Marion Davies
Marion Cecilia Douras
1897-1961
Born in Brooklyn, NY
5 feet, 6 inches tall
Golden blonde hair
Big blue eyes
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Marion Davies...her name brings to mind the beauty and glamour of a Ziegfeld Girl, silent movies and the early talkies, the Golden Age of Hollywood and, of course, the scandal of her long love affair with American publisher William Randolph Hearst.
Together Hearst and Davies entertained all the stars in Hollywood, dined and danced with visiting royalty and national heroes, and became famous for their costume parties, fabulous homes and travels to Europe.
Before making her first feature film in 1917, Marion Davies appeared on Broadway in several successful musical theatre productions. She advanced from dancing in the "pony ballet" between acts to become one of the most popular chorines on the New York stage
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Rural theatre in Kansas showing Marion Davies in "Five and Ten"
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After singing and dancing for Ziegfeld in the 1916 edition of the Follies Marion landed speaking parts in two of the Princess Theatre productions staged by Guy Bolton, Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse.
Her screen debut in Runaway Romany led to a movie contract with Cosmopolitan Productions in 1918. Marion Davies quickly became a favorite with the American public, particularly with rural audiences who appreciated the wholesome roles she played.
Marion Davies starred in forty-seven feature films with the most popular leading men including Clark Gable, Dick Powell, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, and Robert Montgomery. Her directors included the legends King Vidor, Sidney Franklin and Raoul Walsh. She retired from films in 1937, but her memory lingers on.
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