'd been kind of a dick?
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | December 23, 2017 1:55 AM |
I wish mediums had a real gift, instead of a gift of attracting the gullible. I'm fascinated about the Oneida incident and woud like to know the truth about Ince's death. If it were really a sudden illness, I'd like to know why Toraichi Kono, Chaplin's chauffeur/assistant, told his wife he saw Ince's head bleeding from a bullet wound if there was no wound.
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | December 23, 2017 2:02 AM |
R30 thank you its because of great people like you who post cool items like the beach house , that i come to this site. thanks. also note there was a vanity fair article about davies and her daughter and the entire messed up family out in palmsprings and all their pets and dogs kept in drawers i remember, weird story
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | December 23, 2017 2:10 AM |
OP, Marion Davies was a wonderfully talented actress plus she was a delightful comedienne. Have you watched any of her films? Why do you consider her moderately talented?
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | December 23, 2017 3:02 AM |
R33, that sounds familiar.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | December 23, 2017 4:29 AM |
What is Marion's best sound film? I'd like to check her out.
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | December 23, 2017 5:05 AM |
Why would WRH want to kill Chaplin? I went to the Hearst Castle tour, and there is a video of Chaplin at the home. It was said that he was a frequently invited guest there.
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | December 23, 2017 5:25 AM |
Supposedly,he found Chaplin screwing Marion? I don't believe it though.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | December 23, 2017 5:27 AM |
I don't believe it either.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | December 23, 2017 5:59 AM |
Brittany Snow could play her in a movie of her life.
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | December 23, 2017 6:58 AM |
Supposedly WR was upset that Chaplin had massive sizemeat whereas WR himself was a tinymeat.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | December 23, 2017 9:59 AM |
Marion was far too old for Charlie.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | December 23, 2017 3:44 PM |
r38 "Page Miss Glory", "Cain and Mabel, and "Blondie of the Follies" are supposed to be good sound films. I liked "Not So Dumb." Stay away from "Operator 13."
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | December 23, 2017 3:56 PM |
I don't think Charlot fucked Marion, but I do believe he's the kind of guy who would whip it out at a party !
| by Anonymous | reply 46 | December 23, 2017 4:44 PM |
I believe C and M got it on at least on land, C was very randy. I don't think he'd screw her on Hearst's boat under Hearst's nose, as C wasn't much of a swimmer. M was one of the five women Lita Grey threatened to mention in her divorce complaint and there are a few pics of Chaplin escorting Davies to film premieres (I get that the married Mr. Hearst wasn't available), he'd visit M on the set of "Zander the Great" and duck out when Hearst visited.
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | December 23, 2017 5:16 PM |
I think she is delightful to watch on screen.
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | December 23, 2017 6:07 PM |
GIF of Marion and Charlie goofing around. I recall seeing this clip in the fluffy documentary they show at Hearst Castle.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 49 | December 24, 2017 4:55 AM |
I think short Charlie was rumored to be a Big Boy.
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | December 24, 2017 5:32 AM |
It's true what all the girls said, R50. Charlie was hung like a horse!
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | December 24, 2017 6:40 AM |
Is there photographic verificatia of Chaplin's rumored sizemeat?
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | December 24, 2017 9:58 AM |
^ Some slight bulge in this photo for you.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 53 | December 24, 2017 3:51 PM |
She's really good in "Peg O' My Heart" too.
| by Anonymous | reply 54 | December 24, 2017 4:18 PM |
Discussion of Charlie's sizemeat brought me to DataLounge. Another trivia bit: Chaplin applied iodine to his penis as he thought it might work for birth control, he didn't like to use "French letters" as they were known in those days, but I also suspect that he imagined iodine would protect him against STDs: his mother went mad from syphilis.
| by Anonymous | reply 55 | December 24, 2017 4:50 PM |
"Moderately talented" means just that. She had a knack for comedy, yes, but was no comedic genius. She apparently didn't do well in dramas and whether that was due to Hearst's interference alone is debatable. She wasn't unpopular but she wasn't a major star either. Nobody's insulting her here, geez.
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | December 24, 2017 5:56 PM |
There's a small group of mostly forgotten actresses, like Marion, who began in silent films but reached major stardom at the every beginning of Talkies (1927-32) yet were pretty much finished as leading ladies before the decade was even half over. They were the placeholders until Crawford, Davis, Hepburn and Stanwyck took the reins:
Kay Francis
Ann Harding
Ruth Chatterton
Nancy Carroll
Janet Gaynor (though she made an expected comeback in 1937's A Star Is Born)
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | December 24, 2017 6:08 PM |
Francis, Harding and especially Chatterton didn't appear in silent films, but were more or less established stage actresses who were recruited by Hollywood when sound was introduced.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | December 24, 2017 8:29 PM |
Remembered fondly at USC and UCLA NROTC for the Marion Davies Drill Meet.
