Barbara La Marr
Encyclopedia
Barbara La Marr was an American stage and film actress, cabaret artist and screenwriter
.
La Marr was known as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful", after a Hearst
newspaper feature writer, Adela Rogers St. Johns
, saw a judge sending her home during the police beat in Los Angeles because she was too beautiful and young to be on her own.
. Her father was an editor for a newspaper, and her mother had a son, Henry, born in 1878, and a daughter, Violet, born in February 1881, from a previous marriage. The couple wed some time during 1884, and they had William Watson, Jr., born in June 1886 in Washington. He would later, in the 1920s, become a vaudeville
comedian under the stage name of "Billy Devore". The Watsons lived in various locations during La Marr's formative years. By 1900, she was living with her parents in Portland, Oregon
, with her brother William, her half-sister Violet Ross, and Violet's husband Arvel Ross. As a child, La Marr also performed in a few stage productions in Tacoma, Washington
.
By 1910, La Marr was living in Fresno, California
, with her parents. Some time after 1911, the family moved to Los Angeles
. In January 1913, La Marr's half-sister, now going by the name of Violet Ake, took her then 16-year-old sister on a three-day automobile excursion with a man named C.C. Boxley. They drove up to Santa Barbara
, but after a few days La Marr felt that they were not going to let her return home. Ake and Boxley finally let La Marr return to Los Angeles after they realized that there were warrants issued for their arrests accusing them of kidnapping
. This episode was published in several newspapers, and La Marr even testified against her sister, but the case was eventually dropped.
La Marr's name appeared frequently in newspaper headlines during the next few years. In November 1914, she came back from Arizona
and announced that she was the newly-widowed wife of a rancher named Jack Lytell, and that they were supposedly married in Mexico
. As legend goes, Lytell became enamored of La Marr as he saw her one day riding in an automobile while he was out on horseback. He rode up to her car and swept her on his horse and rode off with her. They were married the next day. She also stated that she loathed the name Reatha and preferred to be called by the childhood nickname "Beth".
, La Marr found employment writing screenplay
s and her association with filmmakers led to her returning to Los Angeles and making her film debut in 1920. Over the next few years she acted frequently in films, and was widely publicised as "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World". With this, she rapidly shot to stardom.
La Marr made the successful leap from writer to actress in Douglas Fairbanks
' The Nut (1921), appeared in over 30 films, wrote seven successful screenplays for United Artists
and Fox studios, and danced in musical comedies on Broadway
. She is also said to have filmed dancing shorts in New York City
, Chicago
, and in Los Angeles, with such diverse partners as Rudolph Valentino
and Clifton Webb
.
Among La Marr's films are The Prisoner of Zenda
and Trifling Women
, both 1922 releases directed by Rex Ingram
.
after her death by the actress ZaSu Pitts
and her husband, film executive Tom Gallery. The child was renamed Don Gallery and grew up to become an actor and a sometime boyfriend of Elizabeth Taylor
; he now lives in Puerto Vallarta
, Mexico
.
Her former dance partner, Robert Hobday (stage name Robert Carville), was named as her alleged lover by her third husband Phil Ainsworth in his divorce suit. Hobday's sister, Virginia, had been La Marr's manager and friend, who later went on to marry Jules Roth, manager of the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, and La Marr's former lover.
nightlife, remarking in an interview that she slept no more than two hours a night.
On January 30, 1926, La Marr died of tuberculosis
and nephritis
in Altadena, California
at the age of 29. She was interred in a crypt at Hollywood Cathedral Mausoleum, in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, La Marr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1621 Vine Street.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
La Marr was known as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful", after a Hearst
Hearst
Hearst may refer to:People* Amanda Hearst* Garrison Hearst, NFL running back* George Hearst* George Randolph Hearst, Jr.* Hunter Hearst Helmsley, WWE professional wrestler* John Randolph Hearst* Lydia Hearst-Shaw* Michael Hearst* Millicent Hearst...
newspaper feature writer, Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies and, late in life, appeared with other early twentieth-century figures as one of the 'witnesses' in Warren Beatty's Reds, but she is best remembered for her...
, saw a judge sending her home during the police beat in Los Angeles because she was too beautiful and young to be on her own.
Early life
Born in 1896 as Reatha Dale Watson to William Wallace and Rosana "Rose" Watson in Yakima, WashingtonYakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
. Her father was an editor for a newspaper, and her mother had a son, Henry, born in 1878, and a daughter, Violet, born in February 1881, from a previous marriage. The couple wed some time during 1884, and they had William Watson, Jr., born in June 1886 in Washington. He would later, in the 1920s, become a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
comedian under the stage name of "Billy Devore". The Watsons lived in various locations during La Marr's formative years. By 1900, she was living with her parents in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, with her brother William, her half-sister Violet Ross, and Violet's husband Arvel Ross. As a child, La Marr also performed in a few stage productions in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
.
