Clara Bow
Encyclopedia
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film
era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It
that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl
." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties
and is described as its leading sex symbol
. She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It
(1927) and Wings
(1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930. Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost 2-to-1, a "safe return". In January 1929, at the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters
. After marrying actor Rex Bell
in 1931, Bow ended her career in 1933 with the film with Hoop-La
, becoming a rancher in Nevada
.
in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
, New York
, where she was also raised. Bow was the third child; the first two, also daughters, born in 1903 and 1904, died in infancy. Her mother, Sarah Bow (1880–1923), was told by a doctor not to become pregnant again for fear the next baby might die as well. Despite the her doctor's warning, Sarah Bow became pregnant with Clara in the fall of 1904. In addition to the risky pregnancy, a heat wave
besieged New York in July 1905 and temperatures peaked around 100 °F; the infant mortality rate rose to 80%. "I don't suppose two people ever looked death in the face more clearly than my mother and I the morning I was born. We were both given up, but somehow we struggled back to life".
At sixteen, Sarah fell from a second-story window and suffered a severe head injury. She was later diagnosed with "psychosis
due to epilepsy
", a condition apart from the seizures that is known to cause disordered thinking, delusion
al ideation, paranoia
, and aggressive behavior.
From her earliest years, Bow learned how to care for her mother during the seizures as well as how to deal with the psychotic and hostile episodes. She said her mother could be "mean" to her, but "didn't mean to ... she couldn't help it". Still, Bow felt deprived of her childhood; "As a kid I took care of my mother, she didn't take care of me". Sarah worsened gradually, and when she realized her daughter was set for a movie career, Bow's mother told her she "would be much better off dead". One night in February 1922, Bow awoke to a butcher knife
held against her throat by her mother. Bow was able to fend off the attack and locked her mother up. In the morning, Sarah had no recollection of the episode and was later committed to a charity hospital.
Bow said that her father, Robert (1874–1959), "had a quick, keen mind ... all the natural qualifications to make something of himself, but didn't". Robert seldom managed to hold on to a job and the family income varied drastically as a result. Between 1905 and 1923, the family lived at 14 different addresses. Robert was often absent, leaving his family without means to survive. "I do not think my mother ever loved my father. He knew it. And it made him very unhappy, for he worshiped her, always".
Sarah Bow died on January 5, 1923. When relatives gathered for the funeral, Bow accused them of not being supportive in the past. Reportedly, her anger led her to attempt jumping into her mother's open grave.
As Bow grew up she felt shy among other girls, who teased her for her worn-out clothes and "carrot-top" hair. From first grade, Bow preferred the company of boys her age, stating, "I could lick any boy my size. My right arm was quite famous. My right arm was developed from pitching so much ... Once I hopped a ride on behind a big fire engine. I got a lot of credit from the gang for that". Bow's athletic ability led her to becoming a track champion in high-school. Of her proposed arm strength, Louella Parsons
noted, "... curiously enough, she has muscles on her arms that stand out like whip-cord".
, Neysa Mcmein
, and Harrison Fisher
, concluded:
who cast her in Beyond the Rainbow
, produced late 1921 in New York City and released February 19, 1922. Bow did five scenes, impressed Cabanne with true theatrical tears, but was eventually cut from the print. Bow wasn't told, but found out when she saw the movie at a theater in Brooklyn. "I was sick to my stomach", she recalled and thought her mother was right about the movie business. Bow, who dropped out of school after she was notified about winning the contest, possibly in October 1921, got an ordinary office job. However, movie ads and newspaper editorial comments from 1922–1923 suggest that Bow was not cut from Beyond the Rainbow. Her name is on the cast list among the other stars, usually tagged "Brewster magazine beauty contest winner" and sometimes even with a picture.
needed a tomboy for his movie Down to the Sea in Ships
, saw Bow in Motion Picture Classic magazine and sent for her. In an attempt to overcome her youthful looks, Bow put her hair up and arrived in a dress she 'sneaked' from her mother. Clifton said she was too old, but broke into laughter as the stammering Bow made him believe she was the girl in the magazine. Clifton decided to bring Bow with him and offered her $50 a week, but added he couldn't say whether or not she would "fit the part".
Down to the Sea in Ships was shot on location in New Bedford, Massachusetts
, produced by Independent 'The Whaling Film Corporation', and documented the life, love and work in the whale-hunter community. The production relied on a few less known actors and local talents. It premiered at 'Olympia', New Bedford, on September 25, and went on general distribution on March 4, 1923.
Bow was billed 10th, but shined through and critics sang her praise:
movie theater, staring at her name in shimmering electric light above the entrance. "I can never tell you what happiness I felt, life had been so terrible hard and it seemed to me that now all my troubles were to be in the past". By mid December 1923, primarily due to her merits in Down to the Sea in Ships, Bow was chosen the most successful of the 1924 WAMPAS Baby Stars
.
(1923). In spring she got a part in The Daring Years
(1923), were she befriended actress Mary Carr
, who taught her how to use make-up.
In the summer, she got a "tomboy" part in Grit, a story, which dealt with juvenile crime and was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
. Bow met her first boyfriend, cameraman Arthur Jacobson, and she got to know director Frank Tuttle
, with whom she worked in five later productions. Tuttle remembered:
Grit was released on January 7, 1924. Variety
reviewed;
While shooting Grit at Pyramid Studios, in Astoria, New York, Bow was approached by Jack Bachman of independent Hollywood studio Preferred Pictures. He wanted to contract her for a three months trial, fare paid and $50 a week. "It can't do any harm", he tried. "Why can't I stay in New York and make movies?", Bow asked her father, but he told her not to worry.
On July 21, 1923 she befriended Louella Parsons
, who interviewed her for The New York Morning Telegraph. In 1931 when Bow came under tabloid scrutiny, Parsons defended her and stuck to her first opinion on Bow:
The interview also revealed that Bow already was cast in Maytime and in great favor of Chinese cuisine.
's office wearing a simple high-school uniform in which she "had won several gold medals on the cinder track". She was tested and a press-release from early August says Bow had become a member of Preferred Picture's "permanent stock". She and Alton rented an apartment at The Hillview
near Hollywood Boulevard
. Preferred Pictures was run by Schulberg who started as a publicity manager at Famous Players-Lasky
, but in the aftermath of the power struggle around the formation of United Artists
ended up on the losing side and lost his job. In 1919, at age 27, he founded 'Preferred'.
Bow's first Hollywood picture was an adaptation of the popular operetta Maytime
, in which she essayed "Alice Tremaine". Before Maytime
was finished, Schulberg announced that Bow was given the lead in the studio's biggest seasonal assessment, Poisoned Paradise, but first she was lent to First National Pictures to co-star in the adaptation of Gertrude Atherton
's 1923 bestseller Black Oxen
, shot in October, and to co-star with Colleen Moore
in Painted People, shot in November.
Director Frank Lloyd
was casting for the part of high society flapper Janet Oglethorpe, and more than fifty women, most with previous screen experience, auditioned. Bow reminisced; "He had not found exactly what he wanted and finally somebody suggested me to him. When I came into his office a big smile came over his face and he looked just tickled to death". Lloyd told the press; "Bow is the personification of the ideal aristocratic flapper
, mischievous, pretty, aggressive, quick-tempered and deeply sentimental". It was released on January 4, 1924.
made her flapper debut in a successful adaptation of the daring novel Flaming Youth, released November 12, 1923, six weeks before Black Oxen
. Both films were produced by First National Pictures, and while Black Oxen was still being edited and Flaming Youth not yet released, Bow was requested to co-star Moore as her kid sister in Painted People (AKA The Swamp Angel).
Moore essayed the baseball-playing tomboy and Bow, according to Moore, said "I don't like my part, I wanna play yours". Moore, a well-established star earning $1200 a week — Bow got $200 — took offense and blocked the director from doing a close-up on Bow. Moore was married to a studio executive and Bow's protests fell short. "I'll get that bitch", she told her boyfriend Jacobson, who had arrived from New York. Bow had sinus problems and decided to have them attended to immediately. A bandaged Bow left the studio with no options but to recast her part.
During 1924 Bow's "horrid" flapper raced against Moore's "whimsical". In May Moore renewed her efforts in The Perfect Flapper, produced by her husband, but despite good reviews she suddenly withdrew. "No more flappers ... they have served their purpose ... people are tired of soda-pop love affairs", she told the Los Angeles Times
, that commented a month earlier, "Clara Bow is the one outstanding type. She has almost immediately been elected for all the recent flapper parts" In November 1933, Bow described the Hollywood years as a French Revolution picture, where "women are hollering and waving pitchforks twice as violently as any of the guys ... the only ladies in sight are the ones getting their heads cut off".
