These women took over the Roaring 20s with abandon, wearing shorter skirts, shorter haircuts, and generally having good, reckless fun. Though school-girls used to tease Bow for her carrot top red hair, her wild locks did earn her another cool nickname when she hit the big time. 111, P.S. Yeah, sit down Rex. Well, that simply wasnt good enough. We had been cold and hungry for days. As well see, it only got weirder from there. Clara bow Stock Photos and Images. "[113] Dorothy Parker is often said to have referred to Bow when she wrote, "It, hell; she had Those. It's a thoroughly refreshing draught there are only about five actresses who give me a real thrill on the screenand Clara is nearly five of them". When she was trying to make it in movies, the petite and cute Bow said casting directors always turned her downfor one disturbing reason. Goldbeck, Elisabeth. Bow was born in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn at 697 Bergen Street,[11] in a "bleak, sparsely furnished room above [a] dilapidated Baptist Church". For the first time I saw distant lands, serene, lovely homes, romance, nobility, glamor". Desperately eager to please, Bow nailed her five scenes and even managed to cry real tearsa feat many actresses today cant even match. [12] Her birth year, according to the US Censuses of 1910 and 1920, was 1905. She catapulted to fame after winning Motion Picture magazine's 1921 " Fame and Fortune" contest. The people who are held up as examples for me? [6] At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).[7]. Her mother, Sarah Frances Bow (ne Gordon, 1880-1923), was told by a doctor not to become pregnant again, for fear the next baby might die as well. Audiences still loved her, Brooklyn accent or not, and her new films were hit. Bow became a personality of the 1920s. Flapper Girls. She knew what it meant to be a jazz baby and it wasnt always a party. "[112] Carl Sandburg wrote that "'It' is smart, funny and real. But the studio thinks my voice is great."[122]. The studio, like any other independent studio or theater at that time, was under attack from "The Big Three", MPAA, which had formed a trust to block out Independents and enforce the monopolistic studio system. When she was 16 years old, her mother . "[85] And Louise Brooks (from 1980): "(Bow) became a star without nobody's help". In "Hollywood, the Pioneers", (the Brownlow/Gill mini-series on silent movies), she mentioned Clara Bow as being one of the two "most utterly talented actors' she knew. Clara Gordon Bow Born 29 Jul 1905 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States Ancestors Daughter of Robert Walter Bow and Sarah Frances (Gordon) Bow [sibling (s) unknown] Wife of George Francis (Beldam) Rex Bell married 3 Dec 1931 in Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States She had a miserable home life and few friends, yet films were different. She swings from one emotion to another, but she gains nothing, stores up nothing for the future. Tui wanted to be closer to Clarasince she was actually in unrequited love with the star. "[118] 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". "[28], From first grade, Bow preferred the company of boys, stating, "I could lick any boy my size. As Bow once retorted, They are snobs. She doesn't look like she belongs in the '20s, or even in black and white. [16] "Why can't I stay in New York and make movies?" . With Paramount on Parade, True to the Navy, Love Among the Millionaires, and Her Wedding Night, Bow was second at the box-office only to Joan Crawford in 1930. In fact, when she first decided she wanted to go into movies, she said it was because she would go to see an actress or actor in a performance and come away with the feeling that I knew I would have done it differently. In other words, better.. For all that they were making stacks of money off of her, Bows studio executives and directors were incredibly demeaning of their star. It was her own naked portrait. In order to manage her deteriorating mental health in the 1940s, Bow checked herself into a sanatorium again, this time with much worse symptoms. Her social presence was taboo, and it was rather silly, because God knows Marion Davies and Mary Pickford had plenty to hide. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Build Voluptuous "[108], and Sam Carver of the Newman Theater was quoted in The Reel Journal as saying that "Clara Bow is taking the place of Gloria Swanson(and)filling a long need for a popular taste movie actress. Little Clara came into the world in a "bleak, sparsely furnished room above [a] dilapidated Baptist Church," and these very humble beginnings were about to turn into an absolute nightmare. She made several talkies, in fact, starting with The Wild Party, a big success that was directed by her friend and champion Dorothy Arzner. [150], Film historian Kevin Brownlow did not mention Bow in his 1968 book on silent films, The Parade's Gone By. Artist: Unknown. For a time, Bow tried to return to a normal life. Schulberg fired Jacobson for leading his starlet into scandaland Bows unhinged reaction was one for the ages. Bow starred as the good-bad college girl, Cynthia Day, against Donald Keith. Description. In spite of this Clara was conceived in fall of 1904. 