By 1910, La Marr was living in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, with her parents. Some time after 1911, the family moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. In January 1913, La Marr's half-sister, now going by the name of Violet Ake, took her then 16-year-old sister on a three-day automobile excursion with a man named C.C. Boxley. They drove up to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, but after a few days La Marr felt that they were not going to let her return home. Ake and Boxley finally let La Marr return to Los Angeles after they realized that there were warrants issued for their arrests accusing them of kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
. This episode was published in several newspapers, and La Marr even testified against her sister, but the case was eventually dropped.
La Marr's name appeared frequently in newspaper headlines during the next few years. In November 1914, she came back from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and announced that she was the newly-widowed wife of a rancher named Jack Lytell, and that they were supposedly married in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. As legend goes, Lytell became enamored of La Marr as he saw her one day riding in an automobile while he was out on horseback. He rode up to her car and swept her on his horse and rode off with her. They were married the next day. She also stated that she loathed the name Reatha and preferred to be called by the childhood nickname "Beth".
Career
After marrying and moving with her second husband to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, La Marr found employment writing screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s and her association with filmmakers led to her returning to Los Angeles and making her film debut in 1920. Over the next few years she acted frequently in films, and was widely publicised as "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World". With this, she rapidly shot to stardom.
La Marr made the successful leap from writer to actress in Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
' The Nut (1921), appeared in over 30 films, wrote seven successful screenplays for United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and Fox studios, and danced in musical comedies on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. She is also said to have filmed dancing shorts in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and in Los Angeles, with such diverse partners as Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
and Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...
.
Among La Marr's films are The Prisoner of Zenda
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922 film)
The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1922 silent adventure film, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel of the same name and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose.-Plot:...
and Trifling Women
Trifling Women
Trifling Women was a 1922 silent romantic drama film directed by Rex Ingram. It is credited with boosting the careers of its leads, Barbara La Marr and Ramon Novarro. It has been described as Ingram's most personal film. The film is considered lost.-Plot:...
, both 1922 releases directed by Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (director)
Rex Ingram was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."-Early life:...
.
Personal life
La Marr married for the first time at the age of 17, and was ultimately married five times. At the time of her death she was married to actor Jack Dougherty. Some years after her death, it was revealed that she had mothered a son by a man whose name has never been released. The child, Marvin Carville La Marr, was adoptedAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
after her death by the actress ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
and her husband, film executive Tom Gallery. The child was renamed Don Gallery and grew up to become an actor and a sometime boyfriend of Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
; he now lives in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Her former dance partner, Robert Hobday (stage name Robert Carville), was named as her alleged lover by her third husband Phil Ainsworth in his divorce suit. Hobday's sister, Virginia, had been La Marr's manager and friend, who later went on to marry Jules Roth, manager of the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, and La Marr's former lover.
Later years and death
Although her film career flourished, she also embraced the fast-paced HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
nightlife, remarking in an interview that she slept no more than two hours a night.
On January 30, 1926, La Marr died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
in Altadena, California
Altadena, California
Altadena is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center, and directly north of the city of Pasadena, California...
at the age of 29. She was interred in a crypt at Hollywood Cathedral Mausoleum, in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, La Marr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1621 Vine Street.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Harriet and the Piper | Tam O'Shanter Girl | Credited as Barbara Deely Alternate title: Paying the Piper |
| 1920 | Flame of Youth | Story | |
| 1920 | The Mother of His Children | Story Credited as Barbara La Marr Deely |
|
| 1920 | Rose of Nome | Story Credited as Barbara La Marr Deely |
|
| 1920 | The Little Grey Mouse | Story | |
| 1920 | The Land of Jazz | Story Credited as Barbara La Marr Deely |
|
| 1921 | The Nut | Claudine Dupree | |
| 1921 | Desperate Trails Desperate Trails Desperate Trails is a 1921 Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Harry Carey - Bart Carson* Irene Rich - Mrs. Walker* George Stone - Dannie Boy* Helen Field - Carrie... |
Lady Lou | |
| 1921 | The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers (1921 film) __notoc__The Three Musketeers is an American silent film based on the novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Fred Niblo and starred Douglas Fairbanks as d'Artagnan. The film originally had scenes filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process... |
