Jayne Mansfield was amply suited for promo during the 1950s
Jayne Mansfield, popular sex symbol of the 50s met future husband, Mickey Hargitay, a bodybuilder on stage one evening at Mae West’s popular Las Vegas revue featuring musclemen. Mansfield and Hargitay enjoyed a whirlwind romance, married, then later divorced yet the couple remained close friends throughout the remainder of Mansfield’s short life, which ended on a lonely Louisiana highway the night of June 29, 1967.
Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian bodybuilder, with Jayne Mansfield
In video footage posted on YouTube, Mickey Hargitay wistfully recalled his visit to a mortuary containing the remains of his ex-wife, Jayne Mansfield, shortly after her tragic automobile accident which killed three people. Hargitay was visibly disturbed when reliving the moment, was overcome with emotion, and struggling for the words to explain what he’d found, “I saw her the last time…it wasn’t really her anymore, you know, soul was gone, spirit was gone…it was just a machine, it wasn’t her…”
Hargitay had met Jayne Mansfield while performing at Mae West’s renowned 1950’s nightclub revue which broke Las Vegas box office records. In Mae’s typical Westian style, a collection of musclemen would cavort about the sexagenarian star, while flexing their biceps and chest muscles. It was all carefully orchestrated by the aging West to create the illusion that she was just as luscious and desirable as ever, as the men dutifully paid her homage by lustfully ogling her. West would then sing a few songs, knock off a few of her double-entendre one-liners and sashay about the stage, looking as voluptuous as a sex symbol in her mid-60s could.
Mae West’s 1950s Las Vegas act w/entourage of bodybuilders
While the bodybuilders were little more than props for West’s increasingly inflated ego, Mae’s exaggerated sense-of-self unwisely entertained the notion that Mickey Hargitay was perhaps interested in something more, namely the incomparable Mae West. Yet Hargitay happened to be looking in another direction that evening, and the object of his attention was Miss Jayne Mansfield.
In West’s inimitable egomaniacal and narcissistic manner, Mae quickly turned the page by arranging publicity about a few musclemen in her show that were battling for the elderly star’s affections, reportedly coming to blows in the process.
Mae West circa 1933 in her younger years
West was then left with her successful show minus Mickey Hargitay, and had only to reap the enormous financial rewards, not to mention several choice musclemen, in particular a bodybuilder named Chester Rybinski (aka Paul Novak). Novak, smitten with Mae West, doted on the aging star for over 26 years until her death in 1980.
Sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, some 40 years younger than West, and Hungarian bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay were soon christened “couple of the hour” by the American press, quickly married, and left the aging Mae West far, far behind. The two likely never looked back…
What motivated Carole Landis, a lovely and successful young actress, to end her life with an overdose of sleeping pills on the evening of July 4, 1948?
June 7, 1940 “Life” magazine feature, “Carole Landis Does Not Want to be ‘Ping Girl'”
CAROLE’S EARLY LIFE
Carole Landis was born Frances Ridste on January 2, 1919, in Fairchild, Wisconsin. She often reported her birthdate as January 1st because she was obsessed with holidays and tried to align important dates in her life with them, as one notes from the date of her suicide.
At the age of four, her family moved to San Bernardino, California, where her twice-divorced mother attempted to raise Carole and her siblings alone. Their family suffered a travesty on July 15, 1925, when Carole’s brother, 11-year-old Lewis was killed by an accidental gunshot wound. It was the family’s second tragedy since another son had died in 1917 by drowning, in a freak home accident where he had fallen into a laundry tub containing scalding water.
Stage-struck Carole eventually dropped out of high school at 15 to embark on a show business career. Considered “precocious” for her age, a euphemism at the time for being exceptionally well-developed, Landis set out for San Francisco, where she performed at the Royal Hawaiian nightclub, dancing the hula. After a few years Landis moved south and appeared briefly at the Rio del Mar Country Club in Santa Cruz, before heading to Hollywood in 1937. There, the natural brunette became a blonde, adopted the first name of actress, Carole Lombard, and reportedly chose the surname Landis from a phone directory. She waited for her big chance…and it eventually came.
June 7, 1940 “Life” magazineJune 7, 1940 “Life” magazine
“Screenland” magazine, September, 1943 edition with Carole on the cover
CAROLE MAKES IT BIG IN HOLLYWOOD
After three discouraging years of mediocre parts, Carole Landis got her big break in 1940 at the Hal Roach Studios when she was cast as the female lead in “One Million Years B.C.” She dominated the screen at every turn in a risqué cave-girl outfit, with co-star, male heartthrob, Victor Mature. The film was a hit and Carole was finally a star.
Carole Landis was promoted as the “Ping Girl,” hearkening back to the 1920s when Clara Bow was billed as the “It Girl,” “It” being the equivalent of “sex appeal.” Why the term, “ping?” The answer can be found in the June 17, 1940, edition of “Life” magazine where we read that Carole Landis was “the Ping Girl of America – because she makes you purr.”
