Billie Dove
From Wikipedia:
Billie Dove
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Billie Dove | |
|---|---|
 Billie Dove, early 1920s | |
| Born | Bertha Bohny May 14, 1903[1] New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 31, 1997 (aged 94) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Lillian Bohny |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1918–1932 (brief reappearance in 1962) |
| Spouse | Irvin Willat (1923–1929; divorced) Robert Kenaston (1933–1970; his death); 2 children John Miller (1973–19??) |
Early life and career
She was born as Bertha Bohny in New York City to Charles and Bertha (née Kagl) Bohny, Swiss immigrants. As a teen, she worked as a model to help support her family and was hired as a teenager by Florenz Ziegfeld to appear in his Ziegfeld Follies Revue. She legally changed her name to Lillian Bohny in the early 1920s. and migrated to Hollywood, where she began appearing in silent films. She soon became one of the most popular actresses of the 1920s, appearing in Douglas Fairbanks' smash hit Technicolor film The Black Pirate (1926), as Rodeo West in The Painted Angel (1929), and was dubbed The American Beauty (1927), the title of one of her films.
She married the director of her seventh film, Irvin Willat, in 1923. The two divorced in 1929. Dove had a huge legion of male fans, one of her most persistent being Howard Hughes. She shared a three-year romance with Hughes and was engaged to marry him, but she ended the relationship without ever giving cause. Hughes cast her as a comedian in his film Cock of the Air (1932). She also appeared in his movie The Age for Love (1931).
Other
She was also a pilot, poet, and painter.[4]
Early retirement
Following her last film, Blondie of the Follies (1932), Dove retired from the screen to be with her family, although she was at the time still popular. She next married oil executive Robert Kenaston in 1933, a marriage that lasted for 37 years until his death in 1973; they had a son and an adopted daughter. She later had a brief third marriage to an architect, John Miller, which ended in divorce in the 1970s.
Last years/death
Aside from a brief cameo in Diamond Head (1962), Dove never returned to the movies. She spent her retirement years in Rancho Mirage before moving into the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California where she died of pneumonia in 1997.
Other
Dove has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6351 Hollywood Blvd.
References
- ^ Other sources including the California registry of births and deaths cite 1900 or 1901 as her year of birth, although the 1910 census supports 1903 as her year of birth.
- ^ Drew, William M. "Billie Dove - Silent Star of May 1997." The Lady in the Main Title: On the Twenties and Thirties. Vestal Press. 1997.
- ^ Wagner, Bruce. "Annals of Hollywood". "Moving Pictures", The New Yorker. July 20, 1998, p. 54
- ^ Obituary, New York Times, January 6, 1998.
Filmography
Personal Details
Other Works:
(1921) Stage: Appeared (as "Chorus Girl") in "Sally" on Broadway. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr..
Publicity Listings:
2 Magazine Cover Photos |See more »
Alternate Names:
Lillian Bohny | Lillian 'Billie' Dove
Height:
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Did You Know?
Personal Quote:
When you're up there on that film, you are that person completely all the time. You think the way that person thinks, you do what that person does and you're not acting. You're actually living it.See more »
Trivia:
Silent film actress.
Nickname:
The American Beauty
* * *
Billie Dove was in THE BLACK PIRATE, a famous movie which is still considered a classic today. That's mostly what I remember her from.
Billie Dove had her own fan club, Lee Heidorn was president and published a fanzine called 'Dove Tales"
Read more about Lee and her adventures at:
http://michaelgankerich.wordpress.com/
Billie Dove was in THE BLACK PIRATE, a famous movie which is still considered a classic today. That's mostly what I remember her from.
Letters from Billie Dove and Lee Heidorn appeared in each issue.
Read more about Lee and her adventures at:
http://michaelgankerich.wordpress.com/
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