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 with Moore as her kid sister in Painted People (The Swamp Angel). [19] "I do not think my mother ever loved my father", she said. The biggest misconception about Bow is that her career foundered with the coming of sound because her Brooklyn accent was too ugly. She had other two sisters who sadly died while they were still infants. Little Clara came into the world in a bleak, sparsely furnished room above [a] dilapidated Baptist Church, and these very humble beginnings were about to turn into an absolute nightmare. Who are we, after all, to say she is wrong? [141], Bow spent her last years in Culver City, under the constant care of a nurse, Estalla Smith, living off an estate worth about $500,000 at the time of her death. David Selznick explained: [when] Bow was at her height in pictures we could make a story with her in it and gross a million and a half, where another actress would gross half a million in the same picture and with the same cast.Selznick[131], Bow left Hollywood for Rex Bell's ranch in Nevada, her "desert paradise", in June[132] and married him in then small-town Las Vegas in December. Bow came to personify the "roaring twenties" and is described as its leading sex symbol. The five different screen tests she had, showed this very plainly, her emotional range of expression provoking a fine enthusiasm from every contest judge who saw the tests. "[16] A close friend, a younger boy who lived in her building burned to death, something which haunted her. [53] Alton and Bow rented an apartment at The Hillview near Hollywood Boulevard. Clara Bow was a Brooklyn girl through and through. "[88] Some critics felt Bow had conquered new territory, "(Bow) presents a whimsical touch to her work that adds greater laurels to her fast ascending star of screen popularity. Clifton decided to take Bow with him and offered her $35 a week. From then on, Moore refused to let the director get any close-ups of Bow or her famously beautiful face. Flickr 2. Bow's father told her to "haunt" Brewster's office (located in Brooklyn) until they came up with something. When fans of the new star found out she put, An autographed picture of Bow is offered as a consolation prize of a beauty contest in the 1931, During her lifetime, Bow was the subject of wild rumors regarding her sex life; many of them were untrue. [23], According to Bow's biographer, David Stenn, Bow was raped by her father at age sixteen while her mother was institutionalized. Net Worth: USD $13 Million approx. On the silver screen, however, she found consolation; "For the first time in my life I knew there was beauty in the world. According to Bow, Bell accused her of enjoying showing myself off. Bows pert response? . But sadly, the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown quickly turned sour, and the starlet suffered a downfall that was as tragic as it was legendary. Bow asked her father, but he told her not to worry. [94], Years after Bow left Hollywood, director Victor Fleming compared Bow to a Stradivarius violin: "Touch her, and she responded with genius. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When she was just 16 years old, she entered the annual Fame and Fortune Brewster magazine contest, which pitted hopefuls against each other in a series of screen tests and promised film work in the winners future. In late 1925, Bow returned to New York to co-star in the Ibsenesque[98] drama Dancing Mothers, as the good/bad "flapperish" upper-class daughter Kittens. 1,468 Sq. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. She settled down with her hunky Cowboy co-star Rex Bell, moving into his ranch outside of Hollywood and marrying him in December, 1931. Rare oil portrait of silent screen legend Clara Bow, posing nude in 1929 for Hungarian artist Geza Kende. "[16], Bow's interest in sports and her physical abilities led her to plan for a career as an athletics instructor. Sarah Bow was the mother of famed, Old Hollywood "It Girl" Clara Bow and the wife of Robert Bow. [91] Throughout the 1920s, Bow played with gender conventions and sexuality in her public image. Gaylor Hiram Weaver Sarah Gordon Simpson Duke 1817 - 1878 Drake Martha She suffered seizures and psychosis from the ensuing head injury, and Bow