Marion Davies (Marion Cecilia Douras, 1897-1961) by Ira L. Hill (1876-1947).
She first appeared on Broadway in Charles Dillingham’s CHIN CHIN (1914) as a member of the Ensemble. After a named role in NOBODY HOME (1915), she returned to the chorus for Dillingham’s MISS INFORMATION (1915), then another named part in STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! (1915-16). She had finally arrived, joining the 1916 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES with Ina Claire and Fanny Brice.
Photo by Ruth Harriet Louise, MGM’s chief portrait photographer 1925-30.
Legend has it that Marion Davies met William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) during the run of the 1916 FOLLIES; in the latter half of the decade Hearst took firm control of her career. More than three decades her senior, the heir to great wealth who had gone on to make even more, he had ample confidence in his own judgment as he wagered several fortunes on this lovely, stammering beauty — a mimic and a comedian, whom Hearst wished to mold into another one of those stately Ziegfeld dolls.
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