Landis biographer Eric Gans wrote that “ping” was the inside Hollywood reference to the excited male member, namely, an erection, something not generally known to readers of “Life.” Landis disapproved of her studio’s “Ping Girl” marketing approach, but was clearly ignored, for the February 1, 1943, edition of “Life,” has only more of the same. Their feature “‘Ping Girl’ Weds Eagle,” celebrated Carole Landis’ third marriage to Air Force Captain Thomas Wallace with numerous lavish photographs.
By the mid-forties, Carole Landis was firmly entrenched in the 20th Century Fox roster of reliable and sexy “B actresses” but never quite seemed to make the transition to “A films,” surely a source of frustration for her. She enjoyed a not-so-flattering status in the Hollywood hierarchy at the time and an associate of Darryl F. Zanuck’s at 20th Century Fox, Milton Sperling, disparagingly referred to Carole Landis simply as their “studio hooker.”
Probably the critical event resulting in her demise occurred during the summer of 1947, when Landis had the misfortune to meet and fall in love with British actor Rex Harrison, at that time married to German actress Lilli Palmer. At some point, their romance went sour when Harrison repeatedly ignored Landis’ attempts to get him to leave his wife, so he could marry her.
Landis biographer Gans reported a confrontation between Carole Landis and Lilli Palmer at a July 1947 party given by director John Huston and wife, Evelyn Keyes. According to Keyes, Carole Landis reached into Lilli Palmer’s dress and pulled out her “falsies” which many women wore at the time to create the illusion that they were buxom. What motivated Landis to behave like that – too much alcohol, jealousy, or both? By all accounts, Carole Landis was a kind and caring person. Perhaps she was mean and vindictive underneath the Landis façade? The question may never be answered.
From June 29, 1943 “Look” magazine story on CaroleJuly, 1947 “Esquire” magazineJan. 3, 1948 British film publication
In 1945, Landis, who’d turned to the stage, befriended Jacqueline Susann, who later became a bestselling author. Jacqueline Susann’s biographer, Barbara Seaman, reported that the writer revealed that Carole “was in love with her” and that the two had a Lesbian relationship during the Broadway musical, “A Lady Says Yes.” Susann later based the suicidal Jennifer North character in her 1967 book, “Valley of the Dolls,” on her memory of Carole Landis.
Rex Harrison attended a July 4th dinner at Carole’s home but left early to meet a colleague. Landis, who’d been pressuring him to leave his wife, realized she’d failed. Overwhelmed and futile, Carole Landis took an overdose of sleeping pills that night. She’d penned a suicide note to her mother and allegedly, a second to Rex Harrison. There were also rumors of a Landis personal diary and cache of love letters, all of which mysteriously disappeared, along with Harrison’s note.
During a coroner’s investigation, Rex Harrison stated that Carole Landis had been nothing more than a friend to him. It was the era when a scandal could ruin a career and he was instinctively protecting himself.
Thus ended the life of young Carole Landis. Her choice of men had been deadly, so Carole Landis decided she’d had enough. She left our world, early morning, July 5, 1948, hours after making that fateful decision to take a fatal overdose.
Romance can take an ugly turn, and the results can be deadly. Just take a beautiful actress like Lana Turner, her sexy underworld boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, toss in the actress’ teenage daughter…and it all adds up to a high-profile murder trial! What reallyhappened though that tragic evening of April 4th, 1958?
Ironically, the evening of April 4, 1958, was Good Friday, but it was not a very good one for Lana Turner, her 14-year-old daughter Cheryl, as well as a dubious character known as Johnny Stompanato who ended up stabbed to death. Stompanato was a notorious gigolo who loved spending the money of wealthy women and who also had shady connections with the underworld, like his former employer, gangster Mickey Cohen.
WITH MOTHER & FATHER, STEPHEN CRANELANA WITH YOUNG CHERYL CRANE
A brief background on Lana Turner – she was born Julia Jean Turner in Wallace, Idaho on February 8th either in 1920 or 21 depending on which source is used. At the age of six, her family relocated to San Francisco, after which her parents separated. Tragically, Lana’s father was found murdered in San Francisco on December 14, 1930, after a gambling match and his murder was never solved. In 1936, Lana and her mother moved to Los Angeles, where Lana’s voluptuous figure attracted the attention of a Hollywood talent scout, not at Schwab’s Drugstore as the often-told story goes, but at another popular spot.
Turner’s film career was then off to a start at the Warner Brothers studio, where director Mervyn LeRoy, her mentor, gave her the stage name, Lana Turner. LeRoy gave her a small part in his 1937 film called “They Won’t Forget,” and peopledidn’t forget because Lana wore the tight sweater which Mervyn LeRoy had wisely chosen for her in a truly unforgettable fashion. From that point on, she was known to moviegoers everywhere as “The Sweater Girl.” Both Turner and director LeRoy eventually moved to MGM, where Lana went on to become a top star – much to the surprise of Jack Warner who had foolishly let her slip away.
