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| Bebe Daniels, date unknown. |
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| Bebe Daniels |
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Forecourt Ceremony held on Saturday, May 11, 1929 |
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Born: Phyllis Virginia Daniels, January 14, 1901, in Dallas, Texas
Age at the time of the ceremony: 28
Died: March 16, 1971, in London, England, age 70 |
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Multi-talented Bebe Daniels had a long career in films, from the early silent age to television.
Born into a theatrical family, "Bebe" was a childhood nickname. She was pushed onstage at age four. With her partents, she toured the country in Richard III; she also had the experience of working with heavyweight producers Oliver Morosco and David Belasco. When the family moved to Los Angeles, Bebe snagged the role of Dorothy Gale in the first strictly film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Selig Polyscope (released in March in 1910). Several films followed.
In 1915, Daniels was only 14. She accepted a bit part in a "Lonesome Luke" comedy short that Harold Lloyd and Hal Roach were making. The "Luke" films were not catching on, but there was something in Daniels' performance they liked, so they used her as "The Girl" in 50 "Luke" shorts over the next two years.
After Lloyd and Roach dropped their "Lonesome Luke" character, switching to the Harold Lloyd we know today (the "Everyman" character), they brought Daniels along. In 1918 - 1919, she made over 70 more shorts with Lloyd, who was becoming a star — while Daniels' was looking to spread her wings.
In 1919, she got a supporting role in Cecil B. DeMille's Male and Female. (releaased in November 1919). DeMille kept her on the edges of his films Why Change Your Wife? (released in September 1920), and The Affairs of Anatol (released in September 1921). Now under contract at Paramount, Daniels was groomed for the Big Time; they refashioned her into a dramatic actress, starring her in films like The World's Applause with Adolphe Menjou (released in January 1923). This process culminated in her co-starring with Rudolph Valentino in Monsieur Beaucaire (released in August 1924).
For the rest of the silent period, Daniels starred in a variety of films. Crime: The Splendid Crime (released in January 1925); comedy: Swim Girl, Swim (released in September 1927); or romance: She's a Sheik (released in November 1927). Her last film for Paramount was What a Night! (released in December 1928). After that, Paramount dropped her.
At the beginning of the sound era, Daniels was picked up by that upstart, R-K-O Radio Pictures, who immediately put her in their musical/western Rio Rita (released in September 1929), giving her top billing. It was a huge hit for the fledgling studio, who placed her in more musicals: Love Comes Along (released in January 1930), and Dixiana (released in July 1930). She was loaned out to appear with Douglas Fairbanks in the musical (!) Reaching for the Moon (released in February 1930). Daniels was a good enough singer to be asked to make some recordings for RCA Victor.
Despite this, Daniels jumped ship, moving over to Warner Bros. There, she starred as the femme fatale in the first film version of The Maltese Falcon (released in June 1931), and starred in the iconic musical 42nd Street with Warner Baxter (released in March 1933). Another notable film was Counsellor at Law with John Barrymore (released in December 1933).
Daniels "retired" in 1935, moving with her husband Ben Lyon to London, where they raised their two children. In 1940, Daniels, Lyon, and their children were part of a BBC radio programme called Hi Gang!, which was so successful, that a feature film was released in December 1941. The radio show ran until 1949. In 1943, Daniels starred in the West End production of Cole Porter's Panama Hattie. in 1950, Hi Gang! was retooled to become Life with the Lyons, which featured the Lyon family as Americans living in England. In 1955, a film version called The Lyons in Paris (released in February 1955) set the stage for the television version of the programme, where it ran for five seasons.
Daniels suffered a stroke in 1963, and was never seen again in public. She died of a cerebral hemorrage in London, at the age of 70. |
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| Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Bebe Daniels Forecourt block. Executed by Jean Klossner, Saturday, May 11, 1929. 58 x 38 inches. |
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