Marion Davies' True Legacy
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| Marion captured beautifully by Everett, in 1928. |
Born on January 3, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York, Marion was the fifth and last child of Bernard J. Douras and Rose Reilly. The Douras girls joined the stage early on with their mother's hopes of them finding wealthy, elderly suitors. In 1914, at age seventeen, Marion joined her sisters in show business, beginning with her Broadway debut in "Chin-Chin." In those days, Marion worked as a chorine and part-time model (when she wasn't dancing). In 1916, she was signed as a featured player in the Ziegfeld Follies. While dancing in the Follies, the teenage beauty caught the eye of wealthy businessman William Randolph Hearst--who I'll be referring to as WR for the most part.
WR, who was in his fifties at the time, was so smitten with Marion that he would go to the Follies show every night and sit in the front row just to gaze at her. The two began a sexual relationship in 1918 after Hearst formed Cosmopolitan Pictures, where she was signed to a $500 per week contract. Though they never married, they spent nearly three decades together as devoted companions.
WR is often credited as being responsible for making Marion a star. While this is true on account of directing her to films, he was not responsible for Marion's talent, which was overlooked for quite some time and continues to be by those who only know of her and not about her. Thus, to share some light on the subject, Marion was known for her acting talents--especially as a screwball comedienne (certainly before the renowned Carole Lombard came along) before she was dragged into the connection of the Susan Alexander portrayal in Citizen Kane.
Citizen Kane, a popular beloved classic of its time (and still praised today), follows the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper baron, and all-around tycoon, in an epic rags-to-riches tale. The primary inspiration for the protagonist of the film--Charles Foster Kane--was none other than William Randolph Hearst. And since WR was heavily implicated in the film, the audience assumed Kane's mistress, Susan Alexander, was based on WR's mistress--Marion Davies. The relationship between Susan and Kane had some similarities to Marion and WR's such as-- Kane's management and publicization of her career, and Susan's penchant for drinking, much like Marion's during certain times of her life. But the idea that Susan Alexander, a stupid and talentless opera singer, and lousy wife who left Kane, is much like the real Marion Davies, is far from being true. Ganna Walska, an amateurish opera singer, was actually the key source of inspiration for Susan Alexander's character.
Years later, Orson Welles himself publicly regretted the damage that Citizen Kane did to Marion's reputation. Welles later wrote: "She was the precious treasure of his heart for more than thirty years. Theirs is truly a love story. Love is not the subject of Citizen Kane."