They kids from the programs served as her pallbearers and formed an honor guard
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 59 | December 24, 2017 8:40 PM |
Fuck!
r58, you caught me in a stupid lie. I feel like Eve Harrington in that scene in Addison deWitt's New Haven hotel rom.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | December 24, 2017 9:31 PM |
R57, Don't forget about us. Our sister Natalie had no talent, so she married Buster Keaton. We all married well and often!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 62 | December 24, 2017 9:49 PM |
My bad, R57. The Talmadge Girls were over when sound came. Bronx accents were not dulcet and clashed with their appearances.
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | December 24, 2017 9:50 PM |
You should r61, it wasn't worthy of you.
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | December 24, 2017 10:00 PM |
[quote] And yeah, Hearst was as much a hindrance and a help to her career. Sure, he paid for her pictures, but mucked them up with his clueless interference. A writer recalled the time Mario was making a comedy, one that had a really good scripot, and Hearst was watching the dailies, which involved two other characters exchanging exposition. "What is this, Marion isn't in this scene!" he yelled. When told it was vital to the plot, he scoffed and told the director to cut it and put in a scene of Marion picking daisies instead. Which was done, which meant that the plot didn't make any sense and the comedy fell flat, but Marion looked very pretty in the daisy patch.
Seems like Hearst's desire to simply display Marion as one of his trophies trumped all sensibilities and was more important to him than Marion actually having any meaningful movie career.
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | September 13, 2018 5:03 AM |
I think Marion wrote and directed the SECOND film she was ever in!
I'd say that takes some gumption as well as hard work. She was barely out of her teens.
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | September 13, 2018 5:32 AM |
Our tour guide at Hearst Castle said Marion had many booze bottles hidden from WR Hearst, many were found under her bed.
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | September 13, 2018 6:14 AM |
I was in awe of our Hearst Castle tour guide, he was quite out and complimented our five year old for putting up with this tour.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | September 13, 2018 6:18 AM |
r57 Nancy Carroll was really lovely in photographs. I've never seen her films....but supposedly, for someone who did musical comedy, she was excellent in some of her dramas (like "Child of Manhattan" and "The Devil’s Holiday")
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 69 | September 13, 2018 6:43 AM |
[bold][italic]Nancy Carroll – Rediscovering a Major Paramount Star
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 70 | September 13, 2018 6:45 AM |
Dorothy Comingore, who played the Susan character based on Marion Davies in Citizen Kane, ended up being blacklisted due to her Communist sympathies and the fact that she portrayed the Marion Davies character in Citizen Kane just a little too well. Don't piss off Hearst, you'll lose.
She became an alcoholic and lost custody of her children after being charged with "solicitation" - possibly a set up. The charges were dropped, but she was committed to a state mental hospital for two years. Yikes.
She ended up dying at only 58, and living in seclusion with 10 cats, 2 dogs, and her postman husband. Truly a tragic ending and a little too close to how she ended up in the movie Citizen Kane.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | November 21, 2018 6:19 PM |
“Upon my honor, I saw a Madonna. Standing in a niche, Over the door, Of the glamorous whore, Of a prominent son of a bitch.”
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | December 30, 2018 6:58 AM |
R59
Recognize the man in front of that photo ... ? It's none other than ARTHUR LAKE who played Dagwood Bumstead in the Blondie movies. LAKE was married to PATRICIA who was the illegitimate daughter of HEARST & DAVIES. PATRICIA was raised believing that she was MARION'S niece but HEARST finally told her the truth on her wedding day.
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | January 3, 2019 9:40 PM |
[quote] She ended up dying at only 58, and living in seclusion with 10 cats, 2 dogs, and her postman husband.
Doesn't sound very secluded to me, R71 -- kind of crowded, actually.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | January 4, 2019 2:39 AM |
It was MENTIONED BEFORE upthread R73.
| by Anonymous | reply 75 | January 4, 2019 3:17 AM |
Don't forget that Davies was more than a kept woman, in fact in the 1930's when financial setbacks almost bankrupted WRH she bailed him out. She was also quite the philanthropist. As to her acting, the problem for her reputation, is as others have mentioned, she was a naturally skilled comedian who excelled in light comedy, but WRH wanted to make her a dramatic star for which she wasn't suited. If she had not been involved with WRH, she would have probably moved into radio in the 1940's, and then tv, like an older Lucy, she would have been well suited for the Spring Byington or Shirley Booth type roles. It is also questionable if her alcoholism would have gotten as bad as it did. While she was known as someone who liked a good party, her true descent into full-blown alcoholism developed as she and WRH led a more and more isolated reclusive life.
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | January 4, 2019 3:46 AM |
Watched several of her movies this morning. She certainly was "madcap." Maybe a little too, but that was the way they liked them in silent movies back then. At one point she imitated several female stars of that day including Lillian Gish and what looked like Clara Bow to startling effect.
