Madge Bellamy(bornMargaret Derden Philpott;June 30, 1899 – January 24, 1990) was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Bellamy's career declined in the sound era and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.
Madge Bellamy | |
---|---|
Born | Margaret Derden Philpott June 30, 1899 Hillsboro, Texas,U.S. |
Died | January 24, 1990 Upland, California,U.S. | (aged 90)
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1917–1946 |
Spouses |
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Early life
editMargaret Derden Philpott was born inHillsboro, Texason June 30, 1899[1][2]to William Bledsoe and Annie Margaret Derden Philpott. Bellamy was raised in San Antonio, Texas until she was six years old, and the family later moved toBrownwood, Texas,where her father worked as an English professor atTexas A&M.[3]
As a child, Bellamy took dancing lessons and soon aspired to become a stage performer. She made her stage debut dancing in a local production ofAida,at the age of nine.[4]
The Philpotts later moved toDenver,Colorado.[5]Madge met and married Carlos Bellamy in Colorado, but they divorced when she decided to leave Colorado to pursue her acting career. In her autobiography, she later claimed that her agent suggested the name, possibly to avoid the scandal of divorce.[6]
Career
editEarly years
editShortly before she was to graduate from high school, Bellamy left home for New York City. She soon began working as a dancer on Broadway. After appearing in the chorus ofThe Love Mill(1917), Bellamy decided to try acting. In 1918, she appeared in a touring production ofPollyanna,for which she received good reviews. Bellamy's big break came when she replacedHelen Hayesin the Broadway production ofDear BrutusoppositeWilliam Gillette,in 1918.[4]Bellamy also appeared in the touring production ofDear Brutus.While appearing inDear Brutus,Bellamy was cast in a supporting role in her first filmThe Riddle: Woman(1920), starringGeraldine Farrar.[7]
After the tour ofDear Brutusended, Bellamy joined astock companyin Washington D.C., where she appeared inPeg o' My Heart.While a member of the company, Bellamy shot ascreen testfor directorThomas H. Ince.[8]In November 1920, she signed a three-year contract with Ince's newly formedTriangle Film Corporation.Bellamy's first film for Triangle was 1921'sThe Cup of Life,starringHobart Bosworth.[7]
Films
editBellamy's breakout role was as the title character in the1922 film adaptationof the 1869 novelLorna Doone.She thereafter became known as "the exquisite Madge" (Artist Penrhyn Stanlaws later called her "The Most Beautiful Girl in America" ),[9]and was cast in several melodramas by Ince.[10]In 1924, Bellamy's contract with Ince ended and she signed withFox Film Corporationwhere she would stay for the next five years.[11]While at Fox, she appeared in two films forJohn Ford,The Iron Horse(1924) andLightnin'.By 1925, Bellamy began encountering difficulties due to several "artistic differences" she had with studio executives. That year, she refused to accept a role in the highly successful silent epicBen-Hur.She later attributed her career decline to her own choice of wanting to appear in light comedy andflapperroles that showcased her looks instead of more demanding roles.[8][9]
In 1927, Fox executiveWinfield Sheehan,with whom Bellamy was having an affair, attempted to cast her in the lead role of "Diane" in the romantic drama7th Heaven.[12]Bellamy later told authorAnthony Slidethat she was in fact cast as "Diane", but was replaced byJanet Gaynor(who won the firstAcademy Award for Best Actressfor her work in the film) when she was in France shooting exterior shots.[13]Bellamy instead appeared in the romantic comedyVery Confidential,in which she appeared as a model who impersonates a famous female sports figure.[14]In 1928, Bellamy was cast in Fox's first part-talking film,Mother Knows Best[15]The film was an adaptation ofEdna Ferber's novel of the same name and features Bellamy as Sally Quail, a stage performer whose life is dominated by her overbearingstage mother"Ma Quail" (Louise Dresser). In the musical sequences, Bellamy impersonated several popular performers of the day includingAnna Held,Sir Harry Lauder,andAl Jolsonsinging "My Mammy"inblackface.[15]Reviews for the film were generally positive with critics noting that Bellamy's voice was weak.[16][17]
Bellamy's final silent film,Fugitives,was released in 1929. Her first full length, all-talking feature,Tonight at Twelve,was released later that year.[17]By the time of its release, Bellamy's career had taken a severe downturn due to several ill-advised choices she made in fits of anger (fan magazines of the day called Bellamy "Miss Firecracker" on account of her temperament).[8]Despite her poor behavior off-set, she was still a fairly popular performer and was named an "American Beauty" by the Hollywood Association of Foreign Correspondents.[8][18]In 1929, she walked out on her contract at Fox after refusing to star in the planned film adaptation ofThe Trial of Mary Dugan,a 1927 hit Broadway play byBayard Veillerthat the studio bought especially for Bellamy (the film was made later that year atMetro-Goldwyn-MayerstarringNorma Shearer).[19]Bellamy later said of her career, "I got too big for my britches. I wanted too much money and when it was not forthcoming, I quit."[20]
Bellamy attempted to find work as a freelance actress but did not work again until 1932 when she began appearing inPoverty Rowfilms. One of her better known roles from this period was in the 1932 filmWhite Zombie,oppositeBela Lugosiand directed by brothers Edward andVictor Hugo Halperin.[10]The film was a moderate success but received mixed reviews while Bellamy's performance was generally panned by critics (In a 1970 letter toClassic Film Collector,Bellamy claimed her performance appeared bad because she had lost her voice due to a cold and was dubbed by another actress. This has since been proven false).[21][22]She was slated to appear in the Halperin brothers' next film,Supernatural,butCarole Lombardwas cast instead.[10]
Career decline and scandal
editBy the early 1940s, Bellamy's career had virtually ended. She garnered considerable media attention when, on January 20, 1943, she was arrested in San Francisco and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after firing a.32 caliber revolver at her former lover, wealthy lumber executive Albert Stanwood Murphy, three times. Bellamy had been having an affair with Murphy for five years before he ended the relationship in October 1942. After learning that Murphy had married former model June Almy shortly after their breakup, Bellamy traveled to San Francisco to confront him and "... make him suffer somehow."[23]
Bellamy later admitted that she waited around Murphy's apartment in theNob Hillarea for four days. She eventually spotted Murphy leaving thePacific-Union Clubon January 20. While Murphy was getting into his car, Bellamy fired three shots at him. She later said, "I wasn't within speaking distance [of Murphy], but he saw me and shouted something I didn't understand. Maybe it was 'don't.' Then I guess I shot at him. He ducked and ran." She fired three times, hitting Murphy's car twice while the third shot missed. Witnesses wrestled the gun out of her hand.[24]
Shortly after the shooting, Bellamy claimed that she did not intend to harm Murphy and that she "... just wanted to see him. He wouldn't see me so I took the little gun with me. [...] I had had the little gun so long I thought it was just a toy."[24]She was also quoted as saying, "I only winged him, which is what I meant to do. Believe me, I'm a crack shot".[25]On February 11, 1943, Bellamy pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of violating a gun law and was given a suspended six-month sentence. She was also sentenced to one year of probation.[26]
In July 1943, Bellamy sued Murphy for divorce in Las Vegas claiming that she and Murphy were married by "mutual consent" in April 1941 and had lived as husband and wife up until Murphy ended the relationship. She charged Murphy with "extreme mental cruelty" and asked for both temporary and permanentalimony.[27]In December 1943, Albert Stanwood Murphy asked that the court dismiss the suit, stating that he and Bellamy "are not now and have never been husband and wife".[28] On January 4, 1944, a Nevada court denied Bellamy's divorce suit on the grounds that she and Murphy had never legally been married.[29]One day after Bellamy's divorce case was dismissed, she was awarded a reported six-figure out-of-court settlement from Murphy.[30]
The shooting and divorce filing generated publicity for Bellamy, but effectively ended her already fading career. She made her last screen appearance inNorthwesternfilmNorthwest Trailin 1945. Bellamy returned to the stage in 1946 in the Los Angeles production ofHoliday Lady,after which she retired.[31]
For her contributions to the film industry, Bellamy received a motion pictures star on theHollywood Walk of Famein 1960. The star is located at 6517 Hollywood Boulevard.[32]
Personal life
editBellamy was briefly married to bond broker Logan F. Metcalf.[33]They married inTijuanaon January 24, 1928.[34]They separated four days later. Metcalf filed for divorce claiming that while the two were on honeymoon, Bellamy had refused to speak to him because of his fondness for eating ham and eggs, which she considered "plebeian".[34][35]Metcalf was granted a divorce on April 25, 1928.[36]
By the time Bellamy retired from acting, she had squandered much of her fortune and lost the remaining money during theDepression.[8][11]In her posthumously published autobiography,A Darling of the Twenties,Bellamy claimed that she lived in "abject poverty" after her retirement.[8][20]She did, however, have some holdings in real estate and owned a retail shop in which she worked to support herself. In her spare time, Bellamy wrote screenplays and novels which were never purchased. In the early 1980s, she sold the retail shop for double the amount she had paid for it and lived in relative financial comfort for the rest of her life.[8]
Bellamy remained out of public view until the 1980s, when film historians and silent film fans who had rediscovered her work began requesting interviews. She also began attending screenings of the low budget horror filmWhite Zombie,which was a moderate success upon its initial release and has since become acult classic.[22]
Bellamy was an atheist andvegetarian.[37]In her final years, Bellamy lived alone in Ontario, California.