By New Year 1924, Bow defied the possessive Maxine Alton and brought her father to Hollywood. Bow remembered their reunion; "I didn't care a rap, for (Maxine Alton), or B. P. Schulberg, or my motion picture career, or Clara Bow, I just threw myself into his arms and kissed and kissed him, and we both cried like a couple of fool kids. Oh, it was wonderful". Bow felt Alton had misused her trust; "She wanted to keep a hold on me so she made me think I wasn't getting over and that nothing but her clever management kept me going". Bow and her father moved in at 1714 North Kingsley Drive in Hollywood, together with Jacobson, who by then also worked for Preferred. When Schulberg learned of this arrangement, he fired Jacobson for potentially getting "his big star" into a scandal. When Bow found out, "She tore up her contract and threw it in his face and told him he couldn't run her private life". Jacobson concluded, "[Clara] was the sweetest girl in the world, but you didn't cross her and you didn't do her wrong". On September 7, 1924, The Los Angeles Times, in a significant article "A dangerous little devil is Clara, impish, appealing, but oh, how she can act!", her father is titled "business manager" and Jacobson referred to as her brother.
Bow appeared in eight releases in 1924.
As an out-loan to Universal-Jewel, Bow top-starred, for the first time, in the prohibition
, bootleg
drama/comedy Wine
, released on August 20, 1924. The picture exposes the widespread liquor traffic in the upper-classes, and Bow portrays an innocent girl who develops into a wild "redhot mama".
Alma Whitaker of The Los Angeles Times observed on September 7, 1924:
Bow remembered: "All this time I was "running wild", I guess, in the sense of trying to have a good time ... maybe this was a good thing, because I suppose a lot of that excitement, that joy of life, got onto the screen".
Preferred Pictures rented Bow to producers "for sums ranging from $1500 to $2000 a week". The studio like any other independent studio or theater at that time, was under attack from "The Big Three", MPAA, who had formed a trust to block out
Independents and enforce the monopolistic
studio system
. On October 21, 1925, Schulberg filled Preferred Pictures for bankruptcy, with debts at $820,774 and assets $1,420. Three days later, it was announced that Schulberg would join with Adolph Zukor
and became associate producer of Paramount Pictures
, bringing his organization, including Bow.
Adolph Zukor, Paramount Picture CEO in his memoirs: "All the skill of directors and all the booming of press-agent drums will not make a star. Only the audiences can do it. We study audience reactions with great care".
Adela Rogers St. Johns
had a different take, in 1950 she wrote: "If ever a star was made by public demand, it was Clara Bow". And Louise Brooks
from 1980: "(Bow) became a star without nobody's help ... ".
The Plastic Age
was Bow's final effort for Preferred Pictures and her biggest hit so far. Bow starred as the good-bad college-girl, Cynthia Day against Donald Keith. It was shot on location, at Pomona College
, in the summer of 1925, and released on December 15, but due to block booking
, not shown in New York until July 21, 1926.
Bow began to date her co-star Gilbert Roland
, who became her first fiancee.
In June 1925, Bow was credited for being the first to wear hand-painted legs
in public and was reported to have many followers at the Californian beaches.
In late 1925, Bow returns to New York to co-star in the Ibsenesque
drama Dancing Mothers
, as the good/bad "flapperish" upper-class daughter "Kittens". Alice Joyce
starred as her "dancing mother" with Conway Tearle
as "bad-boy" Naughton. The picture was released on March 1, 1926.
On April 12, 1926, Bow signs her first contract with Paramount: "...to retain your services as an actress for the period of six months from June 6th, 1926 to December 6th, 1926, at a salary of $750.00 per week...".
In Victor Fleming's
comedy-triangle Mantrap Bow, as Alverna the manicurist, cures lonely hearts Joe Easter (Ernest Torrence
), of the great northern, as well as pill-popping New York divorcee attorney runaway Ralph Prescott (Percy Marmont
). Bow commented: "(Alverna)...was bad in the book, but - darn it! - of course, they couldn't make her that way in the picture. So I played her as a flirt".
The film was released on July 24, 1926.
On August 16, 1926, Bow's agreement with Paramount was renewed into a five year deal: "Her salary will start at $1700 a week and advance yearly to $4000 a week for the last year".
Notably Bow added that she intended to leave the motion picture business at the expiration of the contract, i.e. 1931.
, Children of Divorce
, Rough House Rosie
, Wings
, Hula
and Get Your Man.
In the Cinderella
story It
, the poor shop-girl Betty Lou Spence (Bow) conquers the heart of her employer Cyrus Waltham (Antonio Moreno
).
The personal quality It, provides the magic to make it happen. The film gave Bow her nickname "The It Girl."
It was first shown in New York on February 5, 1927.
In 1927, Bow starred in Wings, a war picture rewritten to accommodate her, as she was Paramount's biggest star, but wasn't happy about her part. "(Wings is)..a man's picture and I'm just the whipped cream on top of the pie", she commented. The film went on to win the first Academy Award for Best Picture
at the first annual AMPAS award ceremony on May 16, 1929. Douglas Fairbanks
presented Bow with the statuette, not yet known as the "Oscar".. On January 24, 2012, Paramount will release a "Meticulously restored" copy of Wings in DVD
as well as Blue-Ray format.
Bow's bohemian
lifestyle and "dreadful" manners were considered reminders of the Hollywood Elite's uneasy position in high society.
Bow fumed: "They yell at me to be dignified. But what are the dignified people like? The people who are held up as examples of me? They are snobs. Frightful snobs ... I'm a curiosity in Hollywood. I'm a big freak, because I'm myself!"
MGM executive Paul Bern
said Bow was "the greatest emotional actress on the screen", "sentimental, simple, childish and sweet", and considered her "hard-boiled attitude" a "defense mechanism".
With "talkies" The Wild Party
, Dangerous Curves
, and The Saturday Night Kid
, Bow kept her position as the top box-office draw and queen of Hollywood.
The quality of Bow's voice, her Brooklyn accent, was not an issue to Bow, her fans or Paramount. However, Bow, like Charlie Chaplin
, Louise Brooks
and most other silent film-stars didn't embrace the novelty: "I hate talkies", she said, "they're stiff and limiting. You lose a lot of your cuteness, because there's no chance for action, and action is the most important thing to me". The inventor of the motion picture camera, Thomas Edison
himself, was so annoyed by the stiffness of the early "talkies" that he refused to see them and returned to his favorite "silents" with Bow and Mary Pickford
. A visibly nervous Bow had to do a number of retakes in The Wild Party
because her eyes kept wandering up to the microphone overhead. "I can't buck progress", Bow resigned, "I have to do the best I can".
In October 1929 Bow describes her nerves as "all shot", that she has reached "the breaking point" and Photoplay reports of "rows of bottles of sedatives" by her bed.
1930, Bow lives at Bedford Drive 512, together with her secretary and hair-dresser, Daisy DeBoe, in a house valued $25,000 with neighbors titled "Horse-keeper", "Physician", "Builder". Bow states she is 23 years old, i.e. born 1906, contradicting Census of 1910 and 1920.
"Now they're having me sing. I sort of half-sing, half-talk
, with hips-and-eye stuff. You know what I mean — like Maurice Chevalier
. I used to sing at home and people would say, 'Pipe down! You're terrible!' But the studio thinks my voice is great".
With Paramount on Parade
, "True to the Navy
", "Love Among the Millionaires" and "Her Wedding Night", she was second at the box-office to her chum, Joan Crawford
in 1930.
and Kick In
, Bow held the position as fifth at box-office in 1931.
But the pressures of fame, public scandals, overwork and a damaging court trial with her secretary, Daisy DeBoe, took their toll on Bow's fragile emotional health. As she slipped closer to a major breakdown, her manager B.P. Schulberg began referring to her as "Crisis-a-day-Clara". In April Bow was brought to a sanatorium
, and at her request, Paramount released her from her final undertaking: City Streets
.
B.P. Schulberg tried to replace Bow with his girlfriend Sylvia Sidney
, but Paramount lost its position as the biggest studio to MGM and B.P. Schulberg got fired. David Selznick explained:
Bow left Hollywood for Rex Bell
s ranch in Nevada
, her "desert paradise", in June and got married to him in then small town Las Vegas in December In an interview of December 17 Bow detailed her way back to health: Sleep, exercise and food, and the day after she returned to her Hollywood home ready for work.
Soon every studio in Hollywood (except for Paramount) and even overseas. wanted her services.
On April 28, 1932, Bow signed a two-picture deal with Fox Film Corporation; Call Her Savage
(1932) and Hoop-La
(1933). Both successful, Variety
favored the latter:
Bow commented on her revealing costume in Hoop-La: "Rex accused me of enjoying showing myself off. Then I got a little sore. He knew darn well I was doing it because we could use a little money these days. Who can't?".
