Marion Davies began her acting career on Broadway and her first film was “Runaway Romany” at the age of 20.  Marion became the most promoted actress through William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper empire, and during the 1920s, she appeared in twenty-nine films.  In the early 1920s, she and Hearst moved their company, Cosmopolitan Productions, to California.  By 1930, Hearst had built Marion Davies the grandest estate on the “Gold Coast” of Santa Monica beach. The exhibit features historic photographs of Marion Davies and her estate’s five elaborately decorated buildings, landscape and swimming pool from the Bison Archives.

Free exhibit reception and lecture  on Sunday, January 8^th from 2pm to 4pm, lecture will begin at 2:30pm. 

Marc Wanamaker, founder of Bison Archives and professional consultant on motion pictures, will give a lecture on the history of Marion Davies and her glamorous life at the estate.  The City of Santa Monica is in the process of revitalizing 415 PCH (http://415pch.smgov.net).  A generous gift from the Annenberg Foundation has made it possible to preserve the location as a public beach facility for the enjoyment of many generations to come. The City’s Director of Community and Cultural Services, Barbara Stinchfield, and Jessica Cusick, Cultural Affairs Manager, as well as John Berley with Fred Fisher and Partners will be on hand to provide an overview and to discuss the ways the layered history of the site will come alive in the final project.