Clara bow born

She retired at age In Bow tried to kill herself. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Contents move to sidebar hide. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. Tools Tools. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item.

Clara bow born

Encouraged by her father, Bow continued to visit studio agencies asking for parts. I was too young, or too little, or too fat. Usually I was too fat. In an attempt to overcome her youthful looks, Bow put her hair up and arrived in a dress she "sneaked" from her mother. Clifton said she was too old, but broke into laughter as the stammering Bow made him believe she was the girl in the magazine.

Down to the Sea in Ships , shot on location in New Bedford, Massachusetts , and produced by independent "The Whaling Film Corporation", documented life, love, and work in the whale-hunter community. The production relied on a few less-known actors and local talents. It premiered at the Olympia Theater in New Bedford, on September 25, , and went on general distribution on March 4, Bow was billed 10th in the film, but shone through:.

Scott Fitzgerald. Bow met her first boyfriend, cameraman Arthur Jacobson , and she got to know director Frank Tuttle , with whom she worked in five later productions. Tuttle remembered:. Her emotions were close to the surface. She could cry on demand, opening the floodgate of tears almost as soon as I asked her to weep. She was dynamite, full of nervous energy and vitality and pitifully eager to please everyone.

Grit was released on January 7, The Variety review said, "Clara Bow lingers in the eye, long after the picture has gone. In , when Bow came under tabloid scrutiny, Parsons defended her and stuck to her first opinion on Bow: [ 36 ]. She is as refreshingly unaffected as if she had never faced a means to pretend. She hasn't any secrets from the world, she trusts everyone I only wish some reformer who believes the screen contaminates all who associate with it could meet this child.

Still, on second thought it might not be safe: Clara uses a dangerous pair of eyes. The interview also revealed that Bow already was cast in Maytime and liked chop suey restaurants. In late July, Bow entered studio chief B. Schulberg 's office wearing a simple high-school uniform in which she "had won several gold medals on the cinder track".

Bow signed with Preferred Pictures, also working with other studios. He founded Preferred in as a result, at the age of Maytime was Bow's first Hollywood picture, an adaptation of the popular operetta Maytime , in which she essayed "Alice Tremaine". Before the film was finished, Schulberg announced that Bow was given the lead in the studio's upcoming film Poisoned Paradise.

When I came into his office a big smile came over his face and he looked just tickled to death. She was amusing and spirited but she never belonged in the picture". Colleen Moore made her flapper debut in a successful adaptation of the daring novel Flaming Youth , released November 12, , six weeks before Black Oxen. Moore was married to the film's producer and Bow's protests were futile.

Bow had sinus problems and decided to have them attended to that very evening. With Bow's face now in bandages, the studio had no choice but to recast her part. Despite good reviews she suddenly withdrew. She has almost immediately been elected for all the recent flapper parts". Bow remembered their reunion: "I didn't care a rap, for her , nor B.

Schulberg, nor my motion picture career, nor Clara Bow, I just threw myself into his arms and kissed and kissed him, and we both cried like a couple of fool kids. Oh, it was wonderful. Bow and her father moved in at North Kingsley Drive in Hollywood, together with Jacobson, who by then also worked for Preferred. When Schulberg learned of this arrangement, he fired Jacobson for potentially getting "his big star" into a scandal.

When Bow found out, "She tore up her contract and threw it in his face and told him he couldn't run her private life. Bow appeared in eight releases in , two were released the same day. In Poisoned Paradise , released on February 29, , Bow got her first lead; "the clever little newcomer whose work wins fresh recommendations with every new picture in which she appears".

I wish somebody could star Clara Bow. I'm sure her 'infinite variety' would keep her from wearying us no matter how many scenes she was in. The picture exposes the widespread liquor traffic in the upper classes, and Bow portrays an innocent girl who develops into a wild "red-hot mama", "a naughty, inebriated flapper". She radiates sex appeal tempered with an impish sense of humor She hennas her blond hair so that it will photograph dark in the pictures Her social decorum is of that natural, good-natured, pleasantly informal kind She can act on or off the screen—takes a joyous delight in accepting a challenge to vamp any selected male—the more unpromising specimen the better.

When the hapless victim is scared into speechlessness, she gurgles with naughty delight and tries another. Bow remembered: "All this time I was 'running wild', I guess, in the sense of trying to have a good time I'm almost never satisfied with myself or my work or anything Tears filled her big round eyes and threatened to fall. I worked in two and even three pictures at once.

I played all sorts of parts in all sorts of pictures It was very hard at the time and I used to be worn out and cry myself to sleep from sheer fatigue after 18 hours a day on different sets, but now [Early ] I am glad of it. The studio, like any other independent studio or theater at that time, was under attack from "The Big Three", MPAA , which had formed a trust to block out Independents and enforce the monopolistic studio system.

Three days later it was announced that Schulberg would join with Adolph Zukor to become associate producer of Paramount Pictures , "catapulted into this position because he had Clara Bow under personal contract". Adolph Zukor, Paramount Picture CEO, wrote in his memoirs: "All the skill of directors and all the booming of press-agent drums will not make a star.

