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Actress: Clara Bow
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| A publicity photo of Clara. She worked at a hot dog stand when she was a teenager. |
"A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt, and bewildered."
Clara Gordon Bow was on born July 29, 1905, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was an alcoholic who sexually abused her. Clara's mother was institutionalized after she tried to kill Clara with a butcher knife. In 1921 sixteen-year old Clara entered a a contest in Motion Picture magazine and won a screen test. She appeared in many successful silent movies including The Plastic Age, Wings, and Mantrap. In 1927 Clara played a carefree flapper in the comedy It. The film made her a superstar and she was nicknamed "The It Girl". By 1929 she was the top female box-office star in the country. At the height of her popularity Clara was getting forty-five thousand fan letters a month. Although she earned more than five thousand dollars a week she lived in a seven-room bungalow in Beverly Hills. She hated going to Hollywood events and preferred to stay home and play poker. Clara's offscreen romances made her the most gossiped about woman in Hollywood. She was briefly engaged to director Victor Fleming and actor Gilbert Roland. Among her many lovers were Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and Bela Lugosi. When the talkies started she was worried about her thick Brooklyn accent but audiences loved her voice. In 1930 Clara's secretary, Daisy DeVoe, was arrested for stealing from her.
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| A publicity photo of Clara. She was involved in so many scandals her coworkers called her "Crisis-A-Day Clara". |
Wild rumors began to circulate that Clara was involved in orgies and bestiality. Although these stories were false her reputation was ruined. Shortly after the trial Clara suffered a nervous breakdown. She married actor Rex Bell in December 1931. Tired of Hollywood she decided to stop making movies. Her final film was the 1933 drama Hoopla. Clara and Rex moved to Nevada and had two sons - Rex Jr in 1934 and George in 1938. They also opened a restaurant in Hollywood called "The It Cafe". Clara suffered from chronic insomnia and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1944 she attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of pills. As she got older Clara became reclusive and rarely left her home. In 1954 Rex became Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. He died from a heart attack in 1962. Clara turned down an offer to write her autobiography because she was afraid it might embarrass her family. She spent her final years living in seclusion in Culver City, California. On the evening of September 26, 1965, Clara watched the film The Virginian on television. It was directed by her former fiance Victor Fleming and starred her former lover Gary Cooper. Later that night Clara died from a heart attack. She is buried next to Rex at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
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| A publicity photo of Clara. She was a football fan and threw parties at her house for the USC football team. During the trial Daisy claimed Clara was promiscuous and had a gambling problem. |
Clara on the cover of Screenland. She always applied her lipstick in the shape of a heart. |
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