Category: William-randolph-hearst

The Bill of Rights, As Interpreted by Nora Ephron

8/25/2022

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“Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.”

Nora Ephron, I Remember Nothing

Early 20th Century Newspaper Baron William Randolph Hearst

Image Credit: Library of Congress

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All in a Day's Work, with William Randolph Hearst

11/13/2019

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“All work and no play may make Jim a dull boy, but no work and all play makes Jim all kinds of jackass.”

William Randolph Hearst, The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst and Sons in Costume for His Birthday Party, 1937

A vintage copy of this photo is available for purchase here.

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In Praise of the Autodidact

6/17/2019

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“It takes a good mind to resist education.”

William Randolph Hearst, The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

School Classroom

Image Credit: Fine Art America

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Turning the Other Cheek, with William Randolph Hearst

8/8/2018

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“If a dog barked at me in the street, I would be foolish to get down on all fours and bark back.”

William Randolph Hearst, The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst for Governor Campaign Button

"The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst"

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Marion Davies, A Heart of Gold in Hollywood's Golden Age

5/18/2018

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“You’re rich not because of money but only through what you give.”

Marion Davies, via Hedda Hopper's The Whole Truth and Nothing But

Marion Davies; Photograph by Cecil Beaton

Yes, she had a drinking problem, but Marion Davies was that Hollywood rarity: an actor who remained unspoiled despite fame and fortune. She also possessed a wry (and self-deprecating) sense of humor. One of her lasting achievements was the financing of a children's wing at the UCLA medical school. When friends joked it was a memorial to her, she replied that this was not so. Quipped Marion, "It won't do me any good; I'll be down below where I can't see so high."

Though they never married, Marion Davies was the love of William Randolph Hearst's life. They met in 1918 and remained together until his death in 1951. Of their relationship, she, in her endearing stammer, told Eleanor Boardman (Mrs. King Vidor), “I started out a g-g-gold digger and I ended up in love.” The newspaper titan made Marion rich in her own right, and when his empire neared collapse, Marion unblinkingly used her fortune to save the him from ruin. [See: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst.]

To those who never had the pleasure of meeting her, Marion might have seemed common. She was a live-in girlfriend of a married man in an era when that was outrageously taboo. In theory, she might was like many of her peers—a parvenu actress with little formal education and no training in social etiquette. Yet, she had the natural good manners and affability that appeals to the best people in all social classes. Even a blue-blood like Winston Churchill was enchanted. In a letter to his wife, Clementine, he said of Marion, “She is not strikingly beautiful nor impressive in any way. But her personality is most attractive; naïve childlike, bon enfant.”

Even after William Randolph Hearst died, Joseph P. Kennedy remained devoted to his old pal's longtime mistress. Davies was invited to and attended Kennedy family events, including the 1953 marriage of John F. Kennedy to Jacqueline Bouvier and the JFK presidential inauguration in 1961.

Image Credit: The Book of Beauty

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A Quiz: Citizen Trump Edition

4/28/2016

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Name the business tycoon with presidential aspirations who:

Turned inherited money into an even greater and more vastly hyped fortune.
Teetered towards bankruptcy on several occasions but was bailed out by a parent.
Turned the family surname into a nationally recognized brand, though not one always of the highest quality.
Left his wife for a Broadway starlet.
Had an intense dislike of Mexico that bordered upon paranoia, which he incorporated into his platform.
Railed against the political machines of both the Republican and Democratic parties, and sought "to convince voters that their government, as constituted, was incapable of meeting their needs and he alone was capable of rescuing it from the stranglehold of trust-controlled and corrupted politicians.”
Was despised by the leader of the Republic Party who noted "his extraordinary popularity among the ‘have-nots’” and wrote of him, “He preaches the gospel of envy, hatred and unrest. His actions so far go to show that he is entirely willing to sanction any mob violence if he thinks that for the moment votes are to be gained by so doing … He cares nothing for the nation, nor for any citizen in it … He is the most potent single influence for evil we have in our life.” [emphasis added]

HINT: The title of the post offers both a dead giveaway and a false lead.

The answer is after the JUMP.

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The Bill of Rights, As Interpreted by Nora Ephron

All in a Day's Work, with William Randolph Hearst

In Praise of the Autodidact

Turning the Other Cheek, with William Randolph Hearst

Marion Davies, A Heart of Gold in Hollywood's Golden Age

A Quiz: Citizen Trump Edition

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