Blue Sapphire Silver Earrings

Unlike many of her peers, Marion Davies excelled as a comedic actress, producer, and screenwriter.

She began her career as a chorus girl in Broadway in 1914, where she would eventually join the Ziegfeld Follies (1916) as a lead. In 1917 she made her grand entrance on the big screen in the dramatic feature film Runaway Romany, which she wrote. The film was a bit of a family affair as it was directed by George W. Lederer, her brother in law.

Following her first endeavor on the big screen, she secured two comedic roles in 1) The Burden of Proof, and 2) Cecilia of the Pink Roses. These roles opened many opportunities for her, which allowed her to assist her family handsomely.

Marion Davies’s love life eventually became the subject of many headlines.

For a large portion of her life, she was romantically involved with William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper tycoon who supported her by heavily promoting her in his periodicals. He later opened Cosmopolitan Pictures, which he used to produce her pictures.

Given that he invested heavily in her career, he leveraged his position to oversee which roles she would take. These were mostly historical dramas as he loved seeing her in elaborate costumes. Such roles were not her forte nor her preference given that comedy was where she excelled, however, they did achieve great success with two films – When Knighthood Was a Flower (1922) and Little Old New York (1923).

William Hearst’s strong presence, grand marketing overtures, and stronghold on her career overshadowed her talent, given that the public did not see this relationship favorably. Still, she loved him generously, and sometimes that is all that matters.