Marion Davies
Encyclopedia
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst
, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career.
, Reine
, and Ethel. A brother, Charles, drowned at the age of 15 in 1906. His name was subsequently given to Marion's favorite nephew, the screenwriter Charles Lederer
, the son of Marion's sister Reine Davies.
The Douras family lived near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The sisters changed their surname to Davies, which one of them spotted on a real estate agent's sign in the neighborhood. Even at a time when New York was the melting pot
for new immigrants, having a British
surname greatly helped one's prospects – the name Davies has Welsh
origins. She was educated in a convent.
The sisters all hit the Great White Way
, and Marion was signed on as a Ziegfeld girl
in the Ziegfeld Follies
of 1916.
After making her screen debut in late 1916 in a fashion newsreel, modeling gowns by Lady Duff-Gordon
, she appeared in her first feature film in 1917's Runaway Romany. It was a film written by Marion and directed by her brother-in-law, the prominent Broadway producer George W. Lederer. The following year she starred in three films, The Burden of Proof, Beatrice Fairfax, and Cecilia of the Pink Roses. Playing mainly light comedic roles, she quickly became a major film personality, making a small fortune which enabled her to provide financial assistance for her family and friends.
Cecilia of the Pink Roses in 1918 was her first film backed by Hearst. She was on her way to being the most famously advertised actress in the world. During the next 10 years she appeared in 29 films, an average of almost three films a year.
and Ocean House in Santa Monica
; the latter dubbed by Colleen Moore
"the biggest house on the beach – the beach between San Diego and Vancouver
".
According to her own audio diaries, she had met Hearst long before she had started working in films. Hearst, later formed Cosmopolitan Pictures which would produce several starring vehicles for her. Hearst's relentless efforts to promote her career instead had a detrimental effect, but he persisted, making Cosmopolitan's distribution deals first with Paramount
, then Goldwyn
, and then Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Davies herself was more inclined to develop her comic talents alongside her friends at United Artists
, but Hearst pointedly discouraged this. Davies, in her published memoirs The Times We Had, concluded that Hearst's over-the-top promotion of her career, in fact, had a negative result.
Hearst loved seeing her in expensive costume pictures, but she also appeared in contemporary comedies like Tillie the Toiler
, The Fair Co-Ed (both 1927), and especially three directed by King Vidor
, Not So Dumb
(1930), The Patsy
and the backstage-in-Hollywood saga Show People
(both 1928). The Patsy contains her imitations, that she usually did for friends, of silent stars Lillian Gish
, Mae Murray
and Pola Negri
. King Vidor saw Marion as a comedic actor instead of the dramatic actor Hearst wanted her to be. He noticed she was the life of parties and incorporated that into his films.
After seeing photographs of St Donat's Castle
in Country Life
magazine, the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan
property was bought and revitalised by Hearst in 1925 as a gift to Davies. Hearst and Davies spent much of their time entertaining, holding lavish parties with guests at their Beverly Hills estate. Frequent guests included, among others, Charlie Chaplin
, Douglas Fairbanks
, and a young John F. Kennedy
. George Bernard Shaw
, upon visiting San Simeon, was quoted as saying "this is what God would have built if he had had the money."
(1930), The Florodora Girl (1930), The Bachelor Father (1931), Five and Ten (1931) with Leslie Howard
, Polly of the Circus
(1932) with Clark Gable
, Blondie of the Follies (1932), Peg o' My Heart
(1933), Going Hollywood
(1933) with Bing Crosby
, and Operator 13 (1934) with Gary Cooper
. She was involved with many aspects of her films and was considered an astute businesswoman. Her career, however, was hampered by Hearst's insistence that she play distinguished, dramatic parts as opposed to the comic roles that were her forte.