Only the audiences can do it. We study audience reactions with great care. Johns had a different take. In , she wrote, "If ever a star was made by public demand, it was Clara Bow. Bow starred as the good-bad college girl, Cynthia Day, against Donald Keith. It was shot on location at Pomona College in the summer of , and released on December Due to block booking , it was not shown in New York until July 21, Photoplay was displeased: "The college atmosphere is implausible and Clara Bow is not our idea of a college girl.

It is per cent at the box-office. In June , Bow was credited for being the first to wear hand-painted legs in public, and was reported to have many followers at the Californian beaches. Along with her tomboy and flapper roles, she starred in boxing films and posed for promotional photographs as a boxer. By appropriating traditionally androgynous or masculine traits, Bow presented herself as a confident, modern woman.

Johns, her attention span did not allow her to appreciate novels. Years after Bow left Hollywood, director Victor Fleming compared Bow to a Stradivarius violin : "Touch her, and she responded with genius. I once directed Clara Bow Wings. She was mad and crazy, but WHAT a personality! Schulberg "trained to become Lassie. Bow appeared in eight releases in five for Paramount, including the film version of the musical Kid Boots with Eddie Cantor , and three loan-outs that had been filmed in Alice Joyce starred as her dancing mother, with Conway Tearle as "bad-boy" Naughton.

The picture was released on March 1, I know I saw her Bow commented: " Alverna] So I played her as a flirt. The film was released on July 24, , [ ] to rave reviews. Variety said that "Clara Bow just walks away with the picture from the moment she walks into camera range", [ ] while Photoplay told readers that "When she is on the screen nothing else matters.

When she is off, the same is true. The personal quality—"It"— provides the magic to make it happen. The film gave Bow her nickname, " The 'It' Girl. The Film Daily wrote that "Clara Bow gets a real chance and carries it off with honors She certainly has that certain 'It' It makes a full-sized star of Clara Bow. In , Bow starred in Wings , a war picture rewritten to accommodate her, as she was Paramount's biggest star, but was not happy about her part: "[ Wings is] Adela Rogers St.

Johns , a noted screenwriter who had done a number of pictures with Bow, wrote about her:. She swings from one emotion to another, but she gains nothing, stores up nothing for the future. She lives entirely in the present, not even for today, but in the moment. What she wants she gets, if she can. What she desires to do she does. She has a big heart, a remarkable brain, and the most utter contempt for the world in general.

Time doesn't exist for her, except that she thinks it will stop tomorrow. She has real courage, because she lives boldly. Who are we, after all, to say she is wrong? Bow's bohemian lifestyle and "dreadful" manners were considered reminders of the Hollywood elite's uneasy position in high society. But what are the dignified people like? The people who are held up as examples for me?

They are snobs. Frightful snobs I'm a curiosity in Hollywood. I'm a big freak, because I'm myself! Bow returned to the screen as planned but only briefly before leaving her fame behind for good. While recovering from her mental health breakdown, Bow met fellow actor Rex Bell. They married in and moved to his ranch in Searchlight, Nevada, south of Las Vegas.

The boys were born in and , respectively. In , Bow temporarily returned to public life by voicing the character of Mrs. Hush on the radio game show Truth or Consequences. Still, Bow struggled deeply with her mental health. She attempted suicide in the mids and underwent a score of examinations. The former movie icon was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.

By the time her husband died in during his campaign for governor, Bow had been in seclusion for many years. Her attendance at his funeral marked one of her few public appearances later in life. Bow died at age 60 on September 27, , in Los Angeles. The cause of death was a heart attack. Decades later, her trailblazing role in shaping film and general culture has continued to be explored.

The pressures of fame had taken a profound toll on her, leading to a breakdown that resulted in time spent in a sanitarium. After her marriage to Bell, she attempted to find stability and balance, but the challenges persisted. In the mids, Bow was diagnosed with schizophrenia, further complicating her later years. She largely remained out of the public eye, finding solitude in her family life until her husband's political career drew both of them back into the limelight, albeit briefly.

Clara Bow's personal life saw significant transformation after she married fellow actor Rex Bell in The couple exchanged vows and relocated to a ranch in Searchlight, Nevada, where they embraced a quieter lifestyle away from the stark glare of Hollywood. Together, they raised two sons, Rex, nicknamed "Tony," born in , and George, born in While their home life was filled with the joys and challenges of parenthood, Bow's battle with mental health continued to loom over the family's dynamics, adding complexity to their lives.

This venture was a nod to Bow's previous fame, allowing them to stay somewhat connected to the entertainment world. However, Bell eventually sought a path in politics, serving as Nevada's lieutenant governor and running for governor, showcasing a pivot from their artistic roots. While Bow attempted to find her footing in this new phase of life, her struggles with mental health persisted, leading to a life of seclusion that starkly contrasted her earlier fame.

Clara Bow, known as the original "It Girl," became one of Hollywood's most iconic figures during the silent film era in the s. With a career that spanned over a decade, she earned a substantial net worth through her numerous films and endorsements. Her notable films, such as "It," "Wings," and "Black Oxen," contributed to her earnings significantly, as they not only performed well at the box office but also helped establish her brand in the competitive landscape of early Hollywood.