Death
editShe suffered from chronic heart problems toward the end of her life. On January 10, 1990, she checked into the San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland, California for treatment.[3]She died there of heart failure on January 24 at the age of 90.[20][38]She is buried atForest Lawn Memorial Parkin Glendale, California.[39]
Her autobiographyA Darling of the Twentieswas published one month after her death.[20]
Filmography
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1920 | The Riddle: Woman | Marie Meyer | Lostfilm |
1921 | The Cup of Life | Pain | Lostfilm |
1921 | Passing Through | Mary Spivins | Lostfilm |
1921 | Blind Hearts | Julia Larson | |
1921 | Love Never Dies | Tilly Whaley | |
1921 | The Call of the North | Virginia Albret | Lostfilm |
1921 | Hail the Woman | Nan Higgins | |
1922 | Lorna Doone | Lorna Doone | |
1922 | The Hottentot | Peggy Fairfax | Incompletefilm |
1923 | Garrison's Finish | Sue Desha | |
1923 | Are You a Failure? | Phyllis Thorpe | Lostfilm |
1923 | Soul of the Beast | Ruth Lorrimore | |
1924 | No More Women | Peggy Van Dyke | Lostfilm |
1924 | Do It Now | Lostfilm | |
1924 | The White Sin | Hattie Lou Harkness | |
1924 | Love's Whirlpool | Nadine Milton | |
1924 | His Forgotten Wife | Suzanne | |
1924 | Love and Glory | Gabrielle | Lostfilm |
1924 | The Fire Patrol | Molly Thatcher | |
1924 | The Iron Horse | Miriam Marsh | |
1924 | Secrets of the Night | Anne Maynard | |
1924 | On the Stroke of Three | Mary Jordan | Lostfilm |
1925 | A Fool and His Money | Countess von Pless | Lostfilm |
1925 | The Dancers | Una | |
1925 | The Parasite | Joan Laird | |
1925 | The Reckless Sex | Mary Hamilton | Lostfilm |
1925 | Wings of Youth | Madelyne Manners/Angela Du Bois | Lostfilm |
1925 | The Man in Blue | Teresa "Tita" Sartori | |
1925 | Lightnin' | Millie | |
1925 | Havoc | Tessie Dunton | Lostfilm |
1925 | Thunder Mountain | Azalea | Lostfilm |
1925 | Lazybones | Kit | |
1925 | The Golden Strain | Dixie Denniston | |
1926 | The Dixie Merchant | Aida Fippany | Lostfilm |
1926 | Sandy | Sandy McNeil | |
1926 | Black Paradise | Sylvia Douglas | Lostfilm |
1926 | Summer Bachelors | Derry Thomas | |
1926 | Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl | Bertha Sloan | Lostfilm |
1927 | Ankles Preferred | Nora | |
1927 | The Telephone Girl | Kitty O'Brien | |
1927 | Colleen | Sheila Kelly | Lostfilm |
1927 | Very Confidential | Madge Murphy | Lostfilm |
1927 | Silk Legs | Ruth Stevens | Lostfilm |
1928 | Soft Living | Nancy Woods | |
1928 | The Play Girl | Madge Norton | Lostfilm |
1928 | Mother Knows Best | Sally Quail | Lostfilm |
1929 | Fugitives | Alice Carroll | |
1929 | Tonight at Twelve | Jane Eldridge | |
1932 | White Zombie | Madeline Short Parker | |
1933 | Riot Squad | Lil Daley | Alternative title:Police Patrol |
1933 | Gordon of Ghost City | Mary Gray | |
1933 | Gigolettes of Paris | Suzanne Ricord | |
1934 | Charlie Chan in London | Mrs. Fothergill | |
1935 | The Great Hotel Murder | Tessie | |
1935 | The Daring Young Man | Sally | |
1935 | Metropolitan | Woman in Negligee | Uncredited |
1936 | Champagne Charlie | Woman in Cab | Uncredited |
1936 | Under Your Spell | Miss Stafford | |
1936 | Crack-Up | Secretary | Uncredited |
1945 | Northwest Trail | Mrs. Yeager |
References
edit- Ankerich, Michael G. (1993).Broken Silence: Conversations With 23 Silent Film Stars.McFarland & Co.ISBN0-899-50835-9.
- Barrios, Richard (1995).A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-195-08811-5.
- Bellamy, Joe David (2005).The Bellamys of Early Virginia.iUniverse.ISBN0-595-67329-5.
- Crafton, Donald (1999).The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931.Vol. 4. University of California Press.ISBN0-520-22128-1.
- Dindle, Peter (2001).The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia.McFarland and Company.ISBN0-7864-0859-6.
- Eagan, Daniel (2010).America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry.National Film Preservation Board. A&C Black.ISBN978-0-826-42977-3.
- Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001).Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory.McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub.ISBN0-786-40983-5.
- Lamparski, Richard (1989).Whatever Became Of--? All New Eleventh Series: 100 Profiles of the Most-asked-about Movie, TV, and Media Personalities, Hundreds of Never-before-published Facts, Dates, Etc. on Celebrities, 227 Then-and-now Photographs.Crown Publishers.ISBN0-517-57150-1.
- Liebman, Roy (1998).From Silents to Sound: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Performers who Made the Transition to Talking Pictures.McFarland.ISBN0-786-40382-9.
- Lowe, Denise (2014).An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films: 1895-1930.Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-71896-3.
- Rhodes, Gary D. (2001).White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film.McFarland.ISBN1-476-60491-6.
- Slide, Anthony(2010).Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses.University Press of Kentucky.ISBN978-0-813-12708-8.
- Soister, John T. (2012).American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929.McFarland.ISBN978-0-786-48790-5.
- Solomon, Aubrey (2001).The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography.McFarland.ISBN0-786-48610-4.
- Willis, John (1991).John Willis' Screen World, Volume 42.Crown.
Notes
edit- ^Profile,goldensilents.com; accessed October 3, 2015.
- ^Profile including year of birth (1899)[permanent dead link ],death-records.mooseroots.com; accessed October 3, 2015.
- ^ab"Silent screen star Madge Bellamy at 89 (sic)".Bangor Daily News.Bangor, Maine. January 29, 1990. p. 5.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^ab(Lowe 2014,p. 1875)
- ^(Ankerich 1993,p. 47)
- ^(Bellamy 2005,p. xvii)
- ^abJordan, Joan (June 1920). "Madge Make-Believe".Photoplay.XVIII(1). Chicago, Illinois: Photoplay Publishing Company.ISSN0732-538X.
- ^abcdefg(Lowe 2014,p. 1876)
- ^ab(Lamparski 1989,p. 22)
- ^abc(Slide 2010,p. 20)
- ^ab(Ankerich 1993,p. 46)
- ^(Eagan 2010,p. 129)
- ^(Slide 2010,pp. 19–20)
- ^(Solomon 2001,p. 306)
- ^ab(Barrios 1995,p. 53)
- ^(Crafton 1999,p. 281)
- ^ab(Liebman 1998,p. 29)
- ^"Madge Bellamy, '20s Star Of Silent Screen".sun-sentinel.com. January 27, 1990. Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^(Ankerich 1993,p. 55)
- ^abcd"Madge Bellamy, 90, 1920s Film Actress".The New York Times.New York City. January 27, 1990.
- ^(Slide 2010,pp. 108, 115)
- ^ab(Soister 2012,p. 355)
- ^"Actress Madge Bellamy Takes Shot at Clubman".St. Petersburg Times.St. Petersburg, Florida. January 21, 1943. p. 6.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^ab"Clubman Dodges Three Shots From Gun of Madge Bellamy".The Milwaukee Journal.Milwaukee, Wisconsin. January 20, 1943. p. 3.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^(Dindle 2001,p. 191)
- ^"Madge Bellamy Wins Suspension".Toledo Blade.Toledo, Ohio. February 11, 1943. p. 8.RetrievedMarch 28,2015.
- ^"Madge Bellamy Asks Divorce".St. Petersburg Times.St. Petersburg, Florida. July 13, 1943. p. 15.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^"Californian Denies He Wed Madge Bellamy".Lewiston Evening Journal.Lewiston, Maine. December 17, 1943. p. 14.RetrievedMarch 28,2015.
- ^"Madge Bellamy, 'Never Married', Denied Decree".The Milwaukee Journal.Milwaukee, Wisconsin. January 5, 1944. p. 11.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^"Madge Loses But Gets Settlement".St. Petersburg Times.St. Petersburg, Florida. January 5, 1944. p. 1.RetrievedMarch 28,2015.
- ^(Dindle 2001,p. 201)
- ^"Hollywood Walk of Fame - Madge Bellamy".walkoffame.com.Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.RetrievedNovember 16,2017.
- ^"Madge Bellamy".Sarasota Herald-Tribune.Sarasota, Florida. January 27, 1990. p. 4B.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^ab"Madge Bellamy's Husband Gets Divorce".The Lewiston Daily Sun.Lewiston, Maine. April 26, 1928. p. 1.RetrievedMay 14,2014.
- ^"Refused 2,000,000 to Return To Her Husband-and Yet She Loves Him".The Milwaukee Sentinel.Milwaukee, Wisconsin. March 1, 1930. p. 3.RetrievedMarch 25,2015.
- ^"Actress Divorced".San Jose News.San Jose, California. April 25, 1928. p. 8.RetrievedMarch 25,2015.
- ^Wlaschin, Ken. (2009).The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929: An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings.McFarland. p. 80.ISBN978-0786438044
- ^(Willis 1991,p. 236)
- ^(Ellenberger 2001,p. 228)