Lana Turner in “They Won’t Forget” – the Sweater Girl was born
Lana Turner, by most accounts, was an avid partier, as well as a passionate lover. Perhaps the culmination of Lana’s 7 husbands and many affairs, was her short-lived relationship from 1957 to 58 with the off-color character, Johnny Stompanato, who once worked for Mickey Cohen. Their relationship climaxed with Stompanato’s death on April 4, 1958, at the hands of Lana’s young daughter, Cheryl Crane, who later went on trial for murder.
In a court, it was established that Cheryl had witnessed Stompanato beating and threatening her mother on several occasions. During the last of the couple’s violent arguments, the 14-year-old had burst into their bedroom and then drove a kitchen knife directly into Johnny Stompanato’s gut, causing an almost instantaneous death. “I swear it was so fast,” Lana said on the witness stand, “I – I truthfully thought she had hit him in the stomach.”
Teenage Cheryl with Johnny Stompanato
The murder trial received extensive coverage, and Mickey Cohen himself had somehow acquired Lana’s lurid love letters to Stompanato and subsequently released them to the press. It was a made-to-order scandal, and the media relished every moment. The jury ultimately acquitted Cheryl on the grounds that it was a justifiable homicide. After all, it was noted, she was only protecting her mother’s life from a known thug with a well-documented history of violence.
A quick look at some press from that era – from the July 1958 edition of the Canadian magazine, “Liberty.” In an article entitled “Tragic lives and loves of Lana Turner,” Bob Willett told of an unexpected outburst at the coroner’s hearing. Willett wrote, “But as in a movie melodrama, a man in the courtroom leaped up to scream: ‘This whole thing’s a pack of lies. Johnny Stompanato was my friend. The daughter was in love with him, and he was killed because of jealousy between mother and daughter! Johnny Stompanato was a gentleman!’” With those words, the unnamed man fled from the courtroom.
Young Cheryl Crane in custody after the Good Friday murder
The knife in question is held up while Lana nervously looks on
And from the March 1960 “Modern Screen” magazine, gossip queen Louella Parsons, darling of the Hearst newspaper chain, made it perfectly clear that Lana Turner had moved on from the Stompanato affair, when she quoted Turner saying, “You know perhaps better than anyone that I used to live as well as work in a make-believe world. I didn’t particularly want to face reality. My trouble was that I existed in a sort of fairyland, believing that everything and everyone was good and never realizing that this beautiful dream world was surrounded by a deep and dreadful jungle.”
Eventually, a large amount of positive upbeat press drowned out all the negative publicity that Lana Turner had received, and she went on to even greater film success, as with 1959’s “Imitation of Life.” Sadly, she passed away on June 29, 1995, due to complications from cancer.
The love letters that were not easy to explain (as well as the photograph, saying “For Juanito, my love and my life- Lanita”
Who was the real Joan Crawford – larger than life superstar actress, evil witch of a mother, or maybe just a fascinating study in human psychology?
I located a rare copy of “Redbook” magazine from October 1960, featuring “The Revolt of Joan Crawford’s Daughter.” Reporter Morton Golding thoroughly documents the strained relationship of mother and eldest adopted daughter through interviews with Joan and Christina Crawford, as well as the people closest to them.
From July 1931 “Screenland” magazine“Our Dancing Daughters” MGM 1928
From November 1937 “Movie Mirror” magazine
Communication at the dysfunctional Crawford home had broken down to the point that Joan and Christina, as well as adopted son Christopher, were barely speaking, and the actress had disinherited the two older children, leaving her estate to younger adopted twins Cathy and Cynthia. Christina Crawford ultimately had the last word when she retaliated with her vindictive memoir “Mommie Dearest,” published after Joan Crawford’s death on May 10th, 1977, when the actress was no longer able to defend herself.
In 1981, the Paramount film of the same name as the book was released and the Joan Crawford brouhaha increased exponentially. After all, Paramount had just weighed in on the matter, so people assumed the book’s allegations must be true! “Mommie Dearest,” that horrible phrase which Crawford purportedly insisted her children use to address her, became the basis for an endless series of jokes. Wire coat hanger references began popping up everywhere, inspired by the account in the book where Joan screamed at frightened little Christina to never use such hangers for her frilly dresses. Everyone jumped onto the “Mommie Dearest” bandwagon and there was even a cocktail lounge in my hometown of Indianapolis that offered the “Joan Crawford Cocktail” which sported a wire coat hanger swizzle stick.
Schafer pix “They All Kissed the Bride” Columbia ’42Hurrell pix from Jan. ’33 “Photoplay” magazine Adrian design from Jan. 1937 “Photoplay” magazine
From January 1937 “Photoplay” magazine (designer Adrian did Crawford’s wardrobe)
Author Morton Golding asks at the beginning of his 1960 article “Where did their relationship go wrong?” He continues “For the conflict between Joan Crawford and Christina has reached such intensity that when interviewed, mother and daughter often give completely contradictory versions of the same events.” The writer goes on to cite some examples, such as when daughter Christina recalled the family’s three-month trip through Europe after Joan’s marriage to businessman Alfred Steele as a “wonderful experience.” Golding then quotes Joan Crawford describing the same period as a “miserable time.” He writes on, “Christina, she felt, intruded on her privacy with her new husband and allowed them no time together. Mr. Steele too, the actress says, was not enchanted by the continual presence of a 16-year-old girl.”
