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Clara Bow

Jul 29, 1905 - Sep 27, 1965 (60 years old) in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clara Gordon Bow (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent films during the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" after 1927. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol.

Bow appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930. Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost two-to-one, a "safe return". At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).

Two years after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada. Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

Known For

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Wings
Mary Preston
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The Ancient Mariner
Doris
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It
Betty Lou Spence
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Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Self (archive footage)
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Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
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The Plastic Age
Cynthia Day
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Children of Divorce
Kitty Flanders
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Hodgepodge
Self (archive footage, as Mary Preston)
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Edith Head: The Paramount Years
(archive footage)
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Hula
Hula Calhoun

Credits

Images

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