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Marion Davies (January 3, 1897 – September 23, 1961) was an American comedic actress.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career and scandal 3 Ince Scandal 4 Decline 5 Portrayals of Davies 6 Filmography 6.1 Silent Features 6.2 Sound Feaures 6.3 Short films 6.4 Uncompleted Feature 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Davies was born Marion Cecilia Douras in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of five children born to Bernard J. Douras,^[1] a lawyer who moved in New York City political circles, and Rose Reilly, formerly of Jersey City, New Jersey. Her elder siblings included Rose, Reine, and Ethel. A brother, Charles, drowned at the age of 15 in 1906.

The Douras family lived near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, but already the bright lights of Manhattan beckoned to the sisters. The sisters changed their surname to Davies, which one of them spotted from a realtor's sign in the neighbourhood. Even at a time when New York was the melting pot for new immigrants, having an Anglo-Saxon surname greatly helped one's prospects.

The Davies girls all hit the Great White Way, and Marion was signed on as a chorine in Florenz Ziegfeld's spectacular annual "Ziegfeld Follies" revues. Massively and expensively staged and brimming with the best comedic and musical talent, Ziegfeld's productions also showcased some of the most sensationally attractive young women in the world.^[2]

Though one of the greatest silent screen comediennes, Marion Davies is best remembered today for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Even during her career, her high-profile social life often obscured her professional achievements. In her posthumously published memoirs, Marion claimed she wasn't an actress, knew nothing about politics, and described herself as a "silly, giggly idiot." Typically self-effacing, Marion was anything but.

Along with other lovelies starting out in the 1916 "Follies" –– like Olive Thomas and Mae Murray –– Marion's beauty, vivacity and talent made her a star, and she soon outgrew the chorusline. Also like Thomas and Murray, she exchanged her popularity on stage for success in the movies.

After making her screen debut in late 1916 in a fashion newsreel, modeling gowns by Lucile (Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon), she appeared in her first feature film in 1917's Runaway Romany.^[3] It was a film written by herself and directed by her brother-in-law. The film wasn't exactly a box-office smash, but for Marion it was a start. The film was, instead, a stepping stone to bigger things. The following year Marion starred in three films, The Burden of Proof, Beatrice Fairfax, and Cecilia of the Pink Roses . Playing mainly light comedic roles, she quickly became a major movie personality, making a small fortune which enabled her to provide financial assistance for her family and friends.^[2]

"Cecilia of the Pink Roses" in 1918 was her first film backed by Hearst. She was on her way to being the most famously advertised actress in the world. During the next ten years she appeared in twenty-nine films, an average of almost three films a year. She was a tireless worker, always trying to live up to the relentless promotional campaigns launched by Hearst.^[4]

By the mid-1920s, however, Marion's career was often overshadowed by her relationship with married media mogul William Randolph Hearst and their fabulous social life at San Simeon and Ocean House in Santa Monica.

Hearst had met her soon after she'd started working in movies, and formed Cosmopolitan Pictures solely to produce starring vehicles for her. Hearst's relentless efforts to promote her career instead had a detrimental effect, but he persisted, making Cosmopolitan's distribution deals first with Paramount, then Goldwyn, and then Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Marion, herself, in her published memoirs The Times We Had, concluded that Hearst's over-the-top promotion of her career, in fact, had a negative result.

Hearst loved seeing her in expensive costume pictures, but in retrospect she seems to have fared just as well, if not better, in contemporary comedies like Tillie the Toiler, The Fair Co-Ed (both 1927), and especially two directed by King Vidor, The Patsy and the backstage-in-Hollywood saga Show People (both 1928), where she showed a shining comedic talent and pantomimic skills. The Patsy contains her wonderful imitations, that she usually did for friends, of silent stars Lillian Gish, Mae Murray and Pola Negri.

The coming of sound made Marion nervous, because she had never completely overcome a childhood stutter.^[4] But with her usual persistence she did well, and made several memorable comedies and musicals during the 1930s, including Marianne (1929), Not So Dumb (1930), The Florodora Girl (1930), The Bachelor Father (1931), Five and Ten (1931) with Leslie Howard, Polly of the Circus (1932) with Clark Gable, Blondie of the Follies (1932), Peg o' My Heart (1933), Going Hollywood (1933) with Bing Crosby, and Operator 13 (1934) with Gary Cooper. She was involved with many aspects of her films and was considered an astute businesswoman. Her career, however, was hampered by Hearst's insistence that she play distinguished, dramatic parts, as opposed to the comic roles that were her forte. She also harboured an increasing dependence on alcohol, hiding bottles of liquor in San Simeon's toilet tanks. However, her body of work has often been praised by contemporary critics.