Bow concluded her career:
, later a Lieutenant governor
of Nevada
, had two sons, Tony Beldam (born 1934, changed name to Rex Anthony Bell, Jr., died July 2011) and George Beldam, Jr. (born 1938). Bow retired from acting in 1933. In September 1937, she and Bell opened The 'It' Cafe on Vine Street near Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was closed shortly thereafter. Her last public exposure, albeit fleeting, was a guest appearance on the radio show Truth or Consequences
in March 1948; Bow provided the voice of "Mrs. Hush".
.
A note was found in which Bow stated she preferred death to a public life.
In 1949 she checked into The Institute of Living
to be treated for her chronic insomnia and diffuse abdominal pains. Shock treatment
was tried and numerous psychological tests performed. Bow's IQ was measured "bright normal" (pp. 111–119), while others claimed she was unable to reason, had poor judgment and displayed inappropriate or even bizarre behavior. Her pains were considered delusional and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia
, despite experiencing neither sound nor vision hallucination
s or psychosis
. The illness debut, or "onset", as well as her insomnia, the analysts tied to the "butcher knife episode" back in 1922, but Bow rejected psychological explanations and left the Institute.
In the permanent exhibition, "Myths, Minds and Medicine", the Institute addresses malpractice issues of the past, including lobotomy
, which peaked in 1949, and "crude electroconvulsive therapy".
under the constant care of a nurse, living off an estate worth about $500,000 at the time of her death. She died of a heart attack
on September 27, 1965 at the age of 60. An autopsy
revealed that she suffered from atherosclerosis
, a disease of the heart
that can begin in early adolescence. Bow's heart showed scarring from an earlier undetected heart attack. She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
. Her pallbearers were Harry Richman
, Richard Arlen
, Jack Oakie
, Maxie Rosenbloom
, Jack Dempsey
, and Buddy Rogers.
said that "You think of Greta Garbo
, Lillian Gish
, all these great names, great actresses, Clara Bow was more popular in terms of Box-office dollars, in terms of consistently bringing audiences into the theaters, she was right on top."
In 1999 the American Film Institute
left Bow outside its "100 years 100 star"-list
and film historian Kevin Brownlow
doesn't even mention her name in his book on silent films, "The Parades gone By.."(1968). Louise Brooks
, who rated an entire chapter in the book was less impressed:
"You brush off Clara Bow", she wrote to Brownlow, "for some old nothing like Brooks..Clara made three pictures that will never be surpassed: Dancing Mothers, Mantrap and It".
. In 1994, she was honored with an image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld
.
spread the contemporary legend
that Bow's friendship with members of the 1927 University of Southern California
football team included group sex with the entire team. In the 1980s Morley Drury
commented that his team was "too damn innocent" to be anything else.
During her lifetime, Bow was the subject of wild rumors regarding her sex life; most of them were untrue. A tabloid called The Coast Reporter published lurid allegations about her in 1931, accusing her of exhibitionism
, incest
, lesbianism, bestiality, drug addiction, alcoholism
, and having contracted venereal disease. The publisher of the tabloid then tried to blackmail
Bow, offering to cease printing the stories for $25,000, which led to his arrest by federal agents and, later, an eight-year prison sentence.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It
It (1927 film)
It is a 1927 silent romantic comedy film which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow became known as the "It girl"...
that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl
It girl
"It girl" is a term for a young woman who possess the quality "It", absolute attraction.The early usage of the concept "it" in this meaning may be seen in a story by Rudyard Kipling: "It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'."...
." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
and is described as its leading sex symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
. She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It
It (1927 film)
It is a 1927 silent romantic comedy film which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow became known as the "It girl"...
(1927) and Wings
Wings (film)
Wings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and...
(1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930. Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost 2-to-1, a "safe return". In January 1929, at the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters
Fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".In return celebrities may send a poster or picture and usually a return letter.-Overview:...
. After marrying actor Rex Bell
Rex Bell
Rex Bell , born George Francis Beldam, was an American actor and politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and a western movie star. Rex was born in Chicago and married actress Clara Bow in 1931. They had two sons, Tony Beldon and George Beldon, Jr...
in 1931, Bow ended her career in 1933 with the film with Hoop-La
Hoop-La
Hoop-La is a 1933 drama film notable as both a pre-code film and as the final appearance of actress Clara Bow. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and released by Fox Film Corporation, with Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell, and Minna Gombell also in the cast...
, becoming a rancher in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Early life
Clara Bow was born in 1905 in a slum tenementTenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she was also raised. Bow was the third child; the first two, also daughters, born in 1903 and 1904, died in infancy. Her mother, Sarah Bow (1880–1923), was told by a doctor not to become pregnant again for fear the next baby might die as well. Despite the her doctor's warning, Sarah Bow became pregnant with Clara in the fall of 1904. In addition to the risky pregnancy, a heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
besieged New York in July 1905 and temperatures peaked around 100 °F; the infant mortality rate rose to 80%. "I don't suppose two people ever looked death in the face more clearly than my mother and I the morning I was born. We were both given up, but somehow we struggled back to life".
At sixteen, Sarah fell from a second-story window and suffered a severe head injury. She was later diagnosed with "psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
due to epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
", a condition apart from the seizures that is known to cause disordered thinking, delusion
Delusion
A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
al ideation, paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, and aggressive behavior.
From her earliest years, Bow learned how to care for her mother during the seizures as well as how to deal with the psychotic and hostile episodes. She said her mother could be "mean" to her, but "didn't mean to ... she couldn't help it". Still, Bow felt deprived of her childhood; "As a kid I took care of my mother, she didn't take care of me". Sarah worsened gradually, and when she realized her daughter was set for a movie career, Bow's mother told her she "would be much better off dead". One night in February 1922, Bow awoke to a butcher knife
Butcher knife
A butcher knife is a knife designed and used primarily for the butchering and/or dressing of animals.During the late 18th century to mid 1840s, the butcher knife was a key tool for mountain men. Simple, useful and cheap to produce, they were used for everything from skinning beaver, cutting food,...
held against her throat by her mother. Bow was able to fend off the attack and locked her mother up. In the morning, Sarah had no recollection of the episode and was later committed to a charity hospital.
Bow said that her father, Robert (1874–1959), "had a quick, keen mind ... all the natural qualifications to make something of himself, but didn't". Robert seldom managed to hold on to a job and the family income varied drastically as a result. Between 1905 and 1923, the family lived at 14 different addresses. Robert was often absent, leaving his family without means to survive. "I do not think my mother ever loved my father. He knew it. And it made him very unhappy, for he worshiped her, always".
Sarah Bow died on January 5, 1923. When relatives gathered for the funeral, Bow accused them of not being supportive in the past. Reportedly, her anger led her to attempt jumping into her mother's open grave.
As Bow grew up she felt shy among other girls, who teased her for her worn-out clothes and "carrot-top" hair. From first grade, Bow preferred the company of boys her age, stating, "I could lick any boy my size. My right arm was quite famous. My right arm was developed from pitching so much ... Once I hopped a ride on behind a big fire engine. I got a lot of credit from the gang for that". Bow's athletic ability led her to becoming a track champion in high-school. Of her proposed arm strength, Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
noted, "... curiously enough, she has muscles on her arms that stand out like whip-cord".
Motion pictures
In the early 1920s, roughly 50 million Americans--half the population at that time--attended the movies every week. Bow discovered that as she grew into womanhood, her stature as a "boy" in her old gang would be "impossible". As well, she didn't have any girlfriends, school was a "heartache" and home "miserable". On the silver screen, however, she found consolation; "For the first time in my life I knew there was beauty in the world. For the first time I saw distant lands, serene, lovely homes, romance, nobility, glamor". And further; "I always had a queer feeling about actors and actresses on the screen ... I knew I would have done it differently. I couldn't analyze it, but I could always feel it". "I'd go home and be a one girl circus, taking the parts of everyone I'd seen, living them before the glass." At sixteen Bow "knew" she wanted to be a motion pictures actress, even if she was a "square, awkward, funny-faced kid".The Fame and Fortune contest
Against her mother's wishes but with her father's support, Bow competed in Brewster publications' magazine's annual nationwide acting contest, Fame and Fortune in 1921. In previous years, several of the contest's winners had found work in movies after winning. In the contest's final screen test Bow was up against an already scene-experienced woman who did "a beautiful piece of acting". A set member later stated that when Bow did the scene she actually became her character and "lived it". In the January issues 1922 of Motion Picture Classics the contest jury, Howard Chandler ChristyHoward Chandler Christy
Howard Chandler Christy was an American artist and illustrator famous for the "Christy Girl", similar to a "Gibson Girl".He was born in Morgan County and attended early school in Duncan Falls, Ohio...
