August Star Of The Month- Colleen Moore

 

COLLEEN MOORE

BIRTH: August 19, 1899 ( some say 1900 or 1902 but, I believe it is 1899)

DEATH: January 25, 1988

AGED: 88 yrs old

DIED FROM: Cancer

REAL NAME: Kathleen Morrison

MARRIED: 4 times. The 2nd 2 were stockbrokers. Her 2nd marriage seems to have been the happiest lasting until his death in 1964. She did marry a 4th time when she was 81!

CHILDREN: No children but she raised her 2nd husband’s 2 kids with him and they loved her very much.

AFFAIRS: King Vidor started an affair in the early 1920s but ended it only to fall right back into it some 40 yrs later when they were investigating the murder of William Desmond Taylor ( Major Hollywood Director at that time).

TALENT: knew how to make money and keep it! Wrote a book about it. 

KNOWN FOR: Her incredible fantasy doll house now in Chicago museum of Science and Industry. She had one green eye and one blue eye. Her extensive travelling, often to China. Her many charitable donations.

I thought of the great Myrna Loy, Ingrid Bergman etc, but my brain kept going back to the lovely Colleen Moore who is hardly remembered now but was a huge name back in the Roaring Twenties. Due to her film, “Flaming Youth” now lost and would be considered a huge, huge find if ever a copy survives ( probably in Romania in some guy’s barn attic), the term Flapper was coined. She played a wild and free gal who has lots of fun, hence the term, Flapper. Even though she did not originate that famous haircut ( Louise Brooks had a haircut like this since she was a kid), she made it world famous and is still replicated today. If Colleen used perfume, women would go out and buy that perfume in droves so, to say she was a big star, would be an understatement. She always maintained that she came from a loving home where both her parents loved each other and had a good childhood. Her Uncle was an editor for the Chicago Tribune and was the basis for one of the main reporters in the films, “The Front Page” and “His Girl Friday”. Her Uncle knew the famous director, D. W. Griffith, and got the teenage Colleen a screen test. From there, she rose in the film industry and after getting her famous haircut, known as “The Bob”  her star rose and rose. When some haughty exec looked at the tiny actress in 1928, and sarcastically said, “ I bet you probably make something like $10,000 per week”. She said, she meekly answered, “No,…I make $12,500.”  She retired in 1934, because her sound films were not making money despite  that she had a fine voice, she just had her day, as it were but she never lost money, in fact, she knew how to invest very wisely and made a few million. She helped her, old director and lover, King Vidor “solve” the murder of William Desmond Taylor although it is still considered unsolved but when he was on a mission to look into this old case ( he wanted to make a movie about it), he sought the help of Colleen which reignited their affair but, with her help, it seems the …well, you have to read the book:). 

The other big feat Colleen created is this amazing doll house that is at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry that attracts over 1.5 million visitors each year. I love miniatures and didn’t know about this amazing doll house that was inspired by her dad. She got set designers involved and was in on the process every step of the way with its creation. It has famous books written by famous authors with one signed by the author. She has a miniature Gutenberg Bible, a tiny sliver from the true cross ( they are everywhere) which was given to her by the pope. She has some very old relics from ancient Egypt and China and suits of Armour that Rudolph Valentino had. I have the link to view it here.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “I was the spark that lit up the flaming youth, and Colleen Moore was the torch. What little things we are to have caused all that trouble.” Although, I have to say Colleen Moore remembered it as “ caused all that conflagration.”

I will be honest, I still have not seen any of her movies since almost all of her Silent films are lost including the famous “Flaming Youth” which she had a copy of and donated it to a museum but, since silent films were not highly thought of, it decayed. 

FILMS

1. Flaming Youth-1923

2. So Big-1924

3. Flirting With Love-1924

4. The Desert Flower-1925

5. Sally-1925

6. Irene-1926

7. Ella Cinders-1926

8. Lilac Time-1928

9. The Power and The Glory-1933

10. The Scarlet Letter