Being the practical joker that she was, she once got President Calvin Coolidge drunk by feeding him wine and telling him it was fruit juice.
Her tomb at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is often overlooked though it is an imposing structure. It is a miniature Greek temple, which is appropriate since she was of Greek heritage, on the east side of the lake very close to the grave of Tyrone Power. Her family name of Douras appears over the doorway.
In 1993, the family of Patricia van Cleve (wife of actor Arthur Lake) revealed, upon her death, that she was actually the child of Marion and William Randolph Hearst. Van Cleve had been raised by Davies' sister Rose and had always been introduced as her niece and Lake as her nephew.
In addition to her acting career, she spent much of her time at Cosmopolitan Pictures as a production manager. She had been appointed to this position by William Randolph Hearst, who wanted to keep her close to him.
Interred at Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now called Hollywood Forever), Hollywood, California, USA, in section B, east side of the lake.
Is portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in The Cat's Meow (2001), by Melanie Griffith in RKO 281 (1999) (TV), by Virginia Madsen in The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) (TV) and by Heather McNair in Chaplin (1992)
Mother-in-law of actor Arthur Lake, who best known for portraying "Dagwood Bumstead" in a series of Blondie movies in the '40s and '50s.
Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999]
She had a long-standing reputation in the film industry for being extremely kind to the casts and crews of her films, going so far as to pay hospital bills anonymously if she heard that they were ill.
She was William Randolph Hearst's mistress for over 30 years. It was widely considered the "worst kept secret in Hollywood" that she lived with him in California while his wife Millicent resided in New York. His wife would not grant him a divorce so that he could marry Marion. Marion retired from the screen in the late 1930s so she could be with Hearst as his health was declining. When Hearst lay dying in 1951 at the age of 88, Marion was given a sedative by his lawyer. When she awoke several hours later, she discovered that Hearst had died and that his associates had removed his body as well as all his belongings and any trace that he had lived there with her. His family had a big formal funeral for him in San Francisco. Marion did not attend.
She was famous for doing dead-on impersonations of celebrities at parties. At least three impersonations made it into The Patsy (1928).
She was the longtime, and sometimes long distance, mistress of newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst. Their life together was dubiously mirrored in the film, Citizen Kane (1941) and RKO 281 (1999) (TV), and more factually in The Cat's Meow (2001).
Sister-in-law of George Regas.
The character of Susan Alexander Kane played by Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941) was based on her. She liked to do puzzles and this hobby was incorporated into the character.
Younger sister of actress Reine Davies.