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.
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.”
“Three Weeks”
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.
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.
“Dancing Mothers” 1926
in “Plastic Age” 1925
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.
