Celebrities

If some of the names are not familiar, here is a short bio on each;

Irene Harrison
Definitely the least well-known of the people in the mural. Not much information on her, she apparently was Paul Bern's secretary. After Bern's suspicious death, she was the source of much of the information (both for the police and for the media) regarding the relationship between Bern and Harlow.

Gene Markey;
Hollywood producer, screenwriter and ladies man. His wives included prominent Hollywood stars Myrna Loy, Hedy LaMarr, and Joan Bennett. He worked frequently with child star Shirley Temple, producing Wee Willie Winkie, the Little Princess, and The Blue Bird. Gene Markey was also a decorated WWII war hero, earning the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honor and other commendations. He served on the staff of Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey in the Third Fleet at Guadalcanal. In 1952, after his divorce from Myrna Loy, he married the wealthy heiress to the Calumet Thoroughbred Farm (which produced eight Kentucky Derby winners), Lucille Wright. Markey died of colon cancer in 1980.

Bebe Daniels:
1901-1971 She was a huge silent screen star ("discovered" by Cecil B Demille) who made the transition to talkies. In 1910, she was the first "Dorothy" in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Was married to fellow actor(and mural-mate)Ben Lyon from 1930 until her death.

Lawrence Tibbett
1896-1960 Famous baritone and actor, he was the first American-born, American-trained opera singer to achieve star status. He was also the first internationally known artist to appear in full-length motion pictures; he starred in 4 MGM films in the 1930's. The Pavarotti of his time, and then some!

John Gilbert
1899-1936 He was known as the "Great Lover of the Silver Screen" and by 1928 was the highest paid actor in Hollywood. Did three films with Greta Garbo which led to a torrid and highly publicized off-screen affair between the two, but when it came time for them to marry, John Gilbert was left at the altar. Speaking of altars, Gilbert was the best man at the wedding of Harlow and Bern! He starred in The Big Parade, which was the most successful film ever, until Gone With the Wind. Was in a total of over 100 films until his untimely death of a heart attack in 1936.

Carey Wilson
1889-1962 Prolific actor, producer, and writer, Wilson was one of the 36 original founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was one of the screenwriters for Ben Hur and Mutiny on the Bounty, produced a number of the Andy Hardy movies for MGM, and was a close friend of Irving Thalberg. Helped Jean Harlow write her novel, "Today is Tonight"

Irene Selznick:
1907-1990 Wow, a really heavy hitter in Hollywood. Millionaire daughter of Louis B Mayer (as in the last "M" in MGM), and married David Selznick, famous producer (Gone with the Wind). Their marriage lasted from 1930 to 1948. After their divorce, she worked with Tennessee Williams and director Elia Kazan and produced her first play, A Streetcar Named Desire. Irene was a lifelong friend of Katherine Hepburn, and she was considered one of the foremost Hollywood historians. Died of breast cancer in 1990.

Jean Harlow
1911-1937 The original blond bombshell, but you knew that! "Discovered" by Howard Hughes, she was in 30 films in her short 10 year career. Worked with Clark Gable, married producer Paul Bern, was Hollywood's original sexy blond and was a stellar comedian as well. Harlow was the first actress to ever appear on the cover of Life Magazine. Read David Stenn's book!

Irving Thalberg
1899-1936 He was the Steven Spielberg of his day, and was called Hollywood's first "Boy Wonder" for his ability to pick scripts and produce winners at the box office. Thalberg oversaw every movie produced at MGM between 1924 and 1932. The Good Earth, The Big Parade, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mutiny on the Bounty, Red Dust, The Road to Mandalay, and more. Married Norma Shearer in 1927. He had a congenital heart defect, and that coupled with a bout of pneumonia caused his early death at age 37.

Joan Crawford
1905-1977 Due to her great success as a movie star, by 1930 she was one of the highest paid women in the U.S. At the time this painting was done, she was married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. they divorced in 1933, and (two more husbands later) in 1955 she married Alfred Steele, president of PepsiCo, and after his death in 1959 she replaced him on the PepsiCo board of directors until 1973. She was the Mommy in Mommy Dearest, written by her daughter, Christina. It is interesting that Bern had her seated next to Harlow in the mural; of all the personalities in the painting, she was the least of Harlow's 'fans'.

Norma Shearer
1902-1983 She was already a popular movie star when she married Irving Thalberg in 1927. She played classic "strong woman" roles, as in Romeo and Juliet as well as Marie Antoinette. Won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1930 role in The Divorcee.

David Selznick:
1902-1965 One of the icons of Hollywood's Golden Age, Won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture for Gone With the Wind. He gave birth to Alfred Hitchcock's American career, and also gave George Cukor his big directing break. Just a few of the movies he produced; King Kong, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, A Star is Born, Rebecca, Prisoner of Zenda, and A Farewell to Arms (1957).

B.P. Fineman:
1895-1971 A Hollywood film producer in the '30s and '40s, he married well, to actress Peggy George de Mille, daughter of director-writer-producer William C. de Mille (older brother of Cecil B. de Mille) Fineman produced Thunderbolt, Blond Inspiration, Tarzan's Secret Treasure, and many others.

Edmund Goulding:
1891-1959 Hollywood writer, producer, and composer, his career ran from 1920 to 1958. In the biography he wrote about Goulding (Edmund Goulding's Dark Victory), Matthew Kennedy calls him "Hollywood's Genius Bad Boy", and notes that he was responsible for getting Bette Davis's eyes on film.Teenage Rebel, The Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage, Dark Victory, The Great Lie, Grand Hotel, the Dawn Patrol were just some of his many credits.

Ben Lyon
1901-1979 His greatest success as an actor was in Hell's Angels opposite Jean Harlow in the famous Howard Hughes film. He was a big star for the next decade, during which he married actress Bebe Daniels. When his box office pull waned, he went to work for 20th Century Fox, and in 1946 he met Norma Jean Dougherty, a woman he called "Jean Harlow all over again". He screen tested her, renamed her Marilyn Monroe, and signed her to her first studio contract.

Willis Goldbeck:
Famous Hollywood writer and producer. Scripted almost all of the Dr. Kildare movies, produced The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Goldbeck was probably most famous for writing numerous screenplays for some of the silent-screen era's most famous directors.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
1909-2000 His father and step-mother were two of the more famous actors of their day, Douglas Fairbanks (duh!) and Mary Pickford. Wow, what do you say about this guy? Dated and married (and divorced in 1933) Joan Crawford, starred in Gunga Din, The Dawn Patrol, Little Caesar, Prisoner of Zenda, Sinbad the Sailor, Catherine the Great, was appointed by Franklin Roosevelt as special envoy to South America, was entertained by English Royalty, and married the heiress to the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. A swashbucklng (was your swash unbuckled?) American icon, to be sure.