Milady de Winter | |
| 1921 | Cinderella of the Hills | Kate Gradley | Credited as Barbara La Marr Deely |
| 1922 | Arabian Love Arabian Love Arabian Love is a 1922 silent drama film directed by Jerome Storm.-Plot:Shortly after marrying a man, Nadine Fortier travels through the desert to a distant city to visit her dying mother. On her way, she is kidnapped by a group of bandits, who use her when gambling. Nadine eventually becomes the... |
Themar | |
| 1922 | Domestic Relations | Mrs. Martin | |
| 1922 | The Prisoner of Zenda The Prisoner of Zenda (1922 film) The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1922 silent adventure film, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel of the same name and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose.-Plot:... |
Antoinette de Mauban | |
| 1922 | Trifling Women Trifling Women Trifling Women was a 1922 silent romantic drama film directed by Rex Ingram. It is credited with boosting the careers of its leads, Barbara La Marr and Ramon Novarro. It has been described as Ingram's most personal film. The film is considered lost.-Plot:... |
Jacqueline de Séverac/Zareda | |
| 1922 | Quincy Adams Sawyer Quincy Adams Sawyer Quincy Adams Sawyer is a 1922 silent comedy/drama film directed by Clarence G. Badger. Distributed by Metro Pictures, the film is based on the 1900 novel Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks written by Charles Felton Pidgin. It is now a lost film.-Plot:Quincy Adams Sawyer is a young... |
Lindy Putnam | |
| 1923 | The Hero | Hester Lane | |
| 1923 | The Brass Bottle The Brass Bottle (1923 film) The Brass Bottle is a 1923 silent fantasy film comedy produced and directed by Maurice Tourneur and distributed by First National Pictures. This story by novelist F. Anstey was produced as a Broadway play in 1910. A 1914 silent followed. Both silent versions are lost... |
The Queen | |
| 1923 | Poor Men's Wives | Laura Bedford/Laura Maberne | |
| 1923 | Souls for Sale Souls for Sale Souls for Sale is a silent film written, directed, and produced by Rupert Hughes from his novel of the same name. The film featured Eleanor Boardman in her first leading role, having won a contract with Goldwyn Studios through their "New Faces of 1921" contest just two years prior.The film is most... |
Leva Lemaire | |
| 1923 | Strangers of the Night Strangers of the Night Strangers of the Night is a 1923 silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo. Presumably this movie is a lost film.-Cast:* Matt Moore - Ambrose Applejohn* Enid Bennett - Poppy Faire* Barbara La Marr - Anna Valeska... |
Anna Valeska | Alternate title: Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure |
| 1923 | St. Elmo St. Elmo (film) St. Elmo is a 1923 silent drama film directed by Jerome Storm. Distributed by Fox Film Corporation, the film is based on the 1867 novel of the same name written by Augusta Jane Evans. Today St. Elmo is a lost film.-Plot:When St... |
Agnes Hunt | |
| 1923 | The Eternal Struggle The Eternal Struggle (film) The Eternal Struggle is a silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker. Distributed by Metro Pictures, the film is based on the 1913 novel The Law-Bringers, written by Edith Joan Lyttleton.-Preservation status:... |
Camille Lenoir | Alternate title: Masters of Women |
| 1923 | The Eternal City The Eternal City (1923 film) The Eternal City is a silent film directed by George Fitzmaurice, from a script by Ouida Bergère based on a Hall Caine novel, starring Barbara La Marr, Lionel Barrymore and Bert Lytell. The film was produced by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and distributed by First National Pictures. It was a remake... |
Donna Roma | |
| 1924 | Thy Name Is Woman Thy Name Is Woman Thy Name Is Woman is a 1924 silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo.-Cast:* Ramon Novarro - Juan Ricardo* Barbara La Marr - Guerita* William V. Mong - Pedro the Fox * Wallace MacDonald - Capt. Rodrigo de Castelar... |
Guerita | |
| 1924 | The Shooting of Dan McGrew The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1924 film) The Shooting of Dan McGrew is a 1924 silent drama film directed by Clarence G. Badger. Distributed by Metro Pictures, the film is based on the 1907 poem of the same name written by Robert W. Service. This is a lost film.-Plot:... |
Lady Known as Lou | |
| 1924 | The White Moth The White Moth (film) The White Moth ia a 1924 silent film drama produced and directed by Maurice Tourneur and distributed by First National Pictures. Barbara La Marr was the female lead supported by young Ben Lyon... |
Mona Reid/The White Moth | Writer, uncredited |
| 1924 | Hello, 'Frisco | ||
| 1924 | Sandra | Sandra Waring | |
| 1924 | My Husband's Wives My Husband's Wives My Husband's Wives is a 1924 silent American drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Shirley Mason. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* Shirley Mason as Vale Harvey* Bryant Washburn as William Harvey* Evelyn Brent as Marie Wynn... |
Story | |
| 1925 | The Heart of a Siren | Isabella Echevaria | Alternate title: The Heart of a Temptress |
| 1925 | The White Monkey | Fleur Forsyte | |
| 1926 | The Girl from Montmartre | Emilia Faneaux | |
Popular culture
- In the 1930s, Louis B. MayerLouis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
named the actress Hedy LamarrHedy LamarrHedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress celebrated for her great beauty who was a major contract star of MGM's "Golden Age".Lamarr also co-invented – with composer George Antheil – an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary to wireless...
after Barbara La Marr, who had been one of his favorite actresses. - La Marr is referred to in the Flanagan and Allen song "Underneath the ArchesUnderneath the Arches (song)"Underneath the Arches" is a 1931 popular song with words and music by Bud Flanagan, and additional lyrics by Reg Connelly. It was one of the most famous songs of the duo Flanagan and Allen....
" during the break when Ches Allen reads out the headlines from a 1926 newspaper. - La Marr's former home in the Hollywood Hills was featured on "Secrets from a Stylist" on Home and Garden Television (HGTV) in 2011, in the episode "Hollywood Regency meets Country Club Chic."