grew up learning how to control her mother during these fits. In addition to athletics and acting, Bow was also a fan of poetry and music. Never that emotionally stable, the stressors of talkies pushed her over the limit. In 1924, Bow was on the set ofPainted People with the more famous star Colleen Moore;the still-green Bow was due to play a bit part as Moores kid sister. "[90], Bow began to date her co-star Gilbert Roland, who became her first fianc. Clara passed away on month day 2013, at age 74 at death place, Michigan. Her reputation started slipping and gossips whispered that Clara has more ID than "It." In 1927, rumor linked not to one lover but the entire lineup of USC football team including John Wayne. "The Real Clara Bow", NY agent George Frank to Filmjournalen 26/1931. She became extremely withdrawn and at one point attempted suicide. I used to sing at home and people would say, 'Pipe down! "[16] Bow felt "Mrs Smith" (the pseudonym Alton used) 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. In January 1929, Clara Bow received more than 45,000 letters in a single month. [62], In May, Moore renewed her efforts in The Perfect Flapper, produced by her husband; however, despite good reviews she suddenly withdrew. "But there was always something. Bow met her first boyfriend, cameraman Arthur Jacobson, and she got to know director Frank Tuttle, with whom she worked in five later productions. "No more flappers they have served their purpose people are tired of soda-pop love affairs", she told the Los Angeles Times,[66] which had commented a month earlier, "Clara Bow is the one outstanding type. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. I make the big bucks in this family, and this brought in the paycheck. [79], I worked in two and even three pictures at once. "How I broke into the movies". [136] Mary Pickford stated that Bow "was a very great actress" and wanted her to play her sister in Secrets (1933),[133] Howard Hughes offered her a three-picture deal, and MGM wanted her to star in Red-Headed Woman (1932). As her director Frank Tuttle recalled, She could cry on demand, opening the floodgate of tears almost as soon as I asked her to weep. This, however, came with a dark side. But when she sat down to watch the film, she was utterly devastated. When her friend Tui Lorraine faced exile from America and desperately needed a cash injection, Clara generously offeredher own gross father, Robert. "[73] Loaned out to Universal, Bow top-starred, for the first time, in the prohibition, bootleg drama/comedy Wine, released on August 20, 1924. "[94] Bow was keen on poetry and music, but according to Rogers St. Johns, her attention span did not allow her to appreciate novels. Im a big freak, because Im myself!, Beyond It, her film roles tended to reflect the industrys ambivalence. Someone to stir every pulse in the nation."A film chronicling the life . 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." [35] As chaperone for the journey and her subsequent southern California stay, the studio appointed writer/agent Maxine Alton, whom Bow later branded a liar. Although she refused to believe her mothers attack had anything to do with her problems and left the sanatorium in a huff, she didnt return to her young family. And they say love isnt real. [95] 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. Clara Bow could be a devoted lover, only she sometimes showed her devotion in strange ways. I'm sorry for a lot of it but not awfully sorry. Even at the height of her success, she was alone in Hollywood. Profession: Actress Debut: Beyond the Rainbow. When it came to Lugosi, Bow took her bad girl image into overdrive. In 1921, she was a movie-mad teenager who dropped out of school after winning a talent-spotting contest (She screens perfectly, said a judge). The time must be given in wrist watch time, as it would have been shown on a normal person's wrist watch at the place of the birth event.All necessary corrections for time zone or daylight saving time are applied by the computer automatically. Clara was fascinated with the Trojan players, particularly captain and All-American quarterback Morley Drury. Clara made three pictures that will never be surpassed: Dancing Mothers, Mantrap, and It. We lay in each other's arms and cried and tried to keep warm. SOLD FEB 15, 2023. On her mother's side: a French grandmother and Scottish grandfather. Either way, no one was surprised when it ended, but they were downright astonished by just how quickly things went south. [22] 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". I'm a big freak, because I'm myself! Bow left her family and moved to a small bungalow in Culver City, near the movie studios, living off her savings in total seclusion for the rest of her life. She was born into abject poverty. "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 Cabanne, who cast her in Beyond the Rainbow, produced late 1921 in New York City and released February 19, 1922. Clara Bow Clara Bow born (July 29, 1905) was an American actress who rose to stardom in the 1920s. Her social decorum is of that natural, good-natured, pleasantly informal kind She can act on or off the screentakes a joyous delight in accepting a challenge to vamp any selected malethe more unpromising specimen the better. Unfortunately, Clara's mental condition did not improve away from the glare of Hollywood. 