Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow (/ˈboʊ/; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress. She was born in Brooklyn, New York City. She was one of the most famous movie actresses in the history of silent movies. Bow died September 27, 1965 of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California at the age of 60.
Clara Gordon Bow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Clara Gordon Bow July 29, 1905 |
| Died | September 27, 1965 (aged 60) |
| Height | 5' 3½" (1.61 m) |
| Spouse(s) | Rex Bell |
Bow acted in 57 movies between 1922 and 1933. She is considered the first American sex symbol after her work in the 1927 movie It. That movie also created the term "The It Girl" meaning the most popular girl at the moment. Bow was the original It girl. She was the person every movie studio tried to get in their movies. She was the person who the audiences always want to see more of. She was the focus of media attention. She retired at age 28. In 1944 Bow tried to kill herself. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Bow was born in Prospect Heights.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Beyond the Rainbow | Virginia Gardener | |
| Down to the Sea in Ships | Dot Morgan | ||
| 1923 | Enemies of Women | Girl dancing on table | |
| The Daring Years | Mary | ||
| Maytime | Alice Tremaine | ||
| Black Oxen | Janet Ogelthorpe | ||
| 1924 | Grit | Orchid McGonigle | |
| Poisoned Paradise | Margot LeBlanc | ||
| Daughters of Pleasure | Lila Millas | Alternative title: Beggar on Horseback | |
| Wine | Angela Warriner | ||
| Empty Hearts | Rosalie | ||
| Helen's Babies | Alice Mayton | ||
| This Woman | Aline Sturdevant | ||
| Black Lightning | Martha Larned | ||
| 1925 | Capital Punishment | Delia Tate | |
| The Adventurous Sex | The Girl | ||
| Eve's Lover | Rena D'Arcy | ||
| The Lawful Cheater | Molly Burns | ||
| The Scarlet West | Miriam | ||
| My Lady's Lips | Lola Lombard | ||
| Parisian Love | Marie | ||
| Kiss Me Again | Grizette | ||
| The Keeper of the Bees | Lolly Cameron | ||
| The Primrose Path | Marilyn Merrill | ||
| Free to Love | Marie Anthony | ||
| The Best Bad Man | Peggy Swain | ||
| The Plastic Age | Cynthia Day | ||
| The Ancient Mariner | Doris | ||
| My Lady of Whims | Prudence Severn | ||
| 1926 | Dance Madness | - | |
| Shadow of the Law | Mary Brophy | ||
| Two Can Play | Dorothy Hammis | ||
| Dancing Mothers | Kittens Westcourt | ||
| Fascinating Youth | Clara Bow | ||
| The Runaway | Cynthia Meade | ||
| Mantrap | Alverna | ||
| Kid Boots | Clara McCoy | ||
| 1927 | It | Betty Lou Spence | |
| Children of Divorce | Kitty Flanders | ||
| Rough House Rosie | Rosie O'Reilly | ||
| Wings | Mary Preston | ||
| Hula | Hula Calhoun | ||
| Get Your Man | Nancy Worthington | ||
| 1928 | Red Hair | Bubbles McCoy | |
| Ladies of the Mob | Yvonne | ||
| The Fleet's In | Trixie Deane | ||
| Three Weekends | Gladys O'Brien | ||
| 1929 | The Wild Party | Stella Ames | |
| Dangerous Curves | Pat Delaney | ||
| The Saturday Night Kid | Mayme | Alternative title: Love 'Em and Leave 'Em | |
| 1930 | True to the Navy | Ruby Nolan | |
| Love Among the Millionaires | Pepper Whipple | ||
| Her Wedding Night | Norma Martin | ||
| 1931 | No Limit | Helen "Bunny" O'Day | |
| Kick In | Molly Hewes | ||
| 1932 | Call Her Savage | Nasa Springer | |
| 1933 | Hoop-La | Lou | |
| 1949 | Screen Snapshots 1860: Howdy, Podner | Clara Bow - Resort Guest | Short subject |
Clara Bow Media
Bay Ridge High, postcard 1920
Bow was chosen the foremost "baby" by WAMPAS
Frame of Bow comforting Ethel Shannon in Maytime (1923), which had been classified as a lost film until a partial copy was found in New Zealand in 2009
Bow as Janet, the "horrid" flapper in Black Oxen (1923), holding Flaming Youth to her chest; with Kate Lester and Tom Ricketts
Bow in Stars of the Photoplay, 1924
Bow's first lead role was in Wine (1924), a seven-reel feature currently classified as lost by the Library of Congress
Bow as "Kittens" in Dancing Mothers (1926) is moments from realizing that her mother is her rival. Conway Tearle as "Jerry" is caught in between.
Bow as "Rosie O'Reilly" in Rough House Rosie (1927)
Other websites
- Clara Bow on IMDb
- ClaraBow.net - Biography, images, and filmography about Clara Bow.
- Photographs of Clara Bow