Finally, though, her luck turned, and he gave her the part. In January 1929, Clara Bow received more than 45,000 letters in a single month. Clara Bow Birth Name: Clara Gordon Bow Occupation: Movie Actress Place Of Birth: Brooklyn Date Of Birth: July 29, 1905 Date Of Death: September 27, 1965 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: White Nationality: American Clara Bow was born on the 29th of July, 1905. She retired from acting in 1933, but two decades later her reputation received an extra blow with Singin in the Rain, which featured Lina Lamont, the talentless flapper with a Noo Yoik twang who cant hack it in the sound era. [35], Grit was released on January 7, 1924. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. A woman even once brought Bow to divorce court for stealing her husband. Clara Bow had a series of breakdowns beginning just before she left Hollywood, and her husband, Rex Bell, ended up committing her to a sanatorium, just as her father had done to her mother and her grandfather had done to her grandmother before her. She settled down with her hunky Cowboy co-star Rex Bell, moving into his ranch outside of Hollywood and marrying him in December, 1931. She screens perfectly. For the first time I saw distant lands, serene, lovely homes, romance, nobility, glamor". AFI left her off their iconic 100 Years100 Stars list, and movie historian Kevin Brownlow completely omitted her from his silent film book The Parades Gone By. They are snobs. 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. She is endowed with a mentality far beyond her years. Rate. As Clara once admitted, I do not think my mother ever loved my father. Even worse, He knew it. However, this was far from the worst thing Claras mother would do. "Hollywood Star treatment Clara Bow", Thames Television, 1980, UK. In 1931, as "Clara had become more than she was worth," (Stenn, 232) the actress and Paramount came to a mutual settlement to terminate her . 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". Letter from Louise Brooks to Kevin Brownlow, October 26, 1968. Stay connected to family and friends by sharing the LittleThings that spark joy. Tuttle remembered: Her emotions were close to the surface. She was only 25 years old. Bow held out for $50 and Clifton agreed, but he could not say whether she would "fit the part". Her parents met as neighbours in a New York State farming neighbourhood. My right arm was quite famous. [48] On July 21, 1923, she befriended Louella Parsons, who interviewed her for The New York Morning Telegraph. "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. Clara Bow was an American film actress who shot to stardom in 1926, then burned out only a few years later. Clara Bow was a Brooklyn girl through and through. I never did anything to hurt anyone else. She won five medals "at the cinder tracks" and credited her cousin Homer Bakerthe national half-mile (c. 800m) champion (1913 and 1914) and 660-yard (c.600m) world-record holderfor being her trainer. Artist: Unknown. Shocked and appalled at Bows total disregard for the fame food chain, Moore flexed her power in the cruellest way she knew how. This? Instead of trying to get the popular girls to like her, Bow went another route entirelyshe became an incorrigible tomboy. I'm a curiosity in Hollywood. "[16] A close friend, a younger boy who lived in her building burned to death, something which haunted her. She had a miserable home life and few friends, yet films were different. With her face bandaged up for the foreseeable future, Bow not only lost her close-ups in Painted Peopleshe lost the part entirely. Bow was attracted to Lugosi when he was still doing the stage version of Dracula, and sauntered down to a performance one night wearing only her mink coat and bathing suit. At 25 her career was essentially over. The pair were obsessed with each other, but as two Hollywood hotties, they also saw other people. It almost worked: They had two children together and lived happily at first. In 1925, Clara started a scandalous sensation. In February 1922, Clara Bow awoke to a horrifying sight: Her mother holding a butchers knife to her throat. "[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". "[89] Time singled out Bow, complimenting her on saving the picture as, "Only the amusing and facile acting of Clara Bow rescues the picture from the limbo of the impossible. She was interred in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Clara Bow doesn't look like a relic. Im just the whipped cream on top of the pie, she said, and she would come to regret the gratuitous nudity in that role too: I dont want to be remembered as somebody who couldnt do nothin but take her clothes off.. 