Hearst reportedly had tried to push Irving Thalberg
to cast Davies in the title role in Marie Antoinette
, but Thalberg gave the part to his wife, Norma Shearer
. This rejection came on the heels of Davies having been also denied the female lead in The Barretts of Wimpole Street
; Norma Shearer got both roles. Despite Davies' friendship with the Thalbergs, Hearst reacted by pulling his newspaper support for MGM and moved Cosmopolitan Pictures to Warner Brothers. Davies' films there included Page Miss Glory (1935), Hearts Divided, Cain and Mabel
(both 1936), and Ever Since Eve (1937), her last film.
Cosmopolitan Pictures folded so she left the film business and retreated to San Simeon. Davies would later state in her autobiography that after many years of work she had had enough and decided to devote herself to being Hearst's "companion." In truth, she was intensely ambitious, but realized that at the age of forty, and after twenty years of hard work, that she had not won over the public or the critics not under Hearst's control. Decades after Davies' retirement and death, however, the general consensus among critics is far more appreciative of her efforts, particularly in the field of comedy.
demands were too high. Hearst was extremely jealous and possessive of her, even though he was married throughout their relationship. Davies was aboard the Hearst yacht when film producer Thomas Ince
took ill, and died.
An "urban legend" having to do with a rumored relationship with Chaplin has endured since 1924. Chaplin (among other actresses and actors) and Davies were aboard the yacht the fateful night Thomas Ince died. Despite the lack of evidence to support a relationship, rumors have circulated since that Hearst mistook Ince for Chaplin and shot him in a jealous rage. The rumors were dramatised in the play The Cat's Meow
, which was later made into Peter Bogdanovich
's 2001 film of the same name starring Edward Herrmann
as Hearst, Kirsten Dunst
as Davies, Eddie Izzard
as Chaplin, Joanna Lumley
as Elinor Glyn
, Jennifer Tilly
as gossip columnist Louella Parsons
, and Cary Elwes
as Ince. Patty Hearst
co-authored a novel with Cordelia Frances Biddle titled Murder at San Simeon (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Ince. The 1999 film RKO 281
, a dramatization of the events during and after production of Orson Welles
' Citizen Kane
, depicts Welles being told by screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz that Hearst shot Ince, and references this several times as an analogy for Hearst's efforts to bury the film.
The factual record shows that Thomas Ince suffered an attack of acute indigestion while aboard the yacht and was escorted off the boat in San Diego by another of the guests, Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman, a Hollywood writer and producer. Ince was put on a train bound for Los Angeles, but was removed from the train at Del Mar when his condition worsened. He was given medical attention by Dr. T. A. Parker and a nurse, Jesse Howard. Ince told them that he had drunk liquor aboard Hearst's yacht. Ince was taken to his Hollywood home where he died the following day of a heart condition.
, Davies bailed him out by writing out a check for $1 million. Hearst died on August 14, 1951.
The California State Parks staff at Hearst Castle now report at the time of Hearst's death, 51% of his fortune had been willed to Davies.
. It was not a happy marriage; Brown allegedly encouraged her drinking. Davies filed for divorce twice, but neither was finalized.
In her last years, Davies was involved with charity work. In 1952, she donated $1.9 million to establish a children's clinic at UCLA, which was changed to The Mattel Children's Hospital in 1998. She also fought childhood diseases through the Marion Davies Foundation. Part of the Medical Center at UCLA is named the Marion Davies Clinic.
She suffered a minor stroke in 1956, and was later diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. She had an operation which appeared to be successful. Soon after the operation Davies fell and broke her leg. The last time Davies was seen by the American public was on January 10, 1960, on an NBC
television special called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood. Joseph P. Kennedy rented Davies'
mansion and worked from behind the scenes to secure his son John F. Kennedy's nomination during the 1960 Democratic National convention in Los Angeles.
's estate (he died in 1957) and Bing Crosby
) was attended by many Hollywood celebrities, including Mary Pickford
and Mrs. Clark Gable
(Kay Spreckels), as well as President Herbert Hoover
. She is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
and left an estate estimated at more than $30 million.
After the death of Davies' niece, Patricia Lake
(née Van Cleeve), Lake's family announced that she was in fact the birth daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst. Prior to the announcement, it had been said that Lake was the daughter of Rosemary Davies
(Marion's sister) and her first husband, George Van Cleeve.
