Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. During the silent film era, she was known as ‘The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips’ and ‘The Gardenia of the Screen.’ She named herself May Murray by combining May with one of her favorite restaurants, Murray’s Restaurant on 42nd Street, where she had hung out when she was a girl.
Broadway career
Murray made her acting debut on the Broadway stage in 1906. Her first appearance at the Ziegfeld Follies was as a chorus member before becoming a headliner in 1915. She became a star of American and European clubs, performing with various dance partners such as Clifton Webb, Rudolph Valentino, and John Gilbert.
Career in Hollywood
Murray made her debut in Hollywood with the movie ‘To Have and to Hold’ in 1916. She became a major star for Universal, starring with Rudolph Valentino in ‘The Delicious Little Devil’ and ‘Big Little Person’ in 1919. The success of these films helped move her quickly up the ladder, with Lasky starring her in such romantic comedies and dramas as the title role in ‘Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1916)’, ‘Dream Girl (1916)’, ‘The Plow Girl (1916)’, ‘A Mormon Maid (1917)’ and ‘The Primrose Ring (1917)’. Many of her films feature dance sequences specially choreographed for her by Robert Z. Leonard, who she married in 1918 and divorced in 1925. Additionally, she appeared in several Universal Pictures films during the 1920s.
In 1925, Murray, Leonard, and Stahl produced films at Tiffany Pictures, with Souls for Sables (1925), starring Claire Windsor and Eugene O’Brien, as the first film made by Tiffany. She also wrote a weekly column for newspaper scion William Randolph Hearst for a short time.
Murray and her director, John M. Stahl, in her peak years, formed their own production company. She is known less for her sensational costumes and exaggerated emoting than for her films’ popularity with moviegoers and financial success.
The decline of Murray’s Career
Murray’s movie career faded with the advent of sound in motion pictures. She failed at the box office with her first sound film, Peacock Alley (1930). The passage of time had taken its toll on her. Neither her voice nor mannerisms were deemed suitable for talkies. Even though she might have stayed on the MGM for a few more years, her fourth and last husband, Prince David Mdvani, who had control over her business affairs, ill-advisedly forced her to leave. She was blacklisted from working for the Hollywood studios.
Murray performed regularly at Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe in the 1940s. She was criticized for wearing youthful attire and heavy makeup in an attempt to disguise her age. A dance studio in Los Angeles hired her in 1946 to teach ballroom dancing to teenagers. Her finances continued to deteriorate, and she spent most of her later years in poverty. She was occasionally found absently humming the Merry Widow Waltz on a Central Park bench while traveling from coast to coast. Jane Ardmore wrote an authorized biography of her entitled ‘The Self-Enchanted (1959)’.
Personal life
He was the unemployed son of a brewery supply vendor whose father took away his allowance when he discovered the wedding. They were married only for two years and divorced in 1910. In 1916, she married future Olympic bobsled champion Jay O’Brien, a former dancer. Murray divorced O’Brien in 1918 and married movie director Robert Z. Leonard on August 18, 1918. Their divorce was finalized in 1925.
Murray married her fourth husband, David Mdivani, in 1926. They had one child, Koran David Mdivani. The couple divorced in 1933, and a bitter custody battle ensued. The case ended in 1940 with Murray being granted legal custody of the child and Mdivani being ordered to pay $400 maintenance per month.
Dunking donuts in coffee is a practice invented by Murray. She was having coffee with a friend at Lindy’s Restaurant on Broadway when she dropped her donut in the cup. The donut’s taste and texture improved after it had been dipped in the coffee.
Murray died of a heart ailment on March 23, 1965. She is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California. Many mourners at her funeral, among them Ramon Novarro, Claire Windsor, Vivian Duncan, Isabel Jewell, Wild Bill Tucker, Criswell and Fay Holden.
Here below are some glamