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IMDbPro

Clara Bow(1905-1965)

  • Actress
  • Music Department
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Clara Bow 1928 Paramount
Two young men -- one rich, one middle class -- who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.
Play trailer1:10
Les ailes (1927)
1 Video
99+ Photos
Clara Gordon Bow, destined to become "The It Girl", was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in poverty and violence. Her often absentee and brutish father could not or did not provide and her schizophrenic mother tried to slit Clara's throat when the girl spoke of becoming an actress. Bow, nonetheless, won a photo beauty contest which launched her movie career that would eventually number 58 films, from 1922 to 1933.

The movie Le coup de foudre (1927) defined her career. The film starred Clara as a shopgirl who was asked out by the store's owner. As you watch the silent film you can see the excitement as she prepared for her date with the boss, her friend trying hard to assist her. She used a pair of scissors to modify her dress to try to look "sexier." The movie did much to change society's mores as there were only a few years between World War I and Clara Bow, but this movie went a long way in how society looked at itself. Clara was flaming youth in rebellion. In the film she presented a worldly wisdom that somehow sex meant having a good time. But the movie shouldn't mislead the viewer, because when her boss tries to kiss her goodnight, she slaps him. At the height of her popularity she received over 45,000 fan letters a month. Also, she was probably the most overworked and underpaid star in the industry. With the coming of sound, her popularity waned. Clara was also involved in several court battles ranging from unpaid taxes to being in divorce court for "stealing" women's husbands. After the court trials, she made a couple of attempts to get back in the public eye. One was Fille de feu (1932) in 1932. It was somewhat of a failure at the box office and her last was in 1933 in a film called Houp là (1933).

She then married cowboy star Rex Bell at 26 and retired from the film world at 28. She doted on her two sons and did everything to please them. Haunted by a weight problem and a mental imbalance, she never re-entered show business. She was confined to sanitariums from time to time and prohibited access to her beloved sons. She died of a heart attack in West Los Angeles, on September 26, 1965 at age 60. Today she is finding a renaissance among movie buffs, who are recently discovering the virtues of silent film. The actress who wanted so much to be like the wonderful young lady in Le coup de foudre (1927) has the legacy of her films to confirm that she was a wonderful lady and America's first sex symbol.
BornJuly 29, 1905
DiedSeptember 27, 1965(60)
BornJuly 29, 1905
DiedSeptember 27, 1965(60)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 8 wins total

Photos1042

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Known for

Fille de feu (1932)
Fille de feu
7.0
  • Nasa Springer
  • 1932
Clara Bow and Fredric March in Les endiablées (1929)
Les endiablées
6.2
  • Stella Ames
  • 1929
Clara Bow in True to the Navy (1930)
True to the Navy
6.1
  • Ruby Nolan
  • 1930
Les ailes (1927)
Les ailes
7.5
  • Mary Preston
  • 1927

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress



  • Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 12 (1936)
    Screen Snapshots 1860: Howdy, Podner
    7.4
    Short
    • Clara Bow
    • 1949
  • Hollywood on Parade
    Short
    • 1934
  • Clara Bow in Houp là (1933)
    Houp là
    6.6
    • Lou
    • 1933
  • Fille de feu (1932)
    Fille de feu
    7.0
    • Nasa Springer
    • 1932
  • Clara Bow in Kick In (1931)
    Kick In
    7.3
    • Molly Hewes
    • 1931
  • No Limit (1931)
    No Limit
    5.6
    • Helen 'Bunny' O'Day
    • 1931
  • Clara Bow in Her Wedding Night (1930)
    Her Wedding Night
    7.0
    • Norma Martin
    • 1930
  • Love Among the Millionaires (1930)
    Love Among the Millionaires
    6.0
    • Pepper Whipple
    • 1930
  • Clara Bow in True to the Navy (1930)
    True to the Navy
    6.1
    • Ruby Nolan
    • 1930
  • Nancy Carroll in Paramount on Parade (1930)
    Paramount on Parade
    5.6
    • Episode 'True to the Navy'
    • 1930
  • Clara Bow in La cadette (1929)
    La cadette
    5.7
    • Mayme Barry
    • 1929
  • Clara Bow and Richard Arlen in La danseuse de corde (1929)
    La danseuse de corde
    5.6
    • Pat Delaney
    • 1929
  • Clara Bow and Fredric March in Les endiablées (1929)
    Les endiablées
    6.2
    • Stella Ames
    • 1929
  • Clara Bow in L'amour joue et gagne (1928)
    L'amour joue et gagne
    5.7
    • Gladys O'Brien
    • 1928
  • Clara Bow in Quand la flotte atterrit (1928)
    Quand la flotte atterrit
    6.3
    • Trixie Deane
    • 1928

Music Department



  • Hollywood on Parade No. B-9
    5.4
    Short
    • theme music
    • 1934

Soundtrack



  • Love Among the Millionaires (1930)
    Love Among the Millionaires
    6.0
    • performer: "Believe It or Not, I've Found My Man", "Love Among the Millionaires", "Rarin' to Go", "That's Worth While Waiting For" (uncredited)
    • 1930
  • Nancy Carroll in Paramount on Parade (1930)
    Paramount on Parade
    5.6
    • performer: "I'm True to the Navy Now"
    • 1930

Videos1

Restored Version
Trailer 1:10
Restored Version

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.61 m
  • Born
    • July 29, 1905
    • Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
  • Died
    • September 27, 1965
    • West Los Angeles, California, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Rex BellDecember 3, 1931 - July 4, 1962 (his death, 2 children)
  • Children
    • Rex Bell Jr.
  • Parents
      Robert Bow
  • Other works
    Wrote foreword to an adaptation of her film Quand la flotte atterrit (1928), novelized by Russell Holman, Grosset & Dunlap, NY.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 45 Articles
    • 5 Pictorials
    • 7 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    As soon as Bow started to make money, she brought her father to live with her in Hollywood. For the next few years, she funded numerous business ventures for him, including a restaurant and a dry cleaners, all of which failed. He soon became a drunken nuisance on her sets, where he would try to pick up young girls by telling them his daughter was Clara Bow.
  • Quotes
    The more I see of men, the more I like dogs.
  • Nicknames
    • The "It" Girl
    • The Playgirl Of Hollywood
  • Salaries
      Fille de feu
      (1932)
      $125,000

FAQ

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Clara Bow die?
    September 27, 1965
  • How did Clara Bow die?
    Heart attack
  • How old was Clara Bow when she died?
    60 years old
  • Where did Clara Bow die?
    West Los Angeles, California, USA
  • When was Clara Bow born?
    July 29, 1905

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