' Citizen Kane
(1941), which was based loosely on Hearst's life. This led to various portrayals of Davies as a talentless opportunist.
Welles himself, as stated in his foreword to Davies autobiography The Times We Had, said he deeply regretted that so many assumed Susan Alexander was a carbon copy of Davies, and that the real Davies was a great actress and a wonderful woman. He also claimed that the Susan Alexander character owed as much to the Chicago tycoon Samuel Insull
's wife, for whom he built an opera house
.
Davies was portrayed by Virginia Madsen
in the telefilm The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) with Robert Mitchum
as Hearst, and Heather McNair
in Chaplin (1992). Madsen later became a Davies fan and said that she felt she had inadvertently portrayed her as a stereotype
, rather than as a real person.
In RKO 281 (1999), an HBO movie about the making of Citizen Kane, she is played by Melanie Griffith
, with James Cromwell
as Hearst. She is portrayed as a lush
who yearns to travel, but stays with Hearst because she loves him, and Hearst's desire to defend her honor is seen as the primary reason he attempts to have Citizen Kane banned.
In the Peter Bogdanovich
film The Cat's Meow
(see above), Kirsten Dunst
played Davies as a witty, intelligent woman.
A documentary film Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) premiered on Turner Classic Movies
.
's The Pilgrim (1923) and also as an extra in Ben Hur
(1925).
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career.
Early life
Davies was born Marion Cecilia Douras on January 3, 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of five children born to Bernard J. Douras (1857–1935), a lawyer and judge in New York City; and Rose Reilly (1867–1928). Her father performed the civil marriage of Gloria Gould Bishop. Her elder siblings included RoseRosemary Davies
Rosemary Davies was an American actress who appeared in one motion picture.Born Rose Douras in Brooklyn, New York, she was the sister of the actresses Marion Davies and Reine Davies but did not reach the same fame as her two sisters.However, her name was mentioned in different circles briefly when...
, Reine
Reine Davies
Reine Davies was an American singer and actress.-Biography:Davies was born Irene Douras in Brooklyn, New York. She was the eldest sister of the actress Marion Davies. Reine was the first of the Douras daughters to start using the name, 'Davies.' One day she was driving through the Brooklyn...
, and Ethel. A brother, Charles, drowned at the age of 15 in 1906. His name was subsequently given to Marion's favorite nephew, the screenwriter Charles Lederer
Charles Lederer
Charles Lederer was a prolific and well-connected American film writer and director of the 30s to the 60s, from a prominent theatrical family with close ties to the Hearst dynasty.-Early life:...
, the son of Marion's sister Reine Davies.
The Douras family lived near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The sisters changed their surname to Davies, which one of them spotted on a real estate agent's sign in the neighborhood. Even at a time when New York was the melting pot
Melting pot
The melting pot is a metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" into a harmonious whole with a common culture...
for new immigrants, having a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
surname greatly helped one's prospects – the name Davies has Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
origins. She was educated in a convent.
The sisters all hit the Great White Way
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, and Marion was signed on as a Ziegfeld girl
Ziegfeld girl
Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies , which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris....
in the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1916.
Early career
Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon
Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff Gordon was a leading fashion designer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, best known as "Lucile", her professional name. The first British designer to achieve international renown, Lucile was a widely-acknowledged innovator in couture styles as well as in fashion...
, she appeared in her first feature film in 1917's Runaway Romany. It was a film written by Marion and directed by her brother-in-law, the prominent Broadway producer George W. Lederer. The following year she starred in three films, The Burden of Proof, Beatrice Fairfax, and Cecilia of the Pink Roses. Playing mainly light comedic roles, she quickly became a major film personality, making a small fortune which enabled her to provide financial assistance for her family and friends.
Cecilia of the Pink Roses in 1918 was her first film backed by Hearst. She was on her way to being the most famously advertised actress in the world. During the next 10 years she appeared in 29 films, an average of almost three films a year.
