Description
The papers consist of accounting and financial information for most of Davies's later films and correspondence files from
the 1950s. There is also information about Davies's business dealings, as well as her relationship with the Hearst organization
after Hearst's death. The photograph series consists of glass slides, nitrate negatives, and prints of biography photographs.
Background
Marion Davies (1897-1961) was born Marion Cecilia Douras in Brooklyn, New York, and began appearing on stage in 1913. By 1915
she was a well-known chorus girl appearing in numerous revues. That year she met William Randolph Hearst, and they began an
affair that lasted until his death in 1951. In 1917 Davies made her first film, RUNAWAY ROMANY, and from then on her films
were made by Cosmopolitan Pictures—Hearst's company—for release through Paramount, MGM, and finally Warner Bros. Among her
best-known films were WHEN KINGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER (1922), THE PATSY (1928), SHOW PEOPLE (1928), and POLY OF THE CIRCUS (1932).
Her last film was EVER SINCE EVE (1937). Davies was renowned as a hostess and gave memorable parties at the Hearst estate
in San Simeon, as well as at her Santa Monica beach house. After her retirement, she became deeply involved with many charities,
supporting a free children's clinic for many years. She married a seaman, Captain Horace Brown, several months after Hearst's
death.
Restrictions
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