29 Jul 1905 Clara Bow Birthday Clara Bow Physical Statistics & Body Measurements Clara Gordon Bow (/ b o /; July 29, 1905 - September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929.Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Her parents met as neighbours in a New York State farming neighbourhood. "[16], Bow's parents were descended from English and Scots-Irish immigrants who had come to America the generation before. 2. Her film career held more future sadness and scandal than she could have possibly imagined when she signed on the dotted line. Miss Bow and Michael Cudahy, a witness, appear above." c.1926 Robert S. Savage, son of Duluth, Minnesota steel millionaire, was a football hero at Yale; he was known as a man who never lost his head at a crucial moment. My right arm was quite famous. Eva Hendrian. I made a place for myself on the screen and you can't do that by being Mrs. Alcott's idea of a Little Woman.[68]. If there is an aspect of silent cinema you would like to see featured in Silent but deadly! Bow appeared in eight releases in 1924, two were released the same day. Photoplay was displeased: "The college atmosphere is implausible and Clara Bow is not our idea of a college girl. Not done yet, she began reaming him out for daring to control her private life, and finished by strutting her world-class stems out the door. When Bow was 16 and alone, Robert attacked her in the bedroom. Usually I was too fat, she remembered. [126][127][128][129], According to the 1930 census, Bow lived at 512 Bedford Drive, together with her secretary and hairdresser, Daisy DeBoe (later DeVoe), in a house valued $25,000 with neighbors titled "Horse-keeper", "Physician", "Builder". Clara Bow (1905-1965) F. Scott Fitzgerald said of her, "This girl was the real thing. Instead, she suffered a deep disappointment. Her name is on the cast list among the other stars, usually tagged "Brewster magazine beauty contest winner" and sometimes even with a picture[citation needed]. She catapulted to fame after winning Motion Picture magazine's 1921 "Fame and Fortune" contest. $310,000 Last Sold Price. Robert Bow knew of her intentions and posed no objections whatsoever. Bow had plenty of charm, but her manners were atrocious. Thanks for your time! Schulberg. Clara Bow lingers in the eye, long after the picture has gone. Bow always did know how to hustle. When Bow found out that her sweetums got sacked, she marched right up to Schulbergs swanky office and tore up her contract right in his facethen threw it in his mug for good measure. "I can't do it," she wailed. Though Bow lost her fair share of cat fights in Hollywood, she did have one secret weapon. The brassy Bow wasnt afraid to get into scuffles, either. [a][21] From her earliest years, Bow had learned how to care for her mother during the seizures, as well as how to deal with her psychotic and hostile episodes. Still, on second thought it might not be safe: Clara uses a dangerous pair of eyes. [122] In October 1929 Bow described her nerves as "all shot", saying that she had reached "the breaking point", and Photoplay cited reports of "rows of bottles of sedatives" by her bed. Alice Joyce starred as her dancing mother, with Conway Tearle as "bad-boy" Naughton. Throughout her entire careerand particularly during her tragic endBow was incredibly emotionally fragile. Her mental health had continued to suffer in her retirement and she attempted suicide when her husband Rex Bell decided to re-enter public life as a politician in the 1940s. The shift from silent films to talkies was an enormous sea change in Hollywood that drowned many a starbut contrary to popular belief, our gritty Clara survived and thrived. Filmjournalen 26/1931 King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history her intentions and no! In addition to athletics and acting, Bow began to date her co-star Gilbert Roland, who became first... Side: a French grandmother and Scottish grandfather of talkies pushed her over the Roaring 20s with abandon wearing. 'S office ( located in Brooklyn ) until they came up with something people her! 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