Hearst and Cosmopolitan Pictures
By the mid-1920s, however, her career was often overshadowed by her relationship with the married Hearst and their fabulous social life at San SimeonHearst Castle
Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
and Ocean House in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
; the latter dubbed by 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:...
"the biggest house on the beach – the beach between San Diego and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
".
According to her own audio diaries, she had met Hearst long before she had started working in films. Hearst, later formed Cosmopolitan Pictures which would produce several starring vehicles for her. Hearst's relentless efforts to promote her career instead had a detrimental effect, but he persisted, making Cosmopolitan's distribution deals first with Paramount
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...
, then Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
, and then Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Davies herself was more inclined to develop her comic talents alongside her friends at 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....
, but Hearst pointedly discouraged this. Davies, in her published memoirs The Times We Had, concluded that Hearst's over-the-top promotion of her career, in fact, had a negative result.
Tillie the Toiler
Tillie the Toiler was a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled Rose of the Office...
, The Fair Co-Ed (both 1927), and especially three directed by King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
, Not So Dumb
Not So Dumb
Not So Dumb is a comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.It is based on the stage play Dulcy by George S...
(1930), The Patsy
The Patsy (1928 film)
The Patsy is a 1928 silent comedy/drama film directed by King Vidor, produced and starring Marion Davies for her Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
and the backstage-in-Hollywood saga Show People
Show People
Show People is a 1928 comedy silent film directed by King Vidor. The movie was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S....
(both 1928). The Patsy contains her imitations, that she usually did for friends, of silent stars 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....
, Mae Murray
Mae Murray
Mae 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"....
and Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
. King Vidor saw Marion as a comedic actor instead of the dramatic actor Hearst wanted her to be. He noticed she was the life of parties and incorporated that into his films.
After seeing photographs of St Donat's Castle
St Donat's Castle
St Donat's Castle is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, overlooking the Bristol Channel in the village of St Donat's near Llantwit Major, and about 25km west of Cardiff...
in Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
magazine, the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
property was bought and revitalised by Hearst in 1925 as a gift to Davies. Hearst and Davies spent much of their time entertaining, holding lavish parties with guests at their Beverly Hills estate. Frequent guests included, among others, 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...
, 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....
, and a young John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, upon visiting San Simeon, was quoted as saying "this is what God would have built if he had had the money."
Talking pictures
The coming of sound made Davies nervous because she had never completely overcome a childhood stutter. Her career survived, however, and she made several comedies and musicals during the 1930s, including Marianne (1929), Not So DumbNot So Dumb
Not So Dumb is a comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.It is based on the stage play Dulcy by George S...
(1930), The Florodora Girl (1930), The Bachelor Father (1931), Five and Ten (1931) with Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
, Polly of the Circus
Polly of the Circus
Polly of the Circus is a 1932 American MGM drama film directed by Alfred Santell. The film stars Marion Davies and Clark Gable.-First version:...
(1932) with Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Blondie of the Follies (1932), Peg o' My Heart
Peg o' My Heart
"Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher. It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical Ziegfeld Follies. The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman in 1912 at The College Inn in New York City after he had stumbled across a...
(1933), Going Hollywood
Going Hollywood
Going Hollywood is an American black-and-white musical film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby, written by Donald Ogden Stewart, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film tells the story of Sylvia , a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love...
(1933) with Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, and Operator 13 (1934) with Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
. She was involved with many aspects of her films and was considered an astute businesswoman. Her career, however, was hampered by Hearst's insistence that she play distinguished, dramatic parts as opposed to the comic roles that were her forte.
Hearst reportedly had tried to push Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
to cast Davies in the title role in Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (1938 film)
Marie Antoinette is a 1938 film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette...
, but Thalberg gave the part to his wife, Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
. This rejection came on the heels of Davies having been also denied the female lead in The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning , despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture...
; Norma Shearer got both roles. Despite Davies' friendship with the Thalbergs, Hearst reacted by pulling his newspaper support for MGM and moved Cosmopolitan Pictures to Warner Brothers. Davies' films there included Page Miss Glory (1935), Hearts Divided, Cain and Mabel
Cain and Mabel
Cain and Mabel is a 1936 romantic comedy film designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable and Robert Paige ....
