A Mae Murray Biography
Mae Murray was born Marie Adrienne Koenig in Portsmouth, Virginia on May 10, 1889. She began dancing as a child and made her Broadway debut in 1906's About Town with Vernon Castle. Two years later, Mae Murray was touring the country as a chorus girl in the Ziegfield Follies and by 1915 she had become the headliner. It was there that Adolph Zukor from Paramount Studios firt spotted Mae Murray. Mae was impersonating Mary Pickford and Zukor, who liked what he saw, soon signed her to a screen contract.
In 1916 Mae Murray took on Hollywood and everything it had to offer: the fame, fortune, drama, men, and plenty of divorces! Her first film was To Have And To Hold which she quickly followed up with a series of box office hits such as Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1916), Princess Virtue (1917), Her Body in Bond (1918) and The Delicious Little Devil (1919) and Big Little Person (1919), both filmed with Latin Lover Rudolph Valentino. Audiences fell in love with Mae's glamour, mystique and those "bee-stung lips" for which millions of fans emulated during her reign on the screen. (Yes, in the pre-collagen era pouty lips were a rare rave indeed.)
Robert Z. Leonard was directing most of her films at the time and Mae married him during a break from What Am I Bid? (1919) Though she first divorced Jay O'Brien, Olympic bobsled champion and notorious New York playboy, whom her marriage to had been the soiree of the year in Hollywood. Mae also made the move to "mogul" by forming her own production company with directo John Stahl, a surprising and successfully financial venture for a lady in the days.
By 1924 Mae Murray had become MGM's most popular star, as well as their highest paid performer. In 1925, Mae would film her most popular film to date The Merry Widow opposite John Gilbert. The movie was a smash hit however the making of it was another story. Mae reportedly fought throughout the filming with but director Erich Von Stroheim, and even went as far as insulting him publicly, calling him as a "dirty Hun."
Women Love Diamonds But Apparently Princess's Don't
Mae soon added the title of "Princess" to her name by marrying the Ukrainian Prince David Mdivani with whom she had her only son, David Mdivani with. Rudolph Valentino was best man and Pola Negri, matron of honor. She then made the mistake of turning down Women Love Diamonds (1927), which she felt beneath her new status. Though Mae Murray was replaced, she was blackballed in Hollywood.
With the advent of sound blasting through Hollywood, silent movies soon gave way to talkies and Murray's star slowly began to fade. Film go-ers were'nt too impressed by what they heard coming out of her mouth and due to her voice's incompatibility to talkies, and her last two performances in Bachelor Apartment and High Stakes in 1931 were downright disastors!
From The Screen To The Streets
When her biography The Self-Enchanted was released in 1959, Mae's star was a fading memory for those who recalled the Gardenia's reign, quickly forgot about her biography. Mae Murray however stayed true to herself and to the belief she coined years ago: "Once You're A Star You're Always A Star" and quickly set off on a self-appointed publicity tour to New York. She never quite made it though.
In 1964, Mae Murray was found penniless wandering the streets of St. Louis, though thinking she was still in New York. The Salvation Army paid a $13.20 hotel bill for the 74 year-old actress and flew her back to Los Angeles where she would spend the remainder of her life at the Motion Picture House, a retirement community for Hollywood professionals.
Sadly, Mae's final years were marked by a type of dementia that took ahold of her. “Her appearance eventually became an outlandish caricature of the superstar, rather a dangerous caricature. She would walk down Fifth Avenue with her head bent back as far as it would go, as if gazing at the heavens. The concerned observer realized that she was trying to present a youthful chin line to passersby, and he hoped that she wouldn’t fall flat on her face at the next curbstone. She was said to have wangled invitations to charity balls, which she attended all the time, she would command the orchestra to play the theme tune from The Merry Widow and waltz to it solo, compelling the paying customers to withdraw from the dance floor.” (Griffiths, Movie Stars)
Here's a peek into her state of mind at the time:Step aside, peasants! Let the Princess Mdivani pass!’ she demanded imperiously of the nurses who came forward to help her into the hospital. ‘Where are the cameras? Where are my flowers? I must be photographed with flowers! Get them before I’m surrounded by cameramen!’ A doctor came forward. ‘If you’re a Hearst reporter, be sure to mention that I’ve just finished my memoirs.’ She wheeled on the nurses. ‘Music! I always make my entrance with music! Have your orchestra play The Merry Widow Waltz. That’s the number I made famous.’ She held out her hand to the doctor. ‘May I introduce myself? I’m Mae Murray, the young Ziegfeld beauty with the bee-stung lips – and Hollywood is calling me."
On March 23, 1965 Mae Murray passed away in Woodland Hills, California. She was 75 years old. She is interred at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California. Plot: Block G, Section 6328, Lot 6.
Bebe Daniels, Betty Grable, Carole Lombard, Lana Turner, Mae Murray, Myrna Loy, Olivia De Havilland,
Vivien Leigh, William Powell
From The Famous