Morton Golding goes on to relate the unfortunate experience the family had at Chadwick School, south of Los Angeles in Rolling Hills, California where the children of many celebrities attended. Christina recalled that she was thriving at the school, adored Joseph and Margaret Chadwick, the couple that ran the school, and that she was abruptly withdrawn by her mother and sent to the Flintridge Sacred Heart Catholic Academy with no warning.
Joan Crawford, Golding writes, maintained that Christina had been expelled from Chadwick School for a reason she could not disclose, that the Chadwicks had nothing but trouble with her daughter, and that no other school would accept her, save the Flintridge Sacred Heart Catholic Academy.
Strangely, when Morton Golding attempted to verify with the Chadwicks what had really happened, he received a telegram which read “From experience with Christina’s mother, we consider it unwise to involve Chadwick by making any public comment. Very sorry. Margaret Lee Chadwick.”
July 1931 “Screenland” perfume adJanuary 1934 “Photoplay”
From July 1935 “Photoplay” magazine
After Christina left Chadwick School, her mother forbade her to contact Joseph and Margaret Chadwick, however Christina did not heed the warning and in February 1956 went to visit the couple. Unfortunately for her, Joan Crawford found out and this resulted in Christina’s “punishment.” Not one member of her family was present at her high school graduation from the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in June 1956. “I was the only person in my entire graduating class with no relative at the graduation,” Christina stated. Joan Crawford’s response to this was, “She wanted to be on her own, so I let her.”
Ultimately, one line from “The Revolt of Joan Crawford’s Daughter” stood out in my mind. Morton Golding quotes Joan Crawford as saying of her relationship with eldest adopted daughter, Christina, “It has been 18 years of disappointment.”
What kind of a mother says that about a child? Is it no wonder that same child opted to strike back after her mother died, when she thought it could do the most damage?
Everyone must form their own opinion from this article, as I certainly have. I personally feel that Joan Crawford didn’t have to be the perfectparent, though, because she was the perfect actress, who was not only a great silent star, but also hit the top in the world of talkies. That’s no easy task!
“Sudden Fear” RKO 1952“Humoresque” Warner Bros. 1946
Photo by Engstead from “Straight-Jacket” Columbia 1964
On June 7, 1937, at the young age of 26, 1930’s sex symbol Jean Harlow died suddenly. There’s an often-heard version of the story blaming Harlow’s mother, whose Christian Science religion it’s said prevented daughter Jean from seeking the medical treatment which might have saved her.
Christian Science, the religion developed by spiritualist & medium Mary Baker Eddy, discourages the use of medicine, physicians, and hospitals. Its followers believe that Eddy’s 1875 book called “Science and Health,” provides the necessary information to treat all sicknesses including the uremic poisoning which took the life of lovely young Jean Harlow.
Yet Christian Science apparently played no part in what happened, for Jean Harlow was under a doctor’s care when she died at Los Angeles Good Samaritan Hospital, just before noon, June 7, 1937. It’s much more likely that catching scarlet fever at age fifteen as well as frequent bouts with influenza were responsible for Harlow’s tragic, untimely death.
In 1930, just seven years before, Jean Harlow with her famous platinum blonde locks had burst onto the Hollywood scene in the Howard Hughes film “Hell’s Angels.” The 1930 film can be seen in its entirety on YouTube and is where Harlow made famous her sultry blonde bombshell persona, that wisecracking, sassy “bad girl” next door.
There was another 1930’s blonde bombshell on the horizon, namely Mae West, but Jean Harlow had a different style. Mae West was clearly an exaggeration of sex, bombastically sashaying about the screen, hurling out sexy dialogue. Jean Harlow, by comparison, was a more subtle understatement, a sexual poetry in motion, undulating from scene to scene in slinky, revealing gowns which showed off her copious assets. Filmgoers’ eyes were invariably glued to the screen, watching breathlessly as Harlow masterfully fashioned every scene to fit her signature titillating style.
with actors Clark Gable and Richard Barthelmess
With her lush platinum hair, Jean Harlow was radiantly beautiful, her acting stellar, her comedic timing impeccable! An adoring public eagerly lapped up the bad girl image she created, and Harlow was featured in a succession of starring roles with actors like Clark Gable, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy.
Sometime during 1930, Jean Harlow met German-born director & producer Paul Bern, who became instrumental in guiding her career. They announced their engagement in June 1932 and on July 2nd that same year, they were married. Soon after, on September 5th, Paul Bern unexpectedly committed suicide. He left a note, though its authenticity is debated by some.