, Neysa Mcmein
Neysa McMein
-Life:Born Marjorie Moran in Quincy, Illinois, she attended the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1913 went to New York City. After a brief stint as an actress, she turned to commercial art...
, and Harrison Fisher
Harrison Fisher
Harrison Fisher was an American illustrator.Fisher was born in Brooklyn, New York City and began to draw at an early age. Both his father and his grandfather were artists. Fisher spent much of his youth in San Francisco, and studied at the San Francisco Art Association...
, concluded:
Beyond the Rainbow (1922)
Bow won an evening gown and a silver trophy and the publisher committed to help her "gain a role in films". But nothing happened. Bow's father told her to "haunt" Brewster's office (located in Brooklyn) until they came up with something. "To get rid of me, or maybe they really meant to (give me) all the time and were just busy", Bow was introduced to director Christy CabanneChristy Cabanne
Christy Cabanne , born William Christy Cabanne, was an American film director, screenwriter and silent film actor. Christy Cabanne was, along with Sam Newfield and William Beaudine, one of the most prolific directors in the history of American film.-Biography:Cabanne graduated from the U.S...
who cast her in Beyond the Rainbow
Beyond the Rainbow
Beyond the Rainbow is an American silent film starring Billie Dove and Harry T. Morey. The film is also notable as the first film actress Clara Bow appeared in.-Synopsis:...
, produced late 1921 in New York City and released February 19, 1922. Bow did five scenes, impressed Cabanne with true theatrical tears, but was eventually cut from the print. Bow wasn't told, but found out when she saw the movie at a theater in Brooklyn. "I was sick to my stomach", she recalled and thought her mother was right about the movie business. Bow, who dropped out of school after she was notified about winning the contest, possibly in October 1921, got an ordinary office job. However, movie ads and newspaper editorial comments from 1922–1923 suggest that Bow was not cut from Beyond the Rainbow. Her name is on the cast list among the other stars, usually tagged "Brewster magazine beauty contest winner" and sometimes even with a picture.
Down to the Sea in Ships (1923)
Encouraged by her father, Bow started to run around studio agencies asking for parts. "But there was always something. I was too young, or too little, or too fat. Usually I was too fat." Eventually director Elmer CliftonElmer Clifton
Elmer Clifton, was an American writer, director, and actor from the early silent days. A collaborator of D. W. Griffith, he appeared in The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance before giving up acting in 1919 to concentrate on work behind the camera...
needed a tomboy for his movie Down to the Sea in Ships
Down to the Sea in Ships
Down to the Sea in Ships is a 1922 American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family. Directed by Elmer Clifton, the film stars William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, and Clara Bow.-Plot:...
, saw Bow in Motion Picture Classic magazine and sent for her. In an attempt to overcome her youthful looks, Bow put her hair up and arrived in a dress she 'sneaked' from her mother. Clifton said she was too old, but broke into laughter as the stammering Bow made him believe she was the girl in the magazine. Clifton decided to bring Bow with him and offered her $50 a week, but added he couldn't say whether or not she would "fit the part".
Down to the Sea in Ships was shot on location in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, produced by Independent 'The Whaling Film Corporation', and documented the life, love and work in the whale-hunter community. The production relied on a few less known actors and local talents. It premiered at 'Olympia', New Bedford, on September 25, and went on general distribution on March 4, 1923.
Bow was billed 10th, but shined through and critics sang her praise:
- "Miss Bow will undoubtedly gain fame as a screen comedienne".
- "She scored a tremendous hit in Down to the Sea in Ships..(and)..has reached the front rank of motion picture principal players".
- "With her beauty, her brains, her personality and her genuine acting ability it should not be many moons before she enjoys stardom in the fullest sense of the word. You must see 'Down to the Sea in Ships'".
- "In movie parlance, she 'stole' the picture ... ".
WAMPAS Baby Star (1924)
Bow found herself walking time after time by a BroadwayBroadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
movie theater, staring at her name in shimmering electric light above the entrance. "I can never tell you what happiness I felt, life had been so terrible hard and it seemed to me that now all my troubles were to be in the past". By mid December 1923, primarily due to her merits in Down to the Sea in Ships, Bow was chosen the most successful of the 1924 WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
.
Grit (1924)
Three months before Down to the Sea in Ships was released, Bow danced half nude, on a table, unaccredited in Enemies of WomenEnemies of Women
Enemies of Women is a 1923 silent romantic drama film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Lionel Barrymore, Alma Rubens, Gladys Hulette, Pedro de Cordoba, and Paul Panzer. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst through his Cosmopolitan Productions...
(1923). In spring she got a part in The Daring Years
The Daring Years
The Daring Years is an independently released American silent film melodrama, directed by Kenneth Webb and produced by Daniel Carson Goodman. The film starred Mildred Harris, Clara Bow, Charles Emmett Mack, and Tyrone Power, Sr....
(1923), were she befriended actress Mary Carr
Mary Carr
Mary Carr was an American film actress and was married to the actor William Carr . She appeared in 144 films between 1915 and 1956...
, who taught her how to use make-up.
In the summer, she got a "tomboy" part in Grit, a story, which dealt with juvenile crime and was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. Bow met her first boyfriend, cameraman Arthur Jacobson, and she got to know director Frank Tuttle
Frank Tuttle
Frank Tuttle was a Hollywood film director and writer who directed films from 1922 to 1959 ....
, with whom she worked in five later productions. Tuttle remembered:
Grit was released on January 7, 1924. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reviewed;
- "... Clara Bow lingers in the eye, long after the picture has gone."
While shooting Grit at Pyramid Studios, in Astoria, New York, Bow was approached by Jack Bachman of independent Hollywood studio Preferred Pictures. He wanted to contract her for a three months trial, fare paid and $50 a week. "It can't do any harm", he tried. "Why can't I stay in New York and make movies?", Bow asked her father, but he told her not to worry.
On July 21, 1923 she befriended Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
, who interviewed her for The New York Morning Telegraph. In 1931 when Bow came under tabloid scrutiny, Parsons defended her and stuck to her first opinion on Bow:
The interview also revealed that Bow already was cast in Maytime and in great favor of Chinese cuisine.
Hollywood (1923-1933)
Preferred Pictures (1923-1925)
July 22, 1923, Bow left New York, her father and her boyfriend behind. As chaperon for the journey and stay in Hollywood, the studio appointed writer/agent Maxine Alton, who Bow later branded a liar. In late July Bow entered studio chief B. P. SchulbergB. P. Schulberg
B.P. Schulberg was a pioneer film producer and movie studio executive.Born Percival Schulberg in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he took the name Benjamin from the boy in front of him when registering for school to avoid mockery for his British name...
's office wearing a simple high-school uniform in which she "had won several gold medals on the cinder track". She was tested and a press-release from early August says Bow had become a member of Preferred Picture's "permanent stock". She and Alton rented an apartment at The Hillview
The Hillview
The Hudson Apartments is a historical building, located on Hollywood Boulevard, it is considered Hollywood's first "artist's" high-rise. It was founded in 1917 by movie moguls, Jesse L. Lasky, co-founder of Paramount Pictures and his brother-in-law Samuel Goldwyn, co-founder of...
near Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
. Preferred Pictures was run by Schulberg who started as a publicity manager at Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
, but in the aftermath of the power struggle around the formation of United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
ended up on the losing side and lost his job. In 1919, at age 27, he founded 'Preferred'.
Maytime
Bow's first Hollywood picture was an adaptation of the popular operetta Maytime
Maytime (musical)
Maytime is a musical with music by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics and book by Rida Johnson Young, and with additional lyrics by Cyrus Wood. The musical is based on the 1913 German operetta Wie einst im Mai, composed by Walter Kollo, with words by Rudolf Bernauer and Rudolf Schanzer. Maytime introduced...
, in which she essayed "Alice Tremaine". Before Maytime
Maytime (1923 film)
Maytime is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Ethel Shannon, Harrison Ford and William Norris. The film also features one of Clara Bow's earliest cinema roles...
was finished, Schulberg announced that Bow was given the lead in the studio's biggest seasonal assessment, Poisoned Paradise, but first she was lent to First National Pictures to co-star in the adaptation of Gertrude Atherton
Gertrude Atherton
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was an American writer.-Early Childhood:Gertrude Franklin Horn was born on October 30, 1857 in San Francisco to Thomas Ludovich Horn and his wife, the former Gertrude Franklin...
's 1923 bestseller Black Oxen
Black Oxen
Black Oxen is an American silent film released in December 1923, starring Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle and Clara Bow and based on the novel by Gertrude Atherton...
, shot in October, and to co-star with Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
in Painted People, shot in November.