One of the scenes in one of the movies featured a very cute young man, playing a waiter, relaying a message to co-star Robert Montgomery (showing a noticeable and surprising VPL) and thanks to DL, all I could think was that that cute , well built, handsome kid was probably passed around to all of the top executive types before aging out and being kicked to the curb.
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | January 4, 2019 4:11 AM |
R77 speaking of Robert Montgomery, am I the only person who finds it a bit creepy that both his wives and his daughter were named Elizabeth.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | January 4, 2019 4:19 AM |
I believe Dorothy Parker was kicked out of a Hearst Castle weekend for drinking, but I forgot the details. Someone know?
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | August 24, 2019 11:45 PM |
Is The Cats Meow any good? You never know with Bogdanivich.
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | August 24, 2019 11:55 PM |
I agree about Peg O My Heart. Loved The Bachelor Father as well.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | August 25, 2019 9:11 AM |
R33 Apparently Orson Welles did regret later of his 'portrayal' of Marion Davies in Citizen Kane. By most accounts she was a lovely person and didn't warrant the ridicule that Welles heaped upon her in Citizen Kane.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | August 25, 2019 9:16 AM |
LOL r5!
Actually WR was afflicted with severe tinymeat/fugliness - a horrible combinatia - the misery from which only his inherited million$ could alleviate.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | August 25, 2019 9:58 AM |
“Moderately talented” is correct. I have seen her in a silent film. She is fun, but is at best Malin Ackerman level.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | August 25, 2019 10:21 AM |
I love her silents along with Operator 13.
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | August 25, 2019 2:34 PM |
Did she really get to enjoy Chaplin's rumored massive sizemeat?
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | August 25, 2019 4:15 PM |
R 69, regarding Nancy Carroll, here is a clip from FOLLOW THRU (1930) with Buddy Rogers, that shows just how lovely and photogenic she was. Carroll's red hair and green eyes made her an ideal subject for the two-color Techinicolor process that was in use at the time. Unfortunately, aside from this one, I don't think she made any other films in color:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 87 | August 26, 2019 1:30 AM |
[quote] Is The Cats Meow any good? You never know with Bogdanivich.
It's entertaining and good, yes.
It's just not true.
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | September 11, 2019 11:06 PM |
A biography on her supposedly comes out this year:
"What everyone in the early film community is waiting for is a well-researched, up-to-date biography of the actress. It’s coming from film historian Lara Gabrielle Fowler, who wrote the booklet essay for When Knighthood Was in Flower. Fowler’s book is titled Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies. Though a publisher hasn’t been set, Fowler expects to have this highly anticipated work ready for publication in 2019."
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | September 11, 2019 11:14 PM |
Hearst bought for her one of the Seven Beauties townhouses on the clock of Riverside Drive between 105th and 106th Street.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 90 | September 11, 2019 11:39 PM |
That would be my dream, r90--to live in a beautiful mansion facing the Hudson River on Riverside Drive.
I will have to buy this book. thanks for bringing it to my attention!
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | September 12, 2019 1:46 AM |
Colleen Moore said Marion’s beach house was the biggest in the beach “ and by beach I mean from San Diego to the Oregon border!”
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | September 17, 2019 6:28 PM |
No idea if Lara's book on Marion Davies will be any good but I used to know her quite well and she's insufferable. Her blog isn't great (backlots . net) and the book doesn't have a publisher either, which is not a good sign.
| by Anonymous | reply 94 | September 17, 2019 6:54 PM |
Several sources have claimed that Marion was the only woman Joseph P. Kennedy ever actually loved. Kennedy made Gloria Swanson his mistress because he couldn't have Marion. (Kennedy feared very few people, but Hearst was one.)
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | September 17, 2019 10:46 PM |
It's 2020 and Fowler's book still isn't published:
"My upcoming biography on Marion Davies has taken me all over the world for research, interviews, and speaking events. I'm proud to say that I have been established as the foremost authority on Davies' life and career. I've conducted research at the Library of Congress, Columbia, the Margaret Herrick Library, USC, UCLA, and at private archives in the UK and France. I wrote the program notes for the screening of The Red Mill at Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival in London and the DVD notes for the restoration of When Knighthood Was in Flower. My article on Marion Davies’ transition to sound appeared in the summer 2018 edition of the Missouri Review.
Your support will help me with the financial aspects of this level of content, such as research costs, website fees, and travel expenses. I love what I do, and I thank you for helping me to make it a reality!"
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 96 | August 23, 2020 7:05 PM |
I just watched Mank.
Marion was treated kindly for this movie.
What do you think?
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | January 7, 2021 1:17 AM |
R27, Bognonovich did not get the story of The Cat's Meow from anywhere. It is an adaptation of a play by Steven Peros. Bogdonovich has nothing to do with creating the story.
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | January 7, 2021 2:54 AM |