The suicide note said – “Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done to you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you. Paul You understand that last night was only a comedy”
HARLOW WITH HUSBAND PAUL BERN
WITH JAMES CAGNEYWITH HARPO MARX
With the scandal-ridden decade of the 1920s still fresh in everyone’s mind, although the investigative authorities accepted that Harlow’s husband had killed himself, other theories quickly emerged. Paul Bern’s studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was suggested, covered up what was really a murder, wanting to avoid the ruin of leading star Jean Harlow’s successful career. Some thought that the possible assailant was none other than Paul Bern’s common-law wife, Dorothy Millette, who just happened to be found dead a few days after Bern, also from suicide. Hollywood folklore has it that Paul Bern suffered from impotence, and it was to this unfortunate malady the suicide note pointed with his phrase ‘my abject humiliation.’
HARLOW’S HAIR WAS THE RESULT OF BLEACH, AMMONIA & LUX SOAP FLAKES!!!
A coroner’s inquest was held, and friends of the deceased claimed that he often talked of suicide. According to an SF GATE article by reporter Katie Dowd, Paul Bern’s physician, Dr. Howard P. Jones, testified that he knew the reason for his suicide but would not divulge it to the public. This naturally led some to speculate that perhaps there was an illness involved and that his suicide had been planned. After all, that might explain why Jean Harlow had spent that very night with her mother.
WITH LIONEL BARRYMOREW/GLORIA SWANSON, MARION DAVIES & CONSTANCE BENNETT
In her 1944 book, “The Gay Illiterate,” columnist Louella Parsons likely provided the answer. She was one of the original gossip queens of Hollywood even pre-dating darling Hedda Hopper of hideous hat fame. Parsons knew Jean Harlow well and wrote of her intense love for actor William Powell, whom she wished to marry. Husband Paul Bern might have found out about it and became even more depressed. To further complicate matters, though not commonly known at the time, Bern had never divorced his first wife, Dorothy Millette. It all might have become just too much for him to bear!
ACTOR WILLIAM POWELL, WITH WHOM JEAN HARLOW WAS IN LOVE
Harlow wisely kept quiet during the inquest affair. Her acting career did not fall victim to any scandal and from Bern’s death on July 5, 1932, until her own on June 7, 1937, she achieved her greatest popularity. Following Jean Harlow’s death, Louis B. Mayer toyed with the idea of recasting a different actress to finish her final film, “Saratoga.” Loyal fans felt otherwise, and a flood of letters directed to Mayer at MGM changed his mind. Ultimately, through the clever use of doubles and rewriting of scenes, the remaining footage was shot, the film released, and 1937’s “Saratoga” became the highest grossing film of 1930s sex symbol Jean Harlow’s career.
WITH CLARK GABLE
SYLVIA WAS A BEAUTY CONSULTANT IN HOLLYWOOD DURING THAT ERA
Clara Bow (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was one of the sexiest ladies to ever grace the Hollywood screen yet was also one of the most troubled. Bow’s career flourished in the 1920s, then waned with the coming of sound owing to her fragile mental health. For more detailed information about her life, Wikipedia has an excellent account (please support Wikipedia with a gift today), and author David Stenn also wrote an impressive 1988 biography entitled Runnin’ Wild, available on Amazon.
“Runnin’ Wild” by David Stenn
Clara Bow’s name was often used synonymously with the term “It” coined by British author, Elinor Glyn, a popular writer during the early 20th Century. Glyn was best known for fiction like 1905’s Red Hair, eventually made into a 1928 film starring Clara Bow. Another was 1906’s Beyond the Rocks, which later became a successful 1922 film with Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. The author was also popular for non-fiction like 1923’s The Philosophy of Love and 1925’s This Passion Called Love, which offered readers the unique perspectives of Madame Glyn (as she is often called) on the world of romance.
Somewhere along her journey, Elinor Glyn came up with the idea of an “animal magnetism” she was certain was the driving force behind nature. In The Philosophy of Love, Glyn writes in the chapter called Advice to Plain Girls – “In all my books I call this thing ‘It,’ as I have already explained to you. A person has, or has not, ‘It’! And ‘It,’ alas! does not depend upon character, or goodness, or any of the higher virtues.” And a bit further down the page she babbles on… “A woman or man with ‘It’ requires no advice from me! Nature has equipped them with all that is necessary to insure (sic) love’s awakening, and it depends upon their own pleasure generally as to how long the passion lasts.”
“The Philosophy of Love” 1923From1925‘s “This Passion Called Love”With Valentino in 1922Hard at work on “Three Weeks”Early sound short about “It”
Thus, was born the Glynian concept of “It.” The author went on to proclaim that none other than silent screen star Clara Bow had that exceptional quality. Paramount loved Glyn’s proclamation and turned the entire affair into a 1927 film called “It” with Bow in the leading role. The actress who was now at the height of her fame, starred later that year in the popular film “Wings” with Richard Arlen and Buddy Rogers.
By most accounts, Clara Bow’s unhappy childhood was responsible for her sudden demise. Her troubled past included a mother that had been committed to a sanitarium which was the euphemism at that time for a psychiatric ward, as well as a father who was reported to have repeatedly abused her. It was no big surprise then when Clara began to suffer symptoms of instability during the late 1920s.
