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Bebe Daniels
Phyllis "Bebe" Daniels was born Jan. 14,
1901, in Dallas Texas. Since her father was a theatrical manager
and her mother a star in the theatre, Bebe was on the stage from
the time she was born. Although she had made her film debut at
age seven in Selig's "The Common Enemy," she continued
in school until answering an ad for a leading lady for Harold
Lloyd in 1915. Although she was only 14, she began working with
Lloyd in his Lonesome Luke comedies and stayed with him as he
developed his glasses character over the next few years. Daniels,
unlike most comics' leading ladies, was a presence on the screen
and an integral part of the comedy, no mere fixture. Her charisma
and talent were obvious, and she gained the attention of Cecil
B. DeMille who signed her away from Lloyd and the Hal Roach studios
in 1919. Her first role for DeMille was in "Male and Female"
(1919). It wasn't a large part, the role of a temptress in a Babylonian
flashback, but it brought her notice. She continued to prove attractive
and alluring with continued "sexy" roles in "Why
Change Your Wife?" (1920) and "The
Affairs of Anatol" (1921) in which she is the seductress
Satan Synne. These were not her only films, though. In 1920, she
made seven films and six more in 1921 co-starring with such leading
men as Robert Warwick, Harrison Ford and Wallace Reid. In 1924,
she costarred with Rudolph Valentino in "Monsieur Beaucaire."
In all, she made 51 films for Paramount between 1919 and 1928
becoming one of the most popular stars on the screen. A 1921 film
entitled "The Speed Girl" cashed in on an incident in
which Daniels spent 10 days in jail for speeding. No one knows
for sure how much of a publicity stunt this was, but Daniels pretty
much spent 10 days in "luxury" with her cell furnished
by an interior decorator and constant visitors. Almost all of
Daniels' films of the twenties were lightweight comedies, but
they were enormously popular with audiences. Oddly enough, she
was released by Paramount in 1928, but proved she could continue
into the sound era with creditable singing in RKO's "Rio
Rita" (1920), as well as "Love Comes Along" (1930)
and "Dixiana" (1930). Critical acclaim came her way
in 1933 as a fading theatrical star in "42nd Street."
Bebe married silent film leading man Ben Lyon in 1930 had a daughter
in 1932 and adopted a son after that. In 1936, the Lyons moved
to London where their radio show, "Hi Gang," was extremely
popular during the war years. After the war, the returned to the
United States briefly, but returned to their beloved England in
the 1950's and appeared in a long-running TV show entitled "Life
with the Lyons." Although Bebe hadn't done any screen work
since the late 1930's, she and Lyon did make two big screen versions
of "Life with the Lyons" during the 1950's. Bebe died
at her London home March 16, 1971. For more on the Bebe Daniels-Harold
Lloyd years, see "The
Girl and the Boy." Also, see Rick Levinson's article
on Bebe Daniels "The
Good Little Bad Girl."
Selected films of this star available for viewing:
Male and Female (1919)
Why Change Your Wife? (1920)
The Affairs
of Anatol (1921)
Monsieur Beaucaire (1924)
Lovers in Quarantine (1925)
Miss Bluebeard (1925)
Feel
My Pulse (1928)
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