Clara Bow

Biographical Account
Introduction:
It is very essential to know the stories of people who have done immense work to promote
different sectors of life or shown us something crucial through their life. In this biographical
account, we will be looking at the life story of Clara Bow and how she was successfully able to
adopt talkies from silent films. Even though the conditions around her were not perfect, she rose
to stardom and showed people that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
Clara Bow can be named as the Marlin Monroe of the silent film era. She was very famous for
her sex appeal and a lot of very successful movies. It was famous among investors that if she
was in a film the investor had a probability of 50% to get his a good return on his initial
investment. Her fame was so wide spread that at the peak of her career she used to receive
almost 46,000 fan letters in a month and this is a very large amount considering the use of hand
written letters from quilt used at that time.
Beginning:
It has been found through research that early childhood has a profound impact on the
personality of a person. Beginnings have the ability to tell us how the person will be able to
move forward in his/her life and what will be his/her decisions in difficult situations. Let us look at
how the upbringing and familial circumstances of Clara Bow should have impacted her later life
and career choices.
As with all actors and actresses, the correct year of birth of Clara Bow is not known through
authentic sources; though we have three years that are potential birth years of the actress i.e.
1905, 1906 and 1907. 1905 come from US census, it was the year given during US census of
1910 and 1920. During the census of 1930, the year of birth recorded was 1906. However, on
the tombstone of Clara Bow, her year of birth has been written as 1907. Historians have come
to believe that the correct year of birth of Clara Bow was 1905 because majority of sources
indicate towards it.
Clara Bow parents were Sarah and Robert Bow. There were a lot of complications surrounding
the pregnancy of Sarah. She had two baby girls in the year 1903 and 1904 before Clara was
born but both had died in infancy. Doctors had strongly advised not to become pregnant again
because it will endanger her life and the life of her child. Yet, she became pregnant in late 1904
with Clara. The year proved to be very dangerous for the lives of both the child and mother
because New York was hit by a heat wave in the summers of 1905 and a lot of people lost their
lives. However, Sarah and Clara struggled for their lives and Sarah was able to bring Clara in
the world. Clara recounted her birth many times and was clearly moved by the struggle her
mother had to bear for her.
Clara Bow opened her eyes to a sparsely furnished room above a church and this was
prospects height in Brooklyn. Her parents were descendants of Irish and Scottish Immigrants
who had started living in America in the last century. She had to see a lot of poverty, fights and
instability during the early years of her life. Clara Bow describing her father used to say that he
was a man who had a lot of intelligence and ability to become successful at whatever he did but
luck never used to be on his side which made him a successful man. Robert lost his job in 1909

and this caused greater problems. Her parents had a lot of fights during this time of hardship
which is evident from the constant address changing during the years 1905-1923. Her mother
used to move out with Clara and live alone, without Robert. According to Clara Bow, her father
was very dedicated to wards her mother but Sarah did not love him and this hatred was very
evident.
When Clara reached the age of 16, her life took a turn for the worse. Her mother fell from the
window of a second story and suffered a severe head injury which caused epilepsy and
psychosis. Clara had to then take care of her mother from an early age. She had to bear hostile
behavior as well as psychotic attacks. This must have been a nerve breaking episode for a
young Clara. However, she handled it very well and for very long. She used to recount her
mothers illness days in a very positive light and as a kid who loved her mother very dearly. She
mentioned that Sarah would sometimes be mean and hostile towards her but that was not what
she was really feeling. She never meant to do whatever she did. This shows that Clara was very
brave and was able to handle difficult situations.
When Sarah realized that her daughter was working very hard to become an actress, she was
disgusted and wanted Clara to die. This caused a psychotic episode in which Sarah placed a
knife on sleeping Claras neck. However, Clara woke up and she was able to defend herself.
Later that day, Sarah was sent to a sanatorium by Robert in order to save his daughter. Clara
was shuggered to remember this event even year later. Clara has always felt a depravity in the
form of a loving childhood and this must have induced her search for true love in later years of
her life.
Sarah died in 1923 from epilepsy at the age of 43. When all relatives gathered at her funeral,
Clara created a scene and called all of them hypocrites as they had not been with them during
their difficult times. She even tried to jump in this grave. This was a great loss for her as she had
loved her mother dearly and took care of her alone.
Schooling was also another problematic area of Claras life. Her parents were very poor so they
barely had food to eat. When she went to school, girls did not want to befriend her because of
her looks and poor dressing. We must consider that those were the times when people were
judged primarily on the basis of clothing and style.
Thus, Clara had developed a lot of friendships with boys. She used to play cricket and do all
sorts of boyish activities to remain in the group. Then, Bow had to go to a girls high school in
which she had only one boyfriend. She tried to keep the girls attention away from her by
wearing old clothes and trying to look like a boy.
Her early years with boys and interest in athletic activities, led her to win five medals in cinder
tracks. She gave credits to her cousin for coaching and training her. She had all the abilities to
develop a career for herself in the athletic professions. She even had plans to become to
become an athletic coach but something changed her career choice. Let us look further into her
life to identify the root of this change.
Rise To Stardom:
Retirement

Bow married an actor named Rex Bell (he later became the lieutenant Governor), from whom
she had two sons, tony beldam but later on changed name to Rex Anthony bell, junior he was
born in 1932 and died on July 08, 2011. Her other son is George Beldam, junior he was born on
1938. Her acting career was ended in the year 1933. Rex Bell and bow opened The 'It' Cafe on
Vine Street near Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, in September 1937. However, they could
not successfully run and it had to be shut down after a very short time. Although brief, was her
last public exposure, came in 1947, on a radio show truth or consequence. She participated in
the shows Mrs. Hush contest as a mystery voice.
HEALTH ISSUES:
Bow was suffering from psychiatric illness. As the time passed the symptoms of this disease
started to show. She stopped going out or to chat with anyone. She also refused to talk with her
husband. She also refused to let him leave the house alone. When rex bell was going to attend
the US house of representatives, in 1944, bow tried to commit suicide. A note was also found
which says that she preferred death to a public life. In 1949, she checked in to the Institute of
Living to be treated for her chronic insomnia and diffuse abdominal pains. Shock treatment was
tried and numerous psychological tests performed. Her pains were considered delusional and
she was diagnosed with schizophrenia; however, she experienced neither auditory nor visual
hallucinations. Bow rejected psychological explanations and left the Institute. She did not return
to her family. After leaving the institution, Bow lived alone in a bungalow, which she rarely left,
until her death.
Death:
Bow spent her last years in Culver City, Los Angeles, under the constant care of a nurse; She
died of a heart attack on September 27, 1965, at the age of 60. An autopsy revealed that she
suffered from atherosclerosis, a disease of the heart that can begin in early adolescence. Bow's
heart showed scarring from an earlier undetected heart attack.
She was interred in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn Memorial
Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Conclusion