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. In 1928 a poll named her . "[112] Carl Sandburg wrote that "'It' is smart, funny and real. The young girl was miraculously able to escape and then disarm her mother before she could hurt her, and she quickly locked Sarah up. Jacobson concluded, "[Clara] was the sweetest girl in the world, but you didn't cross her and you didn't do her wrong. As fellow actor Lina Basquette said: She wasnt well liked amongst other women in the film colony. [35] In the January issues 1922 of Motion Picture Classics, the contest jury, Howard Chandler Christy, Neysa McMein, and Harrison Fisher, concluded: She is very young, only 16. Reviews were nothing less than outstanding: The New York Times said that "(Bow)is vivacious and, as Betty Lou, saucy, which perhaps is one of the ingredients of It. But that wasnt even the worst part. Bows frayed nerves during this time had already earned her the dubious title of Crisis-a-day Clara from her studio executives, but after her trial she simply couldnt take it anymore. I knew I would have done it differently. That year, Bow discovered her secretary and confidant Daisy DeVoe had been mismanaging her money, and took her to court. RM BJTTP8 - James Hall (1900-1940) and Clara Bow (1905-1965), American actors, 20th century. . "[90], Bow began to date her co-star Gilbert Roland, who became her first fianc. 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". "[16], When Bow's mother was 16, she fell from a second-story window and suffered a severe head injury. Even when she has the opportunity to woo the audience by displaying her charms in a comedy such a Mantrap (How she vamps with her lamps, praised Variety), her inveterate flirting condemns her to an unhappy ending. In 1937, they opened the "It" Caf on Vine Street in Hollywood but it didn't last very long. Adela Rogers St. Johns, a noted screenwriter who had done a number of pictures with Bow, wrote about her: [T]here seems to be no pattern, no purpose to her life. Know her, Estimated Net Worth, Age, Biography Wikipedia Wiki The film proved to be a tremendous box office success that lent Clara Bow the nickname the "It" Girl. It was her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Of course she was, have you seen the girl? Alice Joyce starred as her dancing mother, with Conway Tearle as "bad-boy" Naughton. In addition to athletics and acting, Bow was also a fan of poetry and music. Im a curiosity in Hollywood. Time doesn't exist for her, except that she thinks it will stop tomorrow. One early morning in May 1931, Hollywood actress Clara Bow woke up screaming. Actors were able to get away with racier dress choices, but even Bow raised a few eyebrows when she appeared at a dinner party wearing nothing but a bathing suit. The contest earned Bow a trophy and a small film role, but no contract. [142] A note was found in which Bow stated she preferred death to a public life. And that wasnt all. [133] In an interview on December 17, Bow detailed her way back to health:[134] sleep, exercise, and food, and the day after it she returned to Hollywood "for the sole purpose of making enough money to be able to stay out of it. In September 1937, she and Bell opened The 'It' Cafe in the Hollywood Plaza Hotel at 1637 N Vine Street near Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. 20276", "Real life story of Clara Bow" (16 parts), "Tui Gets Divorce From Clara Bow's Daddy", "Wine / Louis J Gasnier [motion picture]:Bibliographic Record Description: Performing Arts Encyclopedia", "Famous Players-Lasky Clara Bow Signed Contract", "Clara Bow: the hard-partying jazz-baby airbrushed from Hollywood history", "Revenge of the Celebrity Secretary: The Career-Ending Extortion of Screen Star Clara Bow Los Angeles Magazine", "Clara Bow Her Personal Secretary Was Wrongly Convicted of Grand Theft", "Geschichte der It-Girls - Paris Hiltons Vor-vor-vorbild", "Clara Bow: The Haunted Sex Icon of the '20s", "Remembering the Original It Girl, Clara Bow, on Her Birthday", "Politics '99 {Human Events}; Find Articles at BNET.com", "Was 'It girl' Clara Bow the real-life epitome of Babylon or one of predatory Hollywood's earliest victims? Clara Bow was born into a family of alcoholics and psychologically damaged people. Thanks for your help! For all that she hated talkies, she made a cameo as the mystery voice in the 1947 radio show Truth or Consequences in their Mrs. In an attempt to overcome her youthful looks, Bow put her hair up and arrived in a dress she "sneaked" from her mother. [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. 