Clara Bow

 

 

 

 

Childhood

 

 

           On July 29th 1905, the "It" girl of the 1920's, Clara Gordon Bow was born. She was raised in the poverty of Brooklyn, New York. Kids didn’t like Clara, and her best friend Johnny burned to death in her arms when she was only ten. She was then able to cry on cue when she would sing or hear the lullaby "Rock-A-Bye Baby" because she said it reminded her of her best friend. Clara grew up in a violent home. Her mother attempted to slit Clara's throat when she tried entering the film industry. When Clara was young she expressed an interest in being a film actress, Clara's mother stood over her bed with a knife and told her she was going to kill Clara. Clara did get away from her troubled childhood by going to see moving pictures. She would often imitate her idols in front of her mirror.

 

 

 

Superstar

 

           Clara then launched her movie career by winning a photo beauty contest. She was then brought to Hollywood by B.P Schulberg who worked her like a dog, but paid her not even half as much as all the other big names at the time. The movie "It", which came out in 1927, was the film that defined her career, and followed 58 films she appeared in from 1922 to 1933.This movie did a lot of change to the society. Clara was giving off this sense of rebellion in the film and was presenting that sex meant having a good time. The talented Clara became the first sex symbol in Hollywood and a superstar, but never flaunted her wealth; she was then destined to become the Flapper of the 1920's. Clara never hid anything; she later admitted that she was schizophrenic like her mother. She loved to tell dirty jokes at parties. She has many public affairs such as Victor Fleming, Gary Cooper, and Gilbert Roland. This behavior horrified her peers, and eventually she was driven out of Hollywood. Many nasty rumors about her sexuality floated around the movie colony, including the one about her taking on the entire USC Football Team one night. Her fans probably wouldn't have minded her blue collar Brooklyn accent, since most of them were working class girls themselves, but Clara got herself so worked up with mike fright she had breakdowns during her first talkies. Before she could recover from this, she ended up in court with her private life splashed all over the papers.. Her secretary and best friend, Daisy De Voe, was caught embezzling from her. When Clara took Daisy to court, Daisy told the court and press uncensored details of Clara's sex life, along with lots of exaggeration, which the press automatically printed and believed. The scandal ruined Clara. She had another more serious breakdown and had to recover in a sanatorium. Soon after she retired for good, and moved to Nevada with her new husband, the cowboy actor Rex Bell. She raised two sons, all the while battling her mental illness, and died on September 27, 1965 from a heart attack.

 

 

 

 

 

Quotes

The more I see of men, the more I like dogs.

 

A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt and bewildered.~

 

 

Clara Bow Films

 

1.       Screen Snapshots 1860: Howdy, Podner (1949) .... Clara Bow - Resort Guest

2.       Hoop-La (1933) .... Lou

3.       Call Her Savage (1932) .... Nasa Springer

4.       Kick In (1931) .... Molly Hewes

5.       No Limit (1931) .... Helen 'Bunny' O'Day

6.       Her Wedding Night (1930) .... Norma Martin

7.       Love Among the Millionaires (1930) .... Pepper Whipple

8.       True to the Navy (1930) .... Ruby Nolan

9.       The Saturday Night Kid (1929) .... Mayme

... aka Love 'Em and Leave 'Em

10.   Dangerous Curves (1929) .... Pat Delaney

11.   The Wild Party (1929) .... Stella Ames

12.   Three Weekends (1928) .... Gladys O'Brien

... aka Three Week Ends (USA: poster title)

13.   The Fleet's In (1928) .... Trixie Deane

14.   Ladies of the Mob (1928) .... Yvonne

15.   Red Hair (1928) .... Bubbles McCoy

16.   Get Your Man (1927) .... Nancy Worthington

17.   Hula (1927) .... Hula Calhoun

18.   Wings (1927) .... Mary Preston

19.   Rough House Rosie (1927) .... Rosie O'Reilly

20.   Children of Divorce (1927) .... Kitty Flanders

21.   It (1927) .... Betty Lou Spence

22.   Kid Boots (1926) .... Clara McCoy

23.   Mantrap (1926) .... Alverna

24.   The Runaway (1926) .... Cynthia Meade

25.   Fascinating Youth (1926) .... Clara Bow

26.   Dancing Mothers (1926) .... Kittens Westcourt

27.   Two Can Play (1926) .... Dorothy Hammis

28.   Shadow of the Law (1926) .... Mary Brophy

29.   Dance Madness (1926)

30.   My Lady of Whims (1925) .... Prudence Severn

31.   The Ancient Mariner (1925) .... Doris

32.   The Plastic Age (1925) .... Cynthia Day

33.   The Best Bad Man (1925) .... Peggy Swain

34.   Free to Love (1925) .... Marie Anthony

35.   The Primrose Path (1925) .... Marilyn Merrill

36.   The Keeper of the Bees (1925) .... Lolly Cameron

37.   Kiss Me Again (1925) .... Grizette

38.   Parisian Love (1925) .... Marie

39.   My Lady's Lips (1925) .... Lola Lombard

40.   The Scarlet West (1925) .... Miriam

41.   The Lawful Cheater (1925) .... Molly Burns

42.   Eve's Lover (1925) .... Rena D'Arcy

43.   The Adventurous Sex (1925) .... The Girl

44.   Capital Punishment (1925) .... Delia Tate

45.   Black Lightning (1924) .... Martha Larned

46.   This Woman (1924) .... Aline Sturdevant

47.   Helen's Babies (1924) .... Alice Mayton

48.   Empty Hearts (1924) .... Rosalie

49.   Wine (1924) .... Angela Warriner

50.   Daughters of Pleasure (1924) .... Lila Millas

... aka Beggar on Horseback (USA)

51.   Poisoned Paradise (1924) .... Margot LeBlanc

... aka Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo (USA)

... aka The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo

52.   Grit (1924) .... Orchid McGonigle

53.   Black Oxen (1923) .... Janet Ogelthorpe

54.   Maytime (1923) .... Alice Tremaine

55.   The Daring Years (1923) .... Mary

56.   Enemies of Women (1923) .... Girl dancing on table

57.   Down to the Sea in Ships (1922) .... 'Dot' Morgan

58.   Beyond the Rainbow (1922) .... Virginia Gardener

 

 

Bibliography

http://www.quotelucy.com/quotes/clara-bow-quotes.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001966/bio

http://www.maxwelldemille.com/clarabow/clarastory.html

http://members.tripod.com/~theclarabowpage/clarabowlifestory/clarabowlifestory.html