With Buddy Rogers in “Wings”Won first Best Picture Oscar
Things only grew worse with the appearance of “talking pictures” since she did not like the restrictions on action necessitated by use of the cumbersome early sound booths. After making a just a few films, Clara Bow retired from the screen and married actor Rex Bell. The couple moved to his ranch in Nevada and when MGM later offered her the leading role in 1932’s “Red Headed Woman,” she initially accepted, then backed out after Irving Thalberg insisted upon the long-term contract that Jean Harlow was more than happy to accept.
Western Star Rex Bell
With Norman Trevor in “Dancing Mothers” 1926w/Gilbert Roland & Donald Keith in “Plastic Age” 1925
With Eddie Cantor in “Kid Boots” 1926
As Clara Bow aged, her psychological problems worsened. When husband, Rex Bell, unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1944, she attempted suicide, citing her disdain for being in the public eye in a suicide note. Later in the decade she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in an institution undergoing electroshock therapy, often used in tandem during that era with ice baths and insulin shock.
During the 1950s, Rex Bell ultimately yielded to his affinity for politics and served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of Nevada from 1955 until his death in 1962. During that time, the couple began to spend more and more time apart, and Clara, whose physical health was now failing had begun to reside separately in Culver City, California.
Clara Bow, famous sex symbol of the 1920s, died of a heart attack on September 27, 1965, at the age of 60.
Precious little has generated the intense scrutiny like the murder of silent screen director William Desmond Taylor over one century ago in Hollywood, on February 1st, 1922. Fate reared its ugly head that evening and delivered a lethal blow to director Taylor by an “unknown assailant,” so we are told.
What many people don’t realize is that in 1964 there was a deathbed confession to Taylor’s murder by silent screen actress Margaret Gibson, who also went by the stage name of Patricia Palmer. She had worked closely with Taylor during the early silent era.
Margaret Gibson, aka Patricia Palmer
William Desmond Taylor
Clearly, the two were romantically entangled at one point, as had Taylor been with countless other young starlets. His reputation as a lothario was cemented in stone, as was his proclivity for dumping said actresses after tiring of them or should they end up “with child,” as was said back in the day. Taylor was infamous for such antics and had previously deserted his wife and young daughter in favor of greener pastures, showing little remorse. Oh, the wonderful world of men!
Margaret Gibson & Wm. Desmond Taylor in “The Kiss” 1914 Vitagraph
Yet some people never forget treachery, and Margaret Gibson was one such individual. She extracted her revenge on William Desmond Taylor February 1st, 1922, shooting and fatally wounding him. Decades later, on her deathbed, Margaret Gibson, recently converted to Roman Catholicism, felt contrition, and confessed. Her admission should not be taken lightly.
Miss Gibson suffered a fatal heart attack on October 21, 1964 and made the deathbed confession to a neighbor, after it was clear that there was not time for a Roman Catholic priest to get there to give the last rites. She freely admitted she was responsible for Taylor’s murder in 1922.
Gibson’s conscience, apparently clear, allowed the former actress to move on to the next world, however her neighbor felt compelled to relate what had transpired between them. Thus, the mystery that had weighed so heavily on people’s minds for decades was finally solved.
Charlotte ShelbyMary Miles Minter
The name often brought up in connection with this “unsolved” murder is everyone’s favorite punching bag, Charlotte Shelby, mother of actress Mary Miles Minter. Mrs. Shelby is frequently portrayed as the quintessentially evil stage mother who was so incredibly protective of her daughter that she would commit something as heinous as murder, knowing full well that it would lead to scandal and the ostracization of her daughter in Hollywood.
Unlikely at best, this writer says. Charlotte Shelby was much too savvy to fall victim to that ruse. She had just lived through the September 1921 Fatty Arbuckle scandal and knew exactly what would happen to her daughter should she rock the publicity boat with any off-color shenanigans. Incidentally, that is exactly what ensued – Mary Miles Minter’s career never rebounded and she died decades later in obscurity.
Mabel Normand
Occasionally, comedienne Mabel Normand, whose career was also ruined by the Taylor affair is brought up as a possible suspect since she was one of the last people to see the director alive the evening of January 31st. Normand’s connection with Taylor was ultimately determined to be nothing more than an innocuous friendship.
William Desmond Taylor’s cook and valet, Henry Peavey, is sometimes named as the person responsible for the murder, as is the man who held that same position in the Taylor household prior to Peavey, Edward F. Sands (aka Edward Fitzgerald Snyder, aka Edward Fitzwilliam Strathmore). Neither of these two men were ever found to be connected beyond a reasonable doubt to the Taylor’s death.
In my opinion, the William Desmond Taylor murder case has been solved. Not only was there a deathbed confession by Margaret Gibson, also known as Patricia Palmer, such confessions carry a great deal of weight in legal circles – ask any lawyer or judge.
Anyone who knows Hollywood history has heard the sad story of comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. His dramatic fall from grace in September 1921, from the heights of silent comedy success to the depths of despair, became one of the first highly publicized Hollywood scandals.
Arbuckle had achieved immense stardom working in silent films, often in tandem with fellow comedian and close friend, Buster Keaton. His films were wildly popular and his salary among the highest of any star of that era. Along the way, Fatty met and married the lovely young actress, Minta Durfee, though they had separated shortly before that fateful day, September 5, 1921.