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.. This made Bow the only daughter to survive to the Bow's family. For all her successes, Bow was snubbed by the in-crowd, and for years after her heyday she would be nudged out of history. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Bow was the mystery voice in the show's "Mrs. Hush" contest. She was, as the documentary Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (1999) demonstrates, "a one woman revolution who shattered social and sexual taboos." She was a self-described working girl who became a role model for the flapper era by "creating a personality new to the screen - youthful, energetic and frankly sexual." "[104] The film was released on July 24, 1926,[105] to rave reviews. I once directed Clara Bow (Wings). They had 3 children. This family portrait of Rex Bell, cowboy actor, and his wife Clara Bow, former. [123] "Now they're having me sing. In the 1920s, studio systems ruled the roost, and actresses often rose or fell on the power of studio publicity sprees. Throughout her entire careerand particularly during her tragic endBow was incredibly emotionally fragile. Though Bow lost her fair share of cat fights in Hollywood, she did have one secret weapon. Clara Bow, (born July 29, 1905, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.died September 27, 1965, Los Angeles, California), American motion-picture actress called the "It" Girl after she played in It (1927), the popular silent-film version of Elinor Glyn 's novel of that name. Votes: 379. American actress Clara Bow wearing a fur-trimmed robe over a lace-trimmed slip, her hand on her hip, standing in white high-heel shoes in a bedroom,. Once Bow faced a threat of $150,000 in damages from a disgruntled wife, charged a former friend and secretary Daisy DeVoe with fraud, and defamation by the The Coast Reporter; Paramount had enough. [36] Bow did five scenes and impressed Cabanne with her ability to produce tears on call, but was cut from the final print. "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. Only when I remember it, it seems to me I can't live. After Moores machinations, Bow reportedly vowed to Get that witch. Instead, fate dealt her a bitter hand. Net Worth: USD $13 Million approx. RM EC7YYR - Clara Bow, the IT Girl, epitome of razz-ma-tazz, everybody's dreamboat from 1925 to 1930. In it Bow confessed that she preferred eternal slumber to the idea of always being a public figure, and every day seemed unbearable to her. Meanwhile, Bell became Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 1954. I used to sing at home and people would say, 'Pipe down! [16] "I was sick to my stomach", she recalled and thought her mother was right about the movie business. Clara Bow Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Clara Gordon Bow (/bo/; July 29, 1905 - September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent film during the 1920s. [80] In 1927 Bow appeared in six Paramount releases: It, Children of Divorce, Rough House Rosie, Wings, Hula and Get Your Man. After the release of Down the Sea in Ships, Bow became an absolute sensationbut that fame came with a high price. [35] Preferred Pictures was run by Schulberg, who had 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 fact, the naughty work was still hanging over him when he passed. "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. He died in 1962. RM EC8004 - Clara Bow in 'Hula', a 1927 silent . For all that they were making stacks of money off of her, Bows studio executives and directors were incredibly demeaning of their star. [102] Bow negotiated her Paramount contract to not have a morals clause. 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. 1,468 Sq. Not so with Bow, who functioned on a personal contract with Schulberg. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? In 1931, one of Clara Bows best friends turned on her. Clara Bow lingers in the eye, long after the picture has gone. Clara was different in more ways than one, but nothing was as unique as her rise to stardom. Off Market. Clara Bow Career. After leaving the institution, Bow lived alone in a bungalow, which she rarely left, until her death. Goldbeck, Elisabeth. On her mother's side: a French grandmother and Scottish grandfather. 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