(both 1936), and Ever Since Eve (1937), her last film.
Cosmopolitan Pictures folded so she left the film business and retreated to San Simeon. Davies would later state in her autobiography that after many years of work she had had enough and decided to devote herself to being Hearst's "companion." In truth, she was intensely ambitious, but realized that at the age of forty, and after twenty years of hard work, that she had not won over the public or the critics not under Hearst's control. Decades after Davies' retirement and death, however, the general consensus among critics is far more appreciative of her efforts, particularly in the field of comedy.
Ince scandal
Hearst and Davies lived as a couple for decades but were never married, as Hearst's wife refused to give him a divorce. At one point, he reportedly came close to marrying Davies, but decided his wife's settlementSettlement (law)
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...
demands were too high. Hearst was extremely jealous and possessive of her, even though he was married throughout their relationship. Davies was aboard the Hearst yacht when film producer Thomas Ince
Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"...
took ill, and died.
An "urban legend" having to do with a rumored relationship with Chaplin has endured since 1924. Chaplin (among other actresses and actors) and Davies were aboard the yacht the fateful night Thomas Ince died. Despite the lack of evidence to support a relationship, rumors have circulated since that Hearst mistook Ince for Chaplin and shot him in a jealous rage. The rumors were dramatised in the play The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, and Jennifer Tilly. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film...
, which was later made into Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
's 2001 film of the same name starring Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
as Hearst, Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
as Davies, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
as Chaplin, Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
as Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It...
, Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
as gossip columnist 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...
, and Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
as Ince. Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
co-authored a novel with Cordelia Frances Biddle titled Murder at San Simeon (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Ince. The 1999 film RKO 281
RKO 281
RKO 281 is a 1999 historical drama film directed by Benjamin Ross. It stars Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, and Roy Scheider and depicts the troubled production behind the 1941 film Citizen Kane...
, a dramatization of the events during and after production of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, depicts Welles being told by screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz that Hearst shot Ince, and references this several times as an analogy for Hearst's efforts to bury the film.
The factual record shows that Thomas Ince suffered an attack of acute indigestion while aboard the yacht and was escorted off the boat in San Diego by another of the guests, Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman, a Hollywood writer and producer. Ince was put on a train bound for Los Angeles, but was removed from the train at Del Mar when his condition worsened. He was given medical attention by Dr. T. A. Parker and a nurse, Jesse Howard. Ince told them that he had drunk liquor aboard Hearst's yacht. Ince was taken to his Hollywood home where he died the following day of a heart condition.
Hearst's death
By the late 1930s, Hearst was suffering financial reversals. After selling St Donat's CastleSt Donat's Castle
St Donat's Castle is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, overlooking the Bristol Channel in the village of St Donat's near Llantwit Major, and about 25km west of Cardiff...
, Davies bailed him out by writing out a check for $1 million. Hearst died on August 14, 1951.
The California State Parks staff at Hearst Castle now report at the time of Hearst's death, 51% of his fortune had been willed to Davies.
Marriage
Eleven weeks and one day after Hearst's death, Davies married Horace Brown on October 31, 1951, in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. It was not a happy marriage; Brown allegedly encouraged her drinking. Davies filed for divorce twice, but neither was finalized.
In her last years, Davies was involved with charity work. In 1952, she donated $1.9 million to establish a children's clinic at UCLA, which was changed to The Mattel Children's Hospital in 1998. She also fought childhood diseases through the Marion Davies Foundation. Part of the Medical Center at UCLA is named the Marion Davies Clinic.
She suffered a minor stroke in 1956, and was later diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. She had an operation which appeared to be successful. Soon after the operation Davies fell and broke her leg. The last time Davies was seen by the American public was on January 10, 1960, on an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television special called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood. Joseph P. Kennedy rented Davies'
mansion and worked from behind the scenes to secure his son John F. Kennedy's nomination during the 1960 Democratic National convention in Los Angeles.