Arbuckle fell victim to one of life’s cruelest blows, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and managed to become entangled in the definitive scandal of the year. It was a horrible twist of fate that night…
September 5th, 1921, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco
One unfortunate late summer day, Fatty Arbuckle checked into suites 1219, 1220 and 1221 for what he thought would be a well-deserved weekend of relaxation. What followed came to be known as the “Fatty Arbuckle Affair,” would quickly ruin his career and eventually bankrupt him.
Being at the top of the Hollywood heap came with a lot of work. Fatty had just completed several films, was exhausted from the grueling schedule, and needed some rest. Yet, success also affords a star a certain degree of privilege, something surely on Fatty’s mind when he had a friend acquire some bootleg “hooch.” Like most Americans, except for the WCTU – Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the comedy superstar conveniently forgot the recently passed National Prohibition or Volstead Act.
A party ensued, and at that affair was a young woman named Virginia Rappé. As the record states, Miss Rappé, who by varying accounts was either an aspiring starlet or a professional escort, took violently ill. According to reports from witnesses in the Arbuckle suites, she was initially found in the bathroom huddled over a toilet bowl, later transferred to Fatty’s bed, then reportedly dunked in a bathtub full of ice to “cool her off.” Miss Rappé was eventually taken to a local hospital, where she soon succumbed to her malaise. Her autopsy and the subsequent death certificate determined that peritonitis was the cause of death, exacerbated by a ruptured bladder.
One Maude Delmont, a significantly older woman who had accompanied Miss Rappé to the St. Francis, later claimed that Fatty Arbuckle had “violated” her friend, causing said injuries. As star witness for the prosecution, Delmont was later determined to be of such questionable character that she was never called to testify at any of the three Arbuckle trials.
Media speculation about Virginia Rappé and Maude Delmont was rampant with accusations and conjecture, like Miss Rappé’s alleged history of promiscuity, venereal disease, and illegal abortions. Another favorite subject of media blabber was Miss Delmont’s lurid arrest history, reportedly for extortion and running a house of ill repute (buzz word of the day for madame).
For all the intricacies of the Arbuckle affair and its series of three courtroom dramas, please refer to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, for a remarkably precise account. There is a wealth of information available from other sources, as well.
Ultimately, Fatty Arbuckle, despite the allegations made by Maude Delmont, was found not guilty by a jury of his peers, which also took the unprecedented step of issuing a formal apology to the defendant.
Yet after the affair, Fatty’s career was a total disaster. Estranged wife, Minta Durfee, with whom he had reconciled and who stood loyally by his side throughout the trial, divorced him in 1925. Fatty eventually remarried but his friends, other than Buster Keaton, were conspicuously absent.
Mercifully, the end was quick. On June 29, 1933, Fatty died in his sleep from a massive heart attack. In the weeks before his death, his future was looking brighter, and he had a contract with Warner Brothers for a feature length film. He had also just celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary with Addie McPhail.
Completely unaware of what his final verdict from history would be, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle left behind a treasure trove of comedies like 1917’s “The Butcher Boy,” and 1918’s “The Cook.” Both comic masterpieces can be found on YouTube.
My travels through the media age began decades ago in rural Indianapolis. We lived at 96th Street & Haverstick Road and were so far out we didn’t even have a street address. Our mailman delivered to a rural route, in this instance to RR14, Box 358R. In our living room perched upon a brass stand was a simple black & white television with rabbit ears that required continual adjustment. It was 1959.
In the family kitchen was a black wall phone, hardwired into the wall by Indiana Bell, as everything was back then before the divestiture of AT&T. It was the shared “party line” of my youth. Our phone number was VI (for Victor) 6-2342. VI was called an “exchange,” and you could always tell what part of the city a person came from when you knew it. I shall never forget that shrill ring! Two shorts followed by one long notified my family of an incoming call while one long followed by two shorts, signaled my aunt and uncle living one block away to respond.
Fast-forward 64 years to 2023 and here I am faced with a world of internet, smartphones, and social media. The journey has been a long one, and especially troublesome for someone my age. In a sense, I am still that young child living at RR14, Box 358R at 96th Street & Haverstick Road in Indianapolis, in 1959.
So, here’s my travelogue over the past decade:
Facebook profile photo, 2014
My journey began in 2014 when I first was introduced to Facebook. I posted a profile, a picture of myself, let people know my username, then sat back and watched…and waited. Unsure how to proceed, I looked to other Facebook pages which didn’t help much. Later, I decided to post a video of an 86-year-old friend marching in a parade with his American Legion chapter. It was about the only thing I posted for a long time, but I’m an introvert living in the past and I really don’t like keeping an online diary.
