Photo attributed to George Hurrell (1904-1992), Ruth Harriet Louise’s successor at MGM
I think this photo shows Marion Davies at the beach house she shared with William Randolph Hearst in Santa Monica — when they weren’t staying at (and entertaining in) one of a half dozen other residences.
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.
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
5. (John) Conrad Nagel (1897-1970) of the Actors Branch, fourth president of the Academy, 1932-33. The photo is by Ruth Harriet Louise.
In 1940, Nagel shared a special Academy Award with three others (including Jean Hersholt) for services to the motion picture industry. He also hosted three Academy Awards presentations: comparatively small industry events in 1930 and 1932, and (with Bob Hope) the first televised version, in 1953.
A publicity photo of Mae Murray (Marie Adelaide Koenig, 1885-1965) by Ruth Harriet Louise (Ruth Goldstein, 1903-1940), MGM’s chief portrait photographer 1925-30
Mae Murray appeared in the 1908 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES as a member of the chorus (“Brinkley Girl” and a member of the “Bowery Group”); by 1915 she was (probably) a featured star in the “Blue Follies.”
With Francis X. Bushman (1883-1966) in THE MASKED BRIDE
Her career in Hollywood has eclipsed her Broadway period, since she became internationally famous as a film star, “The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips.” Her glamour was intense, although, in retrospect, sadly brief — after a lengthy period of apprenticeship (she made her Broadway début in 1906 in Lew M. Fields’s ABOUT TOWN; her first film was TO HAVE AND TO HOLD in 1916), she reached the apex of fame with THE MERRY WIDOW and THE MASKED BRIDE (both 1925).
Her 1926 marriage to (Prince) David Mdivani (1904-1984) proved ruinous. One of the “Marrying Mdivanis” — the second M was silent — he was only notionally a prince; it is fairer to say he was an Olympic-class gigolo, one of several siblings who specialized in marrying for money and fame.
Mae Murray’s later life was a sad one — her hard-won diva laurels provided no cushion for a series of hard knocks.