Death
Davies died of cancer on September 22, 1961 in Hollywood, California. Her funeral at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hollywood (donations to the church were from Hollywood celebrities such as Louis B. MayerLouis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
's estate (he died in 1957) and Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
) was attended by many Hollywood celebrities, including 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...
and Mrs. Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
(Kay Spreckels), as well as President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
. She is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
and left an estate estimated at more than $30 million.
After the death of Davies' niece, Patricia Lake
Patricia Lake
Patricia Van Cleeve Lake , known as Patricia Lake, was an American socialite, actress, and radio comedienne, who was suspected of being and, just before she died, claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of actress Marion Davies and publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.-Parentage:In the 1920s,...
(née Van Cleeve), Lake's family announced that she was in fact the birth daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst. Prior to the announcement, it had been said that Lake was the daughter of Rosemary Davies
Rosemary Davies
Rosemary Davies was an American actress who appeared in one motion picture.Born Rose Douras in Brooklyn, New York, she was the sister of the actresses Marion Davies and Reine Davies but did not reach the same fame as her two sisters.However, her name was mentioned in different circles briefly when...
(Marion's sister) and her first husband, George Van Cleeve.
Portrayals of Davies
Davies was rumored to be the inspiration for the Susan Alexander character portrayed in Orson WellesOrson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941), which was based loosely on Hearst's life. This led to various portrayals of Davies as a talentless opportunist.
Welles himself, as stated in his foreword to Davies autobiography The Times We Had, said he deeply regretted that so many assumed Susan Alexander was a carbon copy of Davies, and that the real Davies was a great actress and a wonderful woman. He also claimed that the Susan Alexander character owed as much to the Chicago tycoon Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...
's wife, for whom he built an opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
.
Davies was portrayed by Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
in the telefilm The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) with Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Hearst, and Heather McNair
Heather McNair
Heather McNair was an actress in Hollywood between 1983 and 1993.She starred the TV series Automan in the role of Roxanne Caldwell, and appeared also in, among others, the series St. Elsewhere, Knight Rider and Airwolf, and in the films Madhouse, Kid and Chaplin, in this one performing the role of...
in Chaplin (1992). Madsen later became a Davies fan and said that she felt she had inadvertently portrayed her as a stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
, rather than as a real person.
In RKO 281 (1999), an HBO movie about the making of Citizen Kane, she is played by Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
, with James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
as Hearst. She is portrayed as a lush
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...
who yearns to travel, but stays with Hearst because she loves him, and Hearst's desire to defend her honor is seen as the primary reason he attempts to have Citizen Kane banned.
In the Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
film The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, and Jennifer Tilly. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film...
(see above), Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
played Davies as a witty, intelligent woman.
A documentary film Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) premiered on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
.
Filmography
In addition to these films, Davies reputedly appeared as an extra in Charlie ChaplinCharlie 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...
's The Pilgrim (1923) and also as an extra in Ben Hur
Ben-Hur (1925 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace...
(1925).
