Marion Davies is enshrined in memory as the gorgeous but questionably talented mistress of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst -- thanks in part to the depiction of a Davies-esque character in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. But Davies’ involvement with the much older Hearst both ensured she would have a movie career, and perhaps doomed Davies to ridicule and limited stardom. This episode will explore how Davies and Hearst hooked up, the mutually beneficial working relationship between Hearst and Louis B. Mayer, the souring of that relationship over MGM’s (mis)use of Davies and Mayer’s effort to block the release of Kane on Hearst’s behalf.
Special thanks to Larry Herold, who reprised his role as Orson Welles. This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky. Our research intern is Allison Gemmill.
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Sources for this episode:
Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman
The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution by Scott Eyman
The Times We Had: Life with William Randolph Hearst by Marion Davies
Marion Davies by Fred Guilles
Hearst Over Hollywood: Power, Passion and Propaganda in the Movies by Louis Pizzitola
Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger
This is Orson Welles by Peter Bogdanovich