Marion Davies

From Wikipedia Marion Davies January 3 1897 September 22 1961 was an American film actress producer screenwriter and philanthropist Davies was already building a solid reputation as a film comedienne when newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst with whom she had begun a romantic relationship took over management of her career Hearst financed Davies pictures promoted her heavily through his newspapers and Hearst Newsreels and pressured studios to cast her in historical dramas for which she was illsuited For this reason Davies is better remembered today as Hearsts mistress and the hostess of many lavish events for the Hollywood elite In particular her name is linked with the 1924 scandal aboard Hearsts yacht where one of his guests film producer Thomas Ince became ill Despite the legend surrounding Inces death likely from alcohol consumption he did not die on the Hearst yacht The producer died a few days later in the arms of his wife In the film Citizen Kane 1941 the title characters wifean untalented singer whom he tries to promotewas widely assumed to be based on Davies But many commentators including Citizen Kane writerdirector Orson Welles himself have defended Davies record as a gifted actress to whom Hearsts patronage did more harm than good She retired from the screen in 1937 choosing to devote herself to Hearst and charitable work In Hearsts declining years Davies provided financial as well as emotional support until his death in 1951 She married for the first time eleven weeks after his death a marriage which lasted until Davies died of stomach cancer in 1961 at the age of 64