Silent features
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Runaway, Romany | Romany | |
| 1918 | Cecilia of the Pink Roses | Cecilia | |
| The Burden of Proof | Elaine Brooks | ||
| 1919 | The Belle of New York | Violet Gray | Incomplete(Library of Congress) |
| Getting Mary Married | Mary | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| The Dark Star | Rue Carew | ||
| The Cinema Murder | Elizabeth Dalston | ||
| 1920 | April Folly | April Poole | Incomplete(Library of Congress) |
| The Restless Sex The Restless Sex The Restless Sex is a 1920 film starring Marion Davies, and Ralph Kellard. It was directed by Leon D'Usseau and Robert Z. Leonard and written by Frances Marion. The film was based upon a novel by Robert W. Chambers. An extant film at the Library of Congress.-Plot summary:Mike Jill is a restless and... |
Stephanie Cleland | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1921 | Buried Treasure | Pauline Vandermuellen | Incomplete(Library of Congress) |
| Enchantment Enchantment (1921 film) Enchantment is a 1921 silent film romantic comedy produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Robert G. Vignola and starred Marion Davies. A print of the film exists in the Library of Congress.-Cast:... |
Ethel Hoyt | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1922 | Bride's Play | Enid of Cashel/Aileen Barrett | Extant(Library of Congress) |
| Beauty's Worth | Prudence Cole | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| The Young Diana | Diana May | ||
| When Knighthood Was in Flower When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922 film) When Knighthood Was in Flower is a 1922 silent historical film based on the novel by Charles Major and play by Paul Kester. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst for his 'live-in companion' Marion Davies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The director was veteran Robert G. Vignola... |
Mary Tudor | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1923 | Adam and Eva | Eva King | Incomplete(Library of Congress) |
| Little Old New York Little Old New York (1923 film) Little Old New York is a 1923 silent film historical drama starring Marion Davies and directed by Sidney Olcott. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan production unit. A copy is in the Library of Congress. -Cast:... |
Patricia O'Day | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1924 | Yolanda Yolanda (film) Yolanda is a 1924 silent film historical film drama produced by William Randolph Hearst and starring Marion Davies. Robert G. Vignola directed as he had Enchantment and several other Davies costume films. The film is survivor and a trailer survives at the Library of Congress... |
Princess Mary/Yolanda | trailer only (Library of Congress) |
| Janice Meredith | Janice Meredith | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1925 | Zander the Great Zander the Great Zander the Great is a 1925 silent drama film directed by George W. Hill, in his first directing role for MGM. The film stars Marion Davies. The screenplay by Frances Marion is based upon Edward Salisbury Field 1923 play.-Plot:... |
Mamie Smith | Extant |
| Lights of Old Broadway Lights of Old Broadway Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 drama film directed by Monta Bell. The film stars Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel. It is an adaptation of the play The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre . The play was produced on Broadway at the Henry Miller's Theatre January 16, 1924 - April 1924... |
Fely/Anne | Extant | |
| 1926 | Beverly of Graustark Beverly of Graustark __notoc__Beverly of Graustark is a silent film directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Marion Davies, Antonio Moreno and Creighton Hale. The film's screenplay was written by Agnes Christine Johnston based on the novel by George Barr McCutcheon, and set on the fictional land of Graustark. The movie... |
Beverly Calhoun | Extant(Library of Congress) |
| 1927 | The Red Mill The Red Mill (film) The Red Mill is a 1927 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle and written by Frances Marion. The film never had a VHS release, though it aired on the network channel Turner Classic MoviesTCM on January 3, 2008, which was the birthday of leading role actress Marion Davies... |
Tina | Extant |
| Tillie the Toiler | Tillie Jones | Extant | |
| The Fair Co-Ed The Fair Co-Ed The Fair Co-Ed is a 1927 silent film comedy starring Marion Davies and released through MGM. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst, through Cosmopolitan Procuctions and directed by Sam Wood. This film is based on a 1909 play/musical comedy by George Ade which had starred a young Elsie... |
Marion | Extant | |
| Quality Street Quality Street (1927 film) Quality Street is a 1927 MGM silent film based on the 1901 play by James M. Barrie which starred Barrie favorite Maude Adams. The film starred Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel and was directed by Sidney Franklin... |
Phoebe Throssel | Extant(Library of Congress) | |
