Bebe Daniels(1901-1971)
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Bebe Daniels already had toured as an actor by the age of four in a
stage production of "Richard III". She had her first leading role
at the age of seven and started her film career shortly after this in
movies for Imperial, Pathe and others. At 14 she was already a film
veteran, and was enlisted by Hal Roach to star as Harold Lloyd's leading lady
in his "Lonesome Luke" shorts, distributed by Pathe. Lloyd fell hard for
Bebe and seriously considered marrying her, but her drive to pursue a
film career along with her sense of independence clashed with Lloyd's
Victorian definition of a wife. The two eventually broke up but would
remain lifelong friends. Bebe was sought out for stardom by Cecil B. DeMille,
who literally pestered her into signing with Paramount. Unlike many
actors, the arrival of sound posed no problem for her; she had a
beautiful singing voice and became a major musical star, with such hits
as Rio Rita (1929) and 42nd Street (1933). In 1930 she married Ben Lyon, with whom she
went to England in the mid-'30s, where she became a successful West End
stage star. She and her husband also had their own radio show in London, and became the most popular radio team in the country--especially during World War II, when they refused to return to the US and stayed in London, broadcasting even during the worst of the "blitz".
They later appeared in several British films together as their radio characters. Her final film was one in that series, The Lyons Abroad (1955).
They later appeared in several British films together as their radio characters. Her final film was one in that series, The Lyons Abroad (1955).