Hearst reportedly had tried to push MGM executives to hire Marion for the role of Marie Antoinette in Marie Antoinette (1938). Louis B. Mayer had other ideas and hired producer Irving Thalberg's wife Norma Shearer for the part instead. Hearst reacted by pulling his newspaper support for MGM, and moved Cosmopolitan Pictures to Warner Bros.'s studios, but stayed only a few years. Davies' films there included Page Miss Glory (1935), Hearts Divided, Cain and Mabel (both 1936), and Ever Since Eve (1937), her last film. Cosmopolitan Pictures folded, so Marion left the screen and retreated to San Simeon.

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

Davies, although with Hearst for years, also privately dated other actors. In the mid-1920s, Davies became involved in an affair with actor Charlie Chaplin, and in the mid-1930s she was involved with actor Dick Powell. Hearst was incredibly jealous and possessive of her, even though he was married throughout their relationship.

The alleged affair with Chaplin became the stuff of legend in 1924 when Hearst, Davies and Chaplin (among other actresses and actors) were on Hearst's yacht with film producer Thomas Ince when Ince died.

In spite of no supporting evidence, rumours have circulated since that time that Hearst mistook Ince for Chaplin and shot him in a jealous rage. The rumours were dramatised in the play The Cat's Meow, which was later made into a 2001 film of the same name starring Edward Herrmann as Hearst, Kirsten Dunst as Davies, Eddie Izzard as Chaplin and Cary Elwes as Ince.

By the late-1930s Hearst was suffering financial reversals and it was Marion who bailed him out by selling off $1 million of her jewelry. Without her the Hearst Corporation might not be where it is today.^[5] When Hearst died, his family had every trace of Davies' presence in his home removed, and when discussing his life and legacy, made no reference to her.

Ten weeks after Hearst's death, Davies married Horace Brown on October 31, 1951, at the age of fifty-four.^[2] It was not a happy marriage (he allegedly encouraged her drinking): Davies filed for divorce twice, but neither was finalised. Marion's friends, and the media, noticed a remarkable physical similarity between Brown and the young William Randolph Hearst.

In her last years, the generous Marion Davies was involved with charity work: in 1952 she donated $1.9 million to establish a children's clinic at UCLA, which still bears her name. She also fought childhood diseases through the Marion Davies Foundation.^[4]

She suffered a minor stroke in 1956, and was later diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. She had an operation which appeared to be successful; Davies fell and broke her leg in 1960. The last time Davies was seen by the American public was on January 10, 1960 on an NBC TV special called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood. Hosted by Hedda Hopper, guest interviews included (besides Davies herself) an extremely eclectic mix of then-current and former stars such as: Lucille Ball (a friend of Hopper's), Francis X. Bushman, John Cassavetes, Robert Cummings, Walt Disney, Janet Gaynor, Bob Hope, Hope Lange, Anthony Perkins, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart and Gloria Swanson.

Her health continued to decline, and Davies died of cancer in 1961, in Hollywood. Her funeral was attended by many old-time Hollywood legends including Mary Pickford and Mrs. Clark Gable (Kay Spreckels), as well as President Herbert Hoover. She is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. She left an estate estimated at more than $30 million.

After the death of Davies' niece, Patricia Lake (née Van Cleeve), Lake's family announced that she was in fact the daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst; prior to the announcement, it had been said that Lake was the daughter of Rose Davies (Marion's sister) and her first husband, George Van Cleeve. Although the claim does not appear to have been verified independently, Lake and her husband—Arthur Lake, who played Dagwood in numerous films—were buried beside Davies.

Davies was rumoured to be the inspiration for the shrill, talentless Susan Alexander character portrayed in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, which was based loosely on Hearst's life.^[6] This portrayal has led to various portrayals of her as a loose, drunken woman, the most recent of which was Melanie Griffith's in HBO's RKO 281. Welles himself, as stated in his foreword to Marion Davies book, "The Times We Had", said he deeply regretted that so many assumed Susan Alexander was a carbon copy of Davies— he felt that the real Davies was a great actress and a wonderful woman.^{[citation needed]}

Davies was also portrayed by Virginia Madsen in the telefilm The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) (with Robert Mitchum as Hearst) and Heather Macnair in Chaplin (1992). Madsen later became a Davies fan and said that she felt she had inadvertently portrayed her as a stereotype, rather than as a real person.

Many film historians and fans resent the negative reputation Kane garnered her,^{[citation needed]} and have worked to restore her image in the public eye. Their efforts included a 2001 documentary, Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies, which featured appearances by friends and costars who tearfully remembered Davies, even four decades after her death.

In 2001, Kirsten Dunst played the role of Marion in the film The Cat's Meow.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Marion Davies at the Internet Movie Database