The late Robert C. Potter, member of San Francisco Alexander Hamilton Post #448 of the American Legion
In 2015, Twitter was the next part of my adventure. The instructor of a network security class I was enrolled in requested that everyone get an account, so I dutifully complied. Students all subscribed to various Twitter feeds from users that published network security data. Some of the information was quite helpful, but there was that “click bait,” some rogue individual hoping to garner a huge following by spewing a lot of controversy. Regrettably, I encountered that a lot. Oh, well…
Instagram/YouTube profile photo
My travels led me next to Instagram, which I began experimenting with in 2019. I found this to be the easiest for me to use since photography was already a hobby of mine. I tried to find my voice, even made some reels (short videos in Instagram lingo) and I kind of did, I guess? Suffice it to say I’ve got some rather interesting followers. Check out @keiths.theatre on Instagram. Better yet, check out some of my followers!
Someone suggested Pinterest, so I stepped right up, not knowing anything about it. I still don’t get it. Could someone please explain what it’s about? Categories?
By then, I’d traveled all the way to YouTube, the most intimidating of all social media. I diligently studied popular channels, then took a flurry of Skillshare classes about making YouTube videos. Finally, time to jump in the water since I had probably learned enough not to sink, right?
Obviously, I didn’t sink, but what did I learn?
One’s channel must fill a niche and a person needs to stay in the channel’s designated lane. A cooking channel should not tackle fashion commentary or an analysis of international politics. If one must depart radically from the subject matter of an established channel, then time to start a new one. Also, shorter videos are infinitely better than longer ones. I discovered that producing YouTube content is a lot of hard work, and running a successful channel is not for the faint of heart.
Hard work, yes, but I learned videomaking & editing, how to cook, how to replace the worn-out cords on my venetian blinds, as well as all about geriatric medical issues I face. There are countless old television shows and movies to watch, as well. What a perfect way to help me to recreate the era I’ve never progressed past, the Eisenhower era. Will I ever move on? Probably not!
This entire ordeal was exhausting, so it will be a while before I plan the itinerary for my journey to the magical world of TikTok…
Bert Eibner was born July 18, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland and died on February 2, 2023, at his home in San Francisco. He and I shared a friendship that spanned nearly 30 years and I will be mourning his loss for a very long time.
Bert had a life that some people would consider nothing out of the ordinary, but to me, he was more than that – he was extraordinary, larger than life because he really knew how to live life. Bert loved life as well as people, and people loved Bert! People always gravitated to him and incidentally, so did pets. Dogs and cats would always rush up, dogs wagging their tails and cats purring contentedly.
It all started with an unexpected birth at home, and the premature twins caught wife Marcella Eibner and husband Albert Otto Eibner, Sr. quite by surprise. Barely 3 pounds, young Albert Otto Eibner, Jr. (Bert) and James (Jimmy) spent the first few months of their life in an incubator. In 1951, it was phenomenal that a set of twins born prematurely survived, let alone when it happened at home! Yet survive they did. The infants did quite well for their first few months, then sadly, little Jimmy fell ill at the age of 3 months and succumbed. Yet, going against all the odds of being born prematurely in that era, young Bert continued to thrive and went on to become a bright, outgoing, inquisitive, and often mischievous youngster.
Young Bert Eibner with his family in Baltimore, Maryl
Young Bert Eibner attended parochial schools in Baltimore, where he developed, like his father before him, that classic Eibner sense of humor. He loved to crack jokes and get people laughing. It naturally followed, of course, that anything potentially distressing coming in his direction would be instantly shot down with one of Bert’s hilarious quips. People loved and admired this rare ability.
Bert, hamming it up for the camera, holding his mother, Marcella Eibner.
A more mature Bert eventually graduated from Calvert Hall High School in 1969. He went on to receive an Associate of Arts degree in Art from Community College in Baltimore, decided to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, and moved to the West Coast.
“I arrived in San Francisco in January 1976, and it was then that my life really began,” he always loved to tell people. Bert quickly found a position as a customer service representative at Pacific Bell. It was a lucrative union job with excellent benefits, and he worked there until his retirement in 2009. Bert found the time to pursue painting and loved working with acrylics, leaving behind many canvases for his survivors to treasure.
Bert with John Waters film star, Edith Massey, in Baltimore. Right, Bert in a crowd scene from the John Waters film “Female Trouble.”
Bert in costume for Halloween, 1999 Bert Eibner & longtime friend, Keith Warren, in front of Golden Gate Bridge
The beginning of the end started in spring 2020, when Bert’s medical issues began compounding. Trips to the hospital were becoming more frequent and sensing there wasn’t much time left, he had begun to become philosophical about life. As we traveled together in a taxi to the hospital one day, a question he asked caught me completely off-guard. “Why do you suppose that I survived back in 1951 and my brother Jimmy didn’t?” I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just shrugged. I think at that point we both knew what was coming.
Eventually, Bert accepted his failing health, possibly aware that we all eventually share the same destiny…like a clock that begins moving backwards. “It’s just birth, only in reverse,” he joked. He always loved to cheer people up when things got gloomy, and I will always remember that.
The end eventually came for him and when it did, family and friends were by his side. Bert Eibner crossed over peacefully and I’m sure that heaven is now a much cheerier place.
Joking right up until the end with friends John Poe and Dennis Edwards.
