FOOTAGE of Marion Davies circus party William Randolph Hearst Clark Gable Carole Lombard Henry Fonda

Some footage from the circus-themed party thrown by Marion Davies, to celebrate W. R. Hearst's birthday, at her beach house. (They also owned San Simeon.) She wore a Russian-style outfit, and Hearst was the ringmaster. Hearst's five adult sons were dressed as a Russian acrobatic team with one as a circus dandy. This event was attended by David Selznick, Louis B. Mayer and a vast array of directors and stars, who were encouraged to wear a costume. Leslie Howard and his tall son were photographed there in tuxedos, but his wife, Ruth, wore a hat with a mini merry-go-round on it, and her dress was a circus tent with all the acts embroidered in detail. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard went in cowboy gear, as did Jackie Coogan. (Clark's former wife, Ria, was around, in a jockey's costume.) Errol Flynn and David Niven wore stripy tops as the shovel brigade (for an elephant). Bette Davis was a bearded lady and Claudette Colbert dressed up as a Red Indian.
A group of 11 came as a trapeze team, the flying San Simeons, and these included Hal Roach, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, who wore pink satin shirts with white satin trousers. Norma Shearer wore a white evening dress and brought Basil Rathbone in her group. Walter Winchell was a circus barker. Clown outfits adorned Sonia Henie, Tyrone Power, Pat O'Brien, Harold Lloyd and Henry Fonda. Douglass Montgomery had a fake gold cap on his teeth. All dressed as bareback riders were Anita Louise, Dolores del Rio, Betty Grable and Aileen Pringle. Joan Bennett and Irene Dunne went as tightrope walkers. Alice Faye was in a riding habit and Maureen O'Sullivan was a peasant girl in yellow. Marlene Dietrich came late in white chiffon with Douglas Fairbanks Jr, and they enjoyed riding the carousel with Charles Boyer, Cesar Romero and Robert Montgomery. The Ritz Bros were Hindu mystics and the Jack Oakies and Pandro Berman dressed as bandleaders.
There were many more guests whose costumes went unrecorded. From the acting world, these were William Powell, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Simone Simon, Norma Talmadge, James Stewart, Tyrone Power, Frank Morgan, James Gleason, Ginger Rogers, Madeleine Carroll and Phyllis Brooks. From other areas of the business came Louella Parsons, Hedda Hopper. Ben Hecht, the Countess di Frasso, Ernst Lubitsch, Cole Porter, Orry Kelly, King Vidor, Walter Wanger, Wesley Ruggles, Raoul Walsh, Harry Cohn, Lloyd Pantages and Sid Grauman.
Details came from a new book available on Amazon - THEY SHONE WITH THE WIND BOOK 3: LESLIE HOWARD, HOWARD C. HICKMAN, JANE DARWELL, HARRY DAVENPORT, MARY YOUNG, BEN CARTER AND LAURA HOPE CREWS
The latest book with a lot of new detail on the making of GWTW is "Clark Gable Hollywood's King" - available on Amazon. Similar in "Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen Hollywood Neighbours."
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