Clara Bow
Another favorite actress of mine is Clara Bow, "The It Girl."
Clara Gordon Bow was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the only surviving child of a dysfunctional family afflicted with mental illness and abuse. Her mother almost died during childbirth, and did not have a birth certificate made for Clara, certain she would die in birth, as her two other children had. As it was, a sleeping baby Clara had been revived by her Grandmother, when she could not hear the child breathing.
One of Clara's childhood friends, a boy named Johnny, was severely burned and died in her arms when she was nine years old. When she became an actress, and a particular scene required her to cry, she would ask the orchestra on the movie set to play 'Rock-a-bye-Baby." The song would make Clara think of her friend Johnny, and she would begin to cry.
Clara won Motion Picture Magazine's Fame & Fortune contest. She was then rewarded a role in the film "Beyond The Rainbow".
Her mother considered actresses prostitutes and tried to kill Clara one night when she was sleeping. This incident was the beginning of Clara's lifelong battle with insomnia. A few weeks later, her mother attacked her again, and kicked her out of the house. Her father found her a few days later, and brought her home. He then had Clara's mother commited, and she later died. For the rest of her life, Clara felt that her career caused her mother's death.
The film "IT", is the one she's most known for. Elinor Glyn, author of the book, named Clara "The It Girl", as she is still known today. "It" is a great film, but she was also equally good in "Black Oxen", "My Lady of Whims", "Wings","Free to Love", and "The Plastic Age", to name a few. These are some of the films of Clara's that I have personally seen, and she is great in each one. She, along with Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks, were the original flappers. She was vivacious, beautiful, and funny. A great actress, who's smiling face hid beneath it a very sad, unhappy woman. To quote Clara: "All the time the flapper is laughing and dancing, there's a feeling of tragedy underneath. She's unhappy and disillusioned, and that's what people sense. That's what makes her different."
Clara found much happiness when she married cowboy star Rex Bell in 1932 and had two sons Tony and George. (Tony later changed his name to Rex, Jr.) Clara spent many years in and out of sanitoriums, underwent electroshock therapy for her depression, and tried to take her own life several times. A woman who gave so much happiness to her fans was herself very unhappy.
The girl who's heart she gave to everyone finally wore itself out. Clara died of a heart attack on September 27, 1965. She was 60 years old. Clara is buried next to her husband, Rex Bell, at Forest Lawn, Glendale in the Freedom mausoleum, in the Sanctuary of Heritage.
Clara Gordon Bow was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the only surviving child of a dysfunctional family afflicted with mental illness and abuse. Her mother almost died during childbirth, and did not have a birth certificate made for Clara, certain she would die in birth, as her two other children had. As it was, a sleeping baby Clara had been revived by her Grandmother, when she could not hear the child breathing.
One of Clara's childhood friends, a boy named Johnny, was severely burned and died in her arms when she was nine years old. When she became an actress, and a particular scene required her to cry, she would ask the orchestra on the movie set to play 'Rock-a-bye-Baby." The song would make Clara think of her friend Johnny, and she would begin to cry.
Clara won Motion Picture Magazine's Fame & Fortune contest. She was then rewarded a role in the film "Beyond The Rainbow".
Her mother considered actresses prostitutes and tried to kill Clara one night when she was sleeping. This incident was the beginning of Clara's lifelong battle with insomnia. A few weeks later, her mother attacked her again, and kicked her out of the house. Her father found her a few days later, and brought her home. He then had Clara's mother commited, and she later died. For the rest of her life, Clara felt that her career caused her mother's death.
The film "IT", is the one she's most known for. Elinor Glyn, author of the book, named Clara "The It Girl", as she is still known today. "It" is a great film, but she was also equally good in "Black Oxen", "My Lady of Whims", "Wings","Free to Love", and "The Plastic Age", to name a few. These are some of the films of Clara's that I have personally seen, and she is great in each one. She, along with Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks, were the original flappers. She was vivacious, beautiful, and funny. A great actress, who's smiling face hid beneath it a very sad, unhappy woman. To quote Clara: "All the time the flapper is laughing and dancing, there's a feeling of tragedy underneath. She's unhappy and disillusioned, and that's what people sense. That's what makes her different."
Clara found much happiness when she married cowboy star Rex Bell in 1932 and had two sons Tony and George. (Tony later changed his name to Rex, Jr.) Clara spent many years in and out of sanitoriums, underwent electroshock therapy for her depression, and tried to take her own life several times. A woman who gave so much happiness to her fans was herself very unhappy.
The girl who's heart she gave to everyone finally wore itself out. Clara died of a heart attack on September 27, 1965. She was 60 years old. Clara is buried next to her husband, Rex Bell, at Forest Lawn, Glendale in the Freedom mausoleum, in the Sanctuary of Heritage.
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