| 1928 | The Patsy The Patsy (1928 film) The Patsy is a 1928 silent comedy/drama film directed by King Vidor, produced and starring Marion Davies for her Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer... |
Patricia Harrington | Extant |
| The Cardboard Lover | Sally | Extant | |
| Show People Show People Show People is a 1928 comedy silent film directed by King Vidor. The movie was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S.... |
Peggy Pepper/Herself | Extant | |
| 1929 | Marianne | Marianne | Extant |
Sound features
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Marianne | Marianne 'Blondy' | |
| The Hollywood Revue of 1929 The Hollywood Revue of 1929 The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is a 1929 part Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American musical-comedy film. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Produced by Harry Rapf and directed by Chuck Riesner, the film brought together some... |
Herself | ||
| 1930 | Not So Dumb Not So Dumb Not So Dumb is a comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.It is based on the stage play Dulcy by George S... |
Dulcinea 'Dulcy' Parker | |
| The Florodora Girl | Daisy Dell | ||
| 1931 | The Bachelor Father | Antoinette 'Tony' Flagg | |
| It's a Wise Child | Joyce Stanton | ||
| Five and Ten Five and Ten (film) Five and Ten is a 1931 romantic drama film starring Marion Davies as an heiress and Leslie Howard as the man she loves, though he marries someone else. It is based on the Fannie Hurst novel of the same name.-Cast:*Marion Davies as Jennifer Rarick... |
Jennifer Rarick | ||
| 1932 | Polly of the Circus Polly of the Circus Polly of the Circus is a 1932 American MGM drama film directed by Alfred Santell. The film stars Marion Davies and Clark Gable.-First version:... |
Polly Fisher | |
| Blondie of the Follies Blondie of the Follies Blondie of the Follies is a 1932 comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding and written by Anita Loos and Frances Marion.-Cast :*Marion Davies as Blondie McClune*Robert Montgomery as Larry Belmont... |
Blondie McClune | ||
| 1933 | Peg o' My Heart Peg o' My Heart (1933 film) Peg o' My Heart is a 1933 film adaptation of the play of the same name by J. Hartley Manners. It starred Marion Davies as a poor Irish girl who stands to inherit a fortune if she satisfies certain conditions.-Cast:... |
Margaret 'Peg' O'Connell | |
| Going Hollywood Going Hollywood Going Hollywood is an American black-and-white musical film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby, written by Donald Ogden Stewart, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film tells the story of Sylvia , a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love... |
Sylvia Bruce | ||
| 1934 | Operator 13 Operator 13 -Plot:The Civil War, shortly after the Battle of Bull Run, the Union forces are in retreat. In a US Military Hospital, the Pauline Cushman Players are performing for wounded soldiers... |
Gail Loveless | |
| 1935 | Page Miss Glory | Loretta Dalrymple/Miss Dawn Glory | |
| 1936 | Hearts Divided Hearts Divided Hearts Divided is a 1936 musical film about the real-life marriage between American Elizabeth 'Betsy' Patterson and Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. It starred Marion Davies and Dick Powell as the couple... |
Elizabeth 'Betsy' Patterson | |
| Cain and Mabel Cain and Mabel Cain and Mabel is a 1936 romantic comedy film designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable and Robert Paige .... |
Mabel O'Dare | ||
| 1937 | Ever Since Eve Ever Since Eve Ever Since Eve is a 1937 romantic comedy film starring Marion Davies and Robert Montgomery.-Plot:Marge Winton is fed up with having to quit job after job to avoid the advances of lecherous bosses. When she goes to the employment agency, she is surprised to discover that she is too beautiful for... |
Miss Marjorie 'Marge' Winton/Sadie Day |
Short films
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | A Trip to Paramountown | Herself |
| 1930 | Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 23 | Herself |
| 1931 | Jackie Cooper's Birthday Party | Herself |
| The Christmas Party | Herself | |
| 1935 | A Dream Comes True | Herself |
| Pirate Party on Catalina Isle | Herself |
Incomplete features
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | The Five O'Clock Girl | Patricia Brown |
| Rosalie Rosalie Rosalie is a musical with music by George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and P.G. Wodehouse, and book by William Anthony McGuire and Guy Bolton. The story tells of a princess from a faraway land who comes to America and falls in love with a West Point Lieutenant.It was first... |
Princess Rosalie Romanikov |
See also
- History of Santa Monica, California in the 1920s A short history of Ocean House. The Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe 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....
reported on September 28, 2006, that the remaining portions of the residence may be restored as a public beach club. It is now open as the Annenberg Community Beach House and preserves the guest house on the property as a historical center. The property is located at 415 Pacific Coast Highway.