Black Oxen
Director Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd was a film director, scriptwriter and producer...
was casting for the part of high society flapper Janet Oglethorpe, and more than fifty women, most with previous screen experience, auditioned. Bow reminisced; "He had not found exactly what he wanted and finally somebody suggested me to him. When I came into his office a big smile came over his face and he looked just tickled to death". Lloyd told the press; "Bow is the personification of the ideal aristocratic flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
, mischievous, pretty, aggressive, quick-tempered and deeply sentimental". It was released on January 4, 1924.
- New York Times: "The flapper, impersonated by a young actress, Clara Bow, had five speaking titles, and every one of them was so entirely in accord with the character and the mood of the scene that it drew a laugh from what, in film circles, is termed a "hard-boiled" audience"
- Los Angeles Times: "Clara Bow, the prize vulgarian of the lot...was amusing and spirited...but didn't belong in the picture".
- Variety: "...the horrid little flapper is adorably played...".
Painted People controversy
Colleen MooreColleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
made her flapper debut in a successful adaptation of the daring novel Flaming Youth, released November 12, 1923, six weeks before Black Oxen
Black Oxen
Black Oxen is an American silent film released in December 1923, starring Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle and Clara Bow and based on the novel by Gertrude Atherton...
. Both films were produced by First National Pictures, and while Black Oxen was still being edited and Flaming Youth not yet released, Bow was requested to co-star Moore as her kid sister in Painted People (AKA The Swamp Angel).
Moore essayed the baseball-playing tomboy and Bow, according to Moore, said "I don't like my part, I wanna play yours". Moore, a well-established star earning $1200 a week — Bow got $200 — took offense and blocked the director from doing a close-up on Bow. Moore was married to a studio executive and Bow's protests fell short. "I'll get that bitch", she told her boyfriend Jacobson, who had arrived from New York. Bow had sinus problems and decided to have them attended to immediately. A bandaged Bow left the studio with no options but to recast her part.
The Perfect Flapper
During 1924 Bow's "horrid" flapper raced against Moore's "whimsical". In May Moore renewed her efforts in The Perfect Flapper, produced by her husband, but despite good reviews she suddenly withdrew. "No more flappers ... they have served their purpose ... people are tired of soda-pop love affairs", she told the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, that commented a month earlier, "Clara Bow is the one outstanding type. She has almost immediately been elected for all the recent flapper parts" In November 1933, Bow described the Hollywood years as a French Revolution picture, where "women are hollering and waving pitchforks twice as violently as any of the guys ... the only ladies in sight are the ones getting their heads cut off".
"If that's what my baby wants, that's what my baby does"
By New Year 1924, Bow defied the possessive Maxine Alton and brought her father to Hollywood. Bow remembered their reunion; "I didn't care a rap, for (Maxine Alton), or B. P. Schulberg, or my motion picture career, or Clara Bow, I just threw myself into his arms and kissed and kissed him, and we both cried like a couple of fool kids. Oh, it was wonderful". Bow felt Alton had misused her trust; "She wanted to keep a hold on me so she made me think I wasn't getting over and that nothing but her clever management kept me going". Bow and her father moved in at 1714 North Kingsley Drive in Hollywood, together with Jacobson, who by then also worked for Preferred. When Schulberg learned of this arrangement, he fired Jacobson for potentially getting "his big star" into a scandal. When Bow found out, "She tore up her contract and threw it in his face and told him he couldn't run her private life". Jacobson concluded, "[Clara] was the sweetest girl in the world, but you didn't cross her and you didn't do her wrong". On September 7, 1924, The Los Angeles Times, in a significant article "A dangerous little devil is Clara, impish, appealing, but oh, how she can act!", her father is titled "business manager" and Jacobson referred to as her brother.
Bow appeared in eight releases in 1924.
- In Poisoned Paradise, released on February 29, 1924, Bow got her first lead. "... the clever little newcomer whose work wins fresh recommendations with every new picture in which she appears". In a scene, described as "original", Bow adds "devices", to "the modern flapper"; she fights a villain, using her fists, and significantly, does not "shrink back in fear".
- In Daughters of Pleasure, also released on February 29, 1924, Bow and Marie PrevostMarie PrevostMarie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...
, "flapped unhampered as flappers De luxe ... I wish somebody could star Clara Bow. I'm sure her 'infinite variety' would keep her from wearying us no matter how many scenes she was in".
Wine
As an out-loan to Universal-Jewel, Bow top-starred, for the first time, in the prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, bootleg
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
drama/comedy Wine
Wine (1924 film)
Wine was a 1924 American comedy-drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier, produced and released by Universal Pictures under their 'Jewel' banner. Clara Bow starred for the first time in her career. The film is presumably lost.-Synopsis:...
, released on August 20, 1924. The picture exposes the widespread liquor traffic in the upper-classes, and Bow portrays an innocent girl who develops into a wild "redhot mama".
- "If not taken as information, it is cracking good entertainment", Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
reviewed September 29. - "Don't miss Wine. It's a thoroughly refreshing draught ... there are only about five actresses who give me a real thrill on the screen — and Clara is nearly five of them".
Alma Whitaker of The Los Angeles Times observed on September 7, 1924:
Bow remembered: "All this time I was "running wild", I guess, in the sense of trying to have a good time ... maybe this was a good thing, because I suppose a lot of that excitement, that joy of life, got onto the screen".
1925
1925 Bow appeared in fourteen productions: six for her contract owner, Preferred Pictures, and eight as an "out-loan".- "Clara Bow ... shows alarming symptoms of becoming the sensation of the year ... ", Motion Picture Classic Magazine wrote in June, and featured her on the cover.
Preferred Pictures rented Bow to producers "for sums ranging from $1500 to $2000 a week". The studio like any other independent studio or theater at that time, was under attack from "The Big Three", MPAA, who had formed a trust to block out
Block booking
Block booking is a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice among Hollywood's major studios from the turn of the 1930s until it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc....
Independents and enforce the monopolistic
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
studio system
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
. On October 21, 1925, Schulberg filled Preferred Pictures for bankruptcy, with debts at $820,774 and assets $1,420. Three days later, it was announced that Schulberg would join with Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor , born Adolph Cukor, was a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.-Early life:...
and became associate producer of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, bringing his organization, including Bow.
Adolph Zukor, Paramount Picture CEO in his memoirs: "All the skill of directors and all the booming of press-agent drums will not make a star. Only the audiences can do it. We study audience reactions with great care".
Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies and, late in life, appeared with other early twentieth-century figures as one of the 'witnesses' in Warren Beatty's Reds, but she is best remembered for her...
had a different take, in 1950 she wrote: "If ever a star was made by public demand, it was Clara Bow". And Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
from 1980: "(Bow) became a star without nobody's help ... ".
The Plastic Age
The Plastic Age
The Plastic Age (film)
The Plastic Age is a black-and-white silent film starring Clara Bow and Gilbert Roland. The film survives today not only on 16 mm film, but also on video and DVD. The film was based on the best-selling 1924 novel The Plastic Age by Percy Marks...
was Bow's final effort for Preferred Pictures and her biggest hit so far. Bow starred as the good-bad college-girl, Cynthia Day against Donald Keith. It was shot on location, at Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
, in the summer of 1925, and released on December 15, but due to block booking
Block booking
Block booking is a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice among Hollywood's major studios from the turn of the 1930s until it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc....
, not shown in New York until July 21, 1926.
- PhotoplayPhotoplayPhotoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
was displeased: "The college atmosphere is implausible and Clara Bow is not our idea of a college girl". - Theater owners however, were happy: "The picture is the biggest sensation we ever had in our theater ... It is 100 per cent at the box-office".
- Some critics felt Bow conquered new territory: "(Bow) presents a whimsical touch to her work that adds greater laurels to her fast ascending star of screen popularity".
- TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
singled out Bow: "Only the amusing and facile acting of Clara Bow rescues the picture from the limbo of the impossible".
Bow began to date her co-star Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
, who became her first fiancee.
In June 1925, Bow was credited for being the first to wear hand-painted legs
Calf (anatomy)
In human anatomy the calf is the back portion of the lower leg . In terms of muscle systems, the calf corresponds to the posterior compartment of the leg. Within the posterior compartment, the two largest muscles are known together as the calf muscle and attach to the heel via the Achilles tendon...
in public and was reported to have many followers at the Californian beaches.
The free-wheeling actress
"Rehearsals sap my pep", Bow explained in November, 1929 and from the beginning of her career she relied on immediate direction: "Tell me what I have to do and I'll do it". Bow was keen on poetry and music but according to Rogers St. Johns, her attention-span didn't allow her to appreciate novels. Bow's focal point was the scene and her creativity made directors call in extra cameras to cover her spontaneous actions, rather than holding her down.- Years after Bow left Hollywood, director Victor FlemingVictor FlemingVictor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
compared Bow to a StradivariusStradivariusThe name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
: "Touch her and she responded with genius". - Director William Wellman was less poetic: "Movie stardom isn't acting ability — it's personality and temperament ... I once directed Clara Bow ("WingsWings (film)Wings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and...
"). She was mad and crazy but WHAT a personality!". - In 1981 Budd SchulbergBudd SchulbergBudd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
described Bow as "a easy winner of the dumbbell award" who "couldn't act" and compared her to a puppy who his father B.P. Schulberg, "trained to become LassieLassieLassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
".
1926
In 1926 Bow appeared in eight releases: five for Paramount, and three as an "out-loan", shot in 1925.Dancing Mothers
In late 1925, Bow returns to New York to co-star in the Ibsenesque
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
drama Dancing Mothers
Dancing Mothers
Dancing Mothers is a 1926 silent drama film, produced by Paramount Pictures, shot on Long Island, New York, in late 1925. It was directed by Herbert Brenon, starred Alice Joyce, Conway Tearle and Clara Bow. It went on distribution on March 1, 1926...
, as the good/bad "flapperish" upper-class daughter "Kittens". Alice Joyce
Alice Joyce
Alice Joyce was an American actress, who appeared in more than 200 movies during the 1910s and 1920s, perhaps best known for her roles in the 1923 silent and 1930 talking versions of The Green Goddess....
starred as her "dancing mother" with Conway Tearle
Conway Tearle
Conway Tearle was an Anglo-American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films.-Early life:...
as "bad-boy" Naughton. The picture was released on March 1, 1926.
- "Clara Bow known as the screen's perfect flapper, does her stuff as the child, and does it well".
- "... her remarkable performance in Dancing Mothers ... ".
- Louise BrooksLouise BrooksMary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
remembered: "She was absolutely sensational in the United States ... in Dancing Mothers ... she just swept the country ... I know I saw her ... and I thought ... wonderful".
On April 12, 1926, Bow signs her first contract with Paramount: "...to retain your services as an actress for the period of six months from June 6th, 1926 to December 6th, 1926, at a salary of $750.00 per week...".
Mantrap
In Victor Fleming's
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
comedy-triangle Mantrap Bow, as Alverna the manicurist, cures lonely hearts Joe Easter (Ernest Torrence
Ernest Torrence
Ernest Torrence was a Scottish born film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including Broken Chains with Colleen Moore,Mantrap with Clara Bow, and Fighting Caravans with Gary Cooper and Lili Damita...
), of the great northern, as well as pill-popping New York divorcee attorney runaway Ralph Prescott (Percy Marmont
Percy Marmont
Percy Marmont was an English film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1916 and 1968. He is best remembered today for playing the title character in Lord Jim the first film version of Joseph Conrad's novel, and for playing one of Clara Bow's love interests in the Paramount Pictures film...
). Bow commented: "(Alverna)...was bad in the book, but - darn it! - of course, they couldn't make her that way in the picture. So I played her as a flirt".
The film was released on July 24, 1926.
- Variety: "Clara Bow just walks away with the picture from the moment she walks into camera range".
- Photoplay: "When she is on the screen nothing else matters. When she is off, the same is true".
- Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
: "The smartest and swiftest work as yet seen from Miss Clara Bow". - The Reel Journal: "Clara Bow is taking the place of Gloria SwansonGloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
...(and)...filling a long need for a popular taste movie actress".
On August 16, 1926, Bow's agreement with Paramount was renewed into a five year deal: "Her salary will start at $1700 a week and advance yearly to $4000 a week for the last year".
Notably Bow added that she intended to leave the motion picture business at the expiration of the contract, i.e. 1931.
1927
In 1927 Bow appeared in six Paramount releases: ItIt (1927 film)
It is a 1927 silent romantic comedy film which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow became known as the "It girl"...
, Children of Divorce
Children of Divorce
Children of Divorce is a silent film, directed by Frank Lloyd from an adaptation of Owen Johnson's novel, written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.-Plot:...
, Rough House Rosie
Rough House Rosie
Rough House Rosie is a 1927 silent film comedy produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank R. Strayer. The film is a starring vehicle for Paramount's reigning queen Clara Bow. Reed Howes, a model turned actor, is Bow's leading man...
, Wings
Wings (film)
Wings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and...
, Hula
Hula (film)
Hula is a silent film by Victor Fleming, based on the novel Hula, a Romance of Hawaii by Armine von Tempski, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clara Bow, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was one of the top 10 grossing movies of 1927....
and Get Your Man.
It
In the Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
story It
It (1927 film)
It is a 1927 silent romantic comedy film which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow became known as the "It girl"...
, the poor shop-girl Betty Lou Spence (Bow) conquers the heart of her employer Cyrus Waltham (Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...
).
The personal quality It, provides the magic to make it happen. The film gave Bow her nickname "The It Girl."
It was first shown in New York on February 5, 1927.
- New York Times: "(Bow)...is vivacious and, as Betty Lou, saucy, which perhaps is one of the ingredients of 'It'".
- The Film Daily: "Clara Bow gets a real chance and carries it off with honors...(and)...she is really the whole show".
- Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
: "'It' is smart, funny and real. It makes a full-sized star of Clara Bow". - Variety: "You can't get away from this Clara Bow girl. She certainly has that certain 'It'...and she just runs away with the film".
- Dorothy ParkerDorothy ParkerDorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
: "It, hell: She had Those".
Wings
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
at the first annual AMPAS award ceremony on May 16, 1929. Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
presented Bow with the statuette, not yet known as the "Oscar".. On January 24, 2012, Paramount will release a "Meticulously restored" copy of Wings in DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as well as Blue-Ray format.
I'm a big freak, because I'm myself!
A famous scenario writer, who had done a number of pictures with Bow said:Bow's bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
lifestyle and "dreadful" manners were considered reminders of the Hollywood Elite's uneasy position in high society.
Bow fumed: "They yell at me to be dignified. But what are the dignified people like? The people who are held up as examples of me? They are snobs. Frightful snobs ... I'm a curiosity in Hollywood. I'm a big freak, because I'm myself!"
MGM executive Paul Bern
Paul Bern
Paul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:...
said Bow was "the greatest emotional actress on the screen", "sentimental, simple, childish and sweet", and considered her "hard-boiled attitude" a "defense mechanism".
Talkies
With "talkies" The Wild Party
The Wild Party (1929 film)
The Wild Party is a Pre-Code film directed by Dorothy Arzner, released by Paramount Pictures, and known as Clara Bow's first talkie.-Plot:...
, Dangerous Curves
Dangerous Curves (1929 film)
Dangerous Curves is an American motion picture starring Clara Bow and Richard Arlen. It was released by Paramount Pictures and was the first Hollywood film for Kay Francis.-Plot:...
, and The Saturday Night Kid
The Saturday Night Kid
The Saturday Night Kid is an early talking romantic comedy film about two sisters and the man they both want. It stars Clara Bow, Jean Arthur, and James Hall. The film was based on the play Love 'Em and Leave 'Em by George Abbott and John V. A. Weaver...
, Bow kept her position as the top box-office draw and queen of Hollywood.
The quality of Bow's voice, her Brooklyn accent, was not an issue to Bow, her fans or Paramount. However, Bow, like Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
and most other silent film-stars didn't embrace the novelty: "I hate talkies", she said, "they're stiff and limiting. You lose a lot of your cuteness, because there's no chance for action, and action is the most important thing to me". The inventor of the motion picture camera, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
himself, was so annoyed by the stiffness of the early "talkies" that he refused to see them and returned to his favorite "silents" with Bow and Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. A visibly nervous Bow had to do a number of retakes in The Wild Party
The Wild Party
The Wild Party may refer to:* The Wild Party , a 1928 epic poem by Joseph Moncure March* The Wild Party , a film with cinematography by Clyde De Vinna...
because her eyes kept wandering up to the microphone overhead. "I can't buck progress", Bow resigned, "I have to do the best I can".
In October 1929 Bow describes her nerves as "all shot", that she has reached "the breaking point" and Photoplay reports of "rows of bottles of sedatives" by her bed.
1930
According to censusUnited States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
1930, Bow lives at Bedford Drive 512, together with her secretary and hair-dresser, Daisy DeBoe, in a house valued $25,000 with neighbors titled "Horse-keeper", "Physician", "Builder". Bow states she is 23 years old, i.e. born 1906, contradicting Census of 1910 and 1920.
"Now they're having me sing. I sort of half-sing, half-talk
Sprechgesang
Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme are musical terms used to refer to an expressionist vocal technique between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, sprechgesang is a term directly related to the operatic recitative manner of singing , whereas sprechstimme is...
, with hips-and-eye stuff. You know what I mean — like Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
. I used to sing at home and people would say, 'Pipe down! You're terrible!' But the studio thinks my voice is great".
With Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H...
, "True to the Navy
True to the Navy
True to the Navy is a 1930 Romantic Comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle for Paramount Pictures. The film stars Clara Bow as a counter girl at a San Diego drugstore with a predilection for sailors. Eventually she sets her sights on Bull's Eye McCoy , a stiff-necked gunners mate.-Cast:*Clara...
", "Love Among the Millionaires" and "Her Wedding Night", she was second at the box-office to her chum, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
in 1930.
1931-1933
With No LimitNo Limit (1931 film)
No Limit is a 1931 comedy film starring Clara Bow, Norman Foster, Stuart Erwin, Thelma Todd, Dixie Lee, and Mischa Auer.-Cast:*Clara Bow - Helen 'Bunny' O'Day*Norman Foster - Douglas Thayer*Stuart Erwin - Ole Olson*Dixie Lee - Dotty 'Dodo' Potter...
and Kick In
Kick In (1931 film)
Kick In is a 1931 talking film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film, based on the 1914 Broadway play by Willard Mack which had starred John Barrymore, was directed by Richard Wallace and starred legendary Clara Bow in her last film for Paramount. The...
, Bow held the position as fifth at box-office in 1931.
But the pressures of fame, public scandals, overwork and a damaging court trial with her secretary, Daisy DeBoe, took their toll on Bow's fragile emotional health. As she slipped closer to a major breakdown, her manager B.P. Schulberg began referring to her as "Crisis-a-day-Clara". In April Bow was brought to a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
, and at her request, Paramount released her from her final undertaking: City Streets
City Streets (film)
City Streets is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film based upon a story written by Dashiell Hammett, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and starring Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas and Guy Kibbee.-Plot:...
.
B.P. Schulberg tried to replace Bow with his girlfriend Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
, but Paramount lost its position as the biggest studio to MGM and B.P. Schulberg got fired. David Selznick explained:
Bow left Hollywood for Rex Bell
Rex Bell
Rex Bell , born George Francis Beldam, was an American actor and politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and a western movie star. Rex was born in Chicago and married actress Clara Bow in 1931. They had two sons, Tony Beldon and George Beldon, Jr...
s ranch in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, her "desert paradise", in June and got married to him in then small town Las Vegas in December In an interview of December 17 Bow detailed her way back to health: Sleep, exercise and food, and the day after she returned to her Hollywood home ready for work.
Soon every studio in Hollywood (except for Paramount) and even overseas. wanted her services.
- Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
stated that Bow "was a very great actress" and wanted her to play her sister in SecretsSecretsSecrets may refer to:*Secrecy, the quality or condition of being secret or hidden- Literature :*Secrets , a 1985 novel by Danielle Steel*Secrets , a 2002 novel by Jacqueline Wilson...
.. - Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
offered her a three-picture deal. - MGM wanted Bow to star in Red Headed Woman and Bow agreed to the script, but eventually rejected the offer since ThalbergThalbergThalberg is a surname of Germanic origin; it can be literally translated as "valley hill":* Edith Norma Thalberg* Sigismond Thalberg , composer** List of compositions by Sigismond Thalberg* Irving Grant Thalberg , film producer...
required her to sign a long-term contract.
On April 28, 1932, Bow signed a two-picture deal with Fox Film Corporation; Call Her Savage
Call Her Savage
Call Her Savage is a Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Clara Bow as a wild young woman who rebels against the man she believes to be her father...
(1932) and Hoop-La
Hoop-La
Hoop-La is a 1933 drama film notable as both a pre-code film and as the final appearance of actress Clara Bow. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and released by Fox Film Corporation, with Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell, and Minna Gombell also in the cast...
(1933). Both successful, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
favored the latter:
- "A more mature performance...she looks and photographs extremely well".
Bow commented on her revealing costume in Hoop-La: "Rex accused me of enjoying showing myself off. Then I got a little sore. He knew darn well I was doing it because we could use a little money these days. Who can't?".
Bow concluded her career:
Later life
Bow and cowboy actor Rex BellRex Bell
Rex Bell , born George Francis Beldam, was an American actor and politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and a western movie star. Rex was born in Chicago and married actress Clara Bow in 1931. They had two sons, Tony Beldon and George Beldon, Jr...
, later a Lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor (United States)
In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated...
of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, had two sons, Tony Beldam (born 1934, changed name to Rex Anthony Bell, Jr., died July 2011) and George Beldam, Jr. (born 1938). Bow retired from acting in 1933. In September 1937, she and Bell opened The 'It' Cafe on Vine Street near Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was closed shortly thereafter. Her last public exposure, albeit fleeting, was a guest appearance on the radio show Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
in March 1948; Bow provided the voice of "Mrs. Hush".
Health issues
In 1944, while Bell was running for the U.S. House of Representatives, Bow tried to commit suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
A note was found in which Bow stated she preferred death to a public life.
In 1949 she checked into The Institute of Living
The Institute of Living
The Institute of Living is a mental health center in Hartford, Connecticut which merged with Hartford Hospital in 1994. The hospital was built in 1823, and was opened to admissions in 1824. Eli Todd was its first director. The hospital cost $12,000 to build and could serve up to 40 patients at a time...
to be treated for her chronic insomnia and diffuse abdominal pains. Shock treatment
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
was tried and numerous psychological tests performed. Bow's IQ was measured "bright normal" (pp. 111–119), while others claimed she was unable to reason, had poor judgment and displayed inappropriate or even bizarre behavior. Her pains were considered delusional and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, despite experiencing neither sound nor vision hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s or psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
. The illness debut, or "onset", as well as her insomnia, the analysts tied to the "butcher knife episode" back in 1922, but Bow rejected psychological explanations and left the Institute.
In the permanent exhibition, "Myths, Minds and Medicine", the Institute addresses malpractice issues of the past, including lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
, which peaked in 1949, and "crude electroconvulsive therapy".
Later years
Bow spent her last years in Culver City, Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
under the constant care of a nurse, living off an estate worth about $500,000 at the time of her death. She died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on September 27, 1965 at the age of 60. An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
revealed that she suffered from atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
, a disease of the heart
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
that can begin in early adolescence. Bow's heart showed scarring from an earlier undetected heart attack. She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. Her pallbearers were Harry Richman
Harry Richman
Harry Richman was an American entertainer. He was a singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and night club performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s....
, Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen
-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...
, Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.-Early life:...
, Maxie Rosenbloom
Maxie Rosenbloom
Max Everitt Rosenbloom, known as Slapsie Maxie was an American boxer, actor, and television personality.-Life and career:...
, Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, and Buddy Rogers.
Legacy
In 1999 film historian Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
said that "You think of Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
, all these great names, great actresses, Clara Bow was more popular in terms of Box-office dollars, in terms of consistently bringing audiences into the theaters, she was right on top."
In 1999 the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
left Bow outside its "100 years 100 star"-list
and film historian Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
doesn't even mention her name in his book on silent films, "The Parades gone By.."(1968). Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
, who rated an entire chapter in the book was less impressed:
"You brush off Clara Bow", she wrote to Brownlow, "for some old nothing like Brooks..Clara made three pictures that will never be surpassed: Dancing Mothers, Mantrap and It".
Honors
For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Bow was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. In 1994, she was honored with an image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld
Al Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
.
Urban myths
The book Hollywood BabylonHollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the sordid scandals of many famous and infamous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. First published in the US in 1965, it was banned ten days later and would not be republished until 1975...
spread the contemporary legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that Bow's friendship with members of the 1927 University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
football team included group sex with the entire team. In the 1980s Morley Drury
Morley Drury
Morley E. Drury , nicknamed "The Noblest Trojan of Them All," was a quarterback for the University of Southern California.-College career:...
commented that his team was "too damn innocent" to be anything else.
During her lifetime, Bow was the subject of wild rumors regarding her sex life; most of them were untrue. A tabloid called The Coast Reporter published lurid allegations about her in 1931, accusing her of exhibitionism
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism refers to a desire or compulsion to expose parts of one's body – specifically the genitals or buttocks of a man or woman, or the breasts of a woman – in a public or semi-public circumstance, in crowds or groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, lesbianism, bestiality, drug addiction, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and having contracted venereal disease. The publisher of the tabloid then tried to blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
Bow, offering to cease printing the stories for $25,000, which led to his arrest by federal agents and, later, an eight-year prison sentence.
In popular culture
- Max FleischerMax FleischerMax Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
's cartoon character Betty BoopBetty BoopBetty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
was modeled after Bow and entertainer Helen KaneHelen KaneHelen Kane was an American popular singer; her signature song was "I Wanna Be Loved By You". Kane's voice and appearance were a likely source for Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick when creating Betty Boop, although It-girl Clara Bow is another possible influence.-Early life:Born as Helen...
(the "boop-boop-a-doop-girl"). - Bow's mass of tangled red hair was one of her most famous features. When fans of the new star found out she put hennaHennaHenna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes...
in her hair, sales of the dye tripled. - An autographed picture of Bow is offered as a consolation prize of a beauty contest in the 1931 George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
musical Of Thee I SingOf Thee I SingOf Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Beyond the Rainbow Beyond the Rainbow Beyond the Rainbow is an American silent film starring Billie Dove and Harry T. Morey. The film is also notable as the first film actress Clara Bow appeared in.-Synopsis:... |
Virginia Gardener | Extant Extant literature Extant literature refers to texts that have survived from the past to the present time. Extant literature can be divided into extant original manuscripts, copies of original manuscripts, quotations and paraphrases of passages of non-extant texts contained in other works, translations of non-extant... |
| 1922 | Down to the Sea in Ships Down to the Sea in Ships Down to the Sea in Ships is a 1922 American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family. Directed by Elmer Clifton, the film stars William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, and Clara Bow.-Plot:... |
Dot Morgan | Extant |
| 1923 | Enemies of Women Enemies of Women Enemies of Women is a 1923 silent romantic drama film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Lionel Barrymore, Alma Rubens, Gladys Hulette, Pedro de Cordoba, and Paul Panzer. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst through his Cosmopolitan Productions... |
Girl dancing on table | Extant (incomplete) |
| 1923 | Mary | Lost film Lost film A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons... |
|
| 1923 | Maytime Maytime (1923 film) Maytime is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Ethel Shannon, Harrison Ford and William Norris. The film also features one of Clara Bow's earliest cinema roles... |
Alice Tremaine | Extant |
| 1923 | Black Oxen Black Oxen Black Oxen is an American silent film released in December 1923, starring Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle and Clara Bow and based on the novel by Gertrude Atherton... |
Janet Ogelthorpe | Extant |
| 1924 | Grit | Orchid McGonigle | Lost film |
| 1924 | Poisoned Paradise | Margot LeBlanc | Extant |
| 1924 | Daughters of Pleasure | Lila Millas | Extant |
| 1924 | Wine Wine (1924 film) Wine was a 1924 American comedy-drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier, produced and released by Universal Pictures under their 'Jewel' banner. Clara Bow starred for the first time in her career. The film is presumably lost.-Synopsis:... |
Angela Warriner | Lost film |
| 1924 | Empty Hearts | Rosalie | Extant |
| 1924 | Helen's Babies | Alice Mayton | Extant |
| 1924 | This Woman | Aline Sturdevant | Lost film |
| 1924 | Black Lightning | Martha Larned | Extant |
| 1925 | Capital Punishment | Delia Tate | Extant |
| 1925 | The Girl | Lost film | |
| 1925 | Eve's Lover | Rena D'Arcy | Lost film |
| 1925 | Molly Burns | Lost film | |
| 1925 | Miriam | Lost film (trailer survives) | |
| 1925 | My Lady's Lips | Lola Lombard | Extant |
| 1925 | Parisian Love | Marie | Extant |
| 1925 | Kiss Me Again Kiss Me Again (1925 film) Kiss Me Again is a 1925 silent film comedy-romance produced and distributed by Warner Brothers and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It stars Marie Prevost, Monte Blue and Clara Bow. It is a lost film.-Cast:*Marie Prevost - LouLou Fleury... |
Grizette | Lost film |
| 1925 | Lolly Cameron | Lost film (trailer exists) | |
| 1925 | Marilyn Merrill | Extant (incomplete) | |
| 1925 | Free to Love | Marie Anthony | Extant |
| 1925 | Peggy Swain | Extant | |
| 1925 | Cynthia Day | Extant | |
| 1925 | Doris | Lost film | |
| 1925 | My Lady of Whims | Prudence Severn | Extant |
| 1926 | Shadow of the Law | Mary Brophy | Lost film |
| 1926 | Two Can Play | Dorothy Hammis | Lost film |
| 1926 | Dancing Mothers Dancing Mothers Dancing Mothers is a 1926 silent drama film, produced by Paramount Pictures, shot on Long Island, New York, in late 1925. It was directed by Herbert Brenon, starred Alice Joyce, Conway Tearle and Clara Bow. It went on distribution on March 1, 1926... |
Kittens Westcourt | Extant |
| 1926 | Fascinating Youth Fascinating Youth Fascinating Youth is a 1926 silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and featuring Thelma Todd and Josephine Dunn in supporting roles. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures Many well known personalities make guest appearances in this film judging a beauty... |
Clara Bow | Lost film |
| 1926 | Cynthia Meade | Lost film | |
| 1926 | Mantrap | Alverna | Extant |
| 1926 | Kid Boots | Clara McCoy | Extant |
| 1927 | It It (1927 film) It is a 1927 silent romantic comedy film which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow became known as the "It girl"... |
Betty Lou Spence | Extant |
| 1927 | Children of Divorce Children of Divorce Children of Divorce is a silent film, directed by Frank Lloyd from an adaptation of Owen Johnson's novel, written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.-Plot:... |
Kitty Flanders | Extant |
| 1927 | Rough House Rosie Rough House Rosie Rough House Rosie is a 1927 silent film comedy produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank R. Strayer. The film is a starring vehicle for Paramount's reigning queen Clara Bow. Reed Howes, a model turned actor, is Bow's leading man... |
Rosie O'Reilly | Lost film (trailer exists) |
| 1927 | Wings Wings (film) Wings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and... |
Mary Preston | Extant |
| 1927 | Hula Hula (film) Hula is a silent film by Victor Fleming, based on the novel Hula, a Romance of Hawaii by Armine von Tempski, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clara Bow, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was one of the top 10 grossing movies of 1927.... |
Hula Calhoun | Extant |
| 1927 | Get Your Man | Nancy Worthington | Extant but incomplete (missing at least 2 reels) |
| 1928 | Red Hair Red Hair (1928 film) Red Hair is a 1928 silent film starring Clara Bow and Lane Chandler, directed by Clarence G. Badger, based on a novel by Elinor Glyn, and released by Paramount Pictures.... |
Bubbles McCoy | Lost film (fragments exist, including the only known color footage of Bow) |
| 1928 | Ladies of the Mob Ladies of the Mob Ladies of the Mob was a silent film directed by William Wellman, produced by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor for Famous Players-Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.-Production:The film is based on a story by Ernest Booth... |
Yvonne | Lost film |
| 1928 | Trixie Deane | Lost film | |
| 1928 | Three Weekends | Gladys O'Brien | Lost film (fragments survives) |
| 1929 | Stella Ames | Extant | |
| 1929 | Dangerous Curves Dangerous Curves (1929 film) Dangerous Curves is an American motion picture starring Clara Bow and Richard Arlen. It was released by Paramount Pictures and was the first Hollywood film for Kay Francis.-Plot:... |
Pat Delaney | Extant |
| 1929 | Mayme | Alternative title: Love 'Em and Leave 'Em; Extant | |
| 1930 | Paramount on Parade Paramount on Parade Paramount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H... |
herself | Extant |
| 1930 | True to the Navy | Ruby Nolan | Extant |
| 1930 | Love Among the Millionaires | Pepper Whipple | Extant |
| 1930 | Her Wedding Night | Norma Martin | Extant |
| 1931 | No Limit No Limit (1931 film) No Limit is a 1931 comedy film starring Clara Bow, Norman Foster, Stuart Erwin, Thelma Todd, Dixie Lee, and Mischa Auer.-Cast:*Clara Bow - Helen 'Bunny' O'Day*Norman Foster - Douglas Thayer*Stuart Erwin - Ole Olson*Dixie Lee - Dotty 'Dodo' Potter... |
Helen "Bunny" O'Day | Extant |
| 1931 | Kick In Kick In (1931 film) Kick In is a 1931 talking film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film, based on the 1914 Broadway play by Willard Mack which had starred John Barrymore, was directed by Richard Wallace and starred legendary Clara Bow in her last film for Paramount. The... |
Molly Hewes | Extant |
| 1932 | Call Her Savage Call Her Savage Call Her Savage is a Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Clara Bow as a wild young woman who rebels against the man she believes to be her father... |
Nasa Springer | Extant |
| 1933 | Hoop-La Hoop-La Hoop-La is a 1933 drama film notable as both a pre-code film and as the final appearance of actress Clara Bow. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and released by Fox Film Corporation, with Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell, and Minna Gombell also in the cast... |
Lou | Extant |
| 1949 | Screen Snapshots 1860: Howdy, Podner | Clara Bow – Resort Guest | Short subject |
External links
- Photographs and bibliography
- Clara Bow My Life Story
- Clara Bow attends a premiere with Mae MurrayMae MurrayMae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen"....