Writer Lara Gabrielle wants the world to know more about 1930s star Marion Davies. The actress was popular during the silent film era and the start of the “talkies.” As iconic as her performances were, she is most likely remembered as the mistress of William Randolph Hearts. Lara wants the world to know that she was so much more.
Lara has written a book called Captain of Her Soul, all about Marion’s life including her rise to fame and tragic final years. Lara explained, “Up until now, Marion Davies has been seen as the mistress of William Randolph Hearst. And she was so much more than that. For one thing, their relationship was far more [than that]… they were really soulmates… She saw herself as the captain of her soul. Those were her words. Here’s a woman from this era who made her own decisions. She negotiated her own contracts. She decided she was going to retire on her own terms. And I think that story is very relevant to this era, where we are seeing women for who they are.”
Marion Davies was more than just her affair with William Randolph Hearst
Lara added, “Marion was extraordinarily talented. She was a gifted comedian. If you see any of her films today, she’s just laugh-out-loud hilarious. She was known for this steely grit when she was working on set. She made all of her own decisions and was a very astute businesswoman, which was unheard of at the time.”
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Some of her most popular films were Show People, Quality Street, and Cain and Mabel. She even went on to produce her own films and became an investor in California real estate. However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. She reportedly had a stutter that eventually ended her career. Her final film was 1937’s Ever Since Eve. After her love, William passed away, Marion went into a depression and dealt with alcoholism. She married Horace Brown, but their marriage was said to be an unhappy one. She passed away 10 years after William did, in 1961.
Lara concluded, “Marion was not dedicated to being a star. Marion considered herself to be a normal person who just happened to work as an actress… She was proud of her work, she was proud of what she accomplished. She kept all of her films, but she was not one to toot her own horn. Hearst did that a lot, and it always made her uncomfortable. She scoffed at all of that and didn’t take herself too seriously. She was really her own person and yet for years, she was maligned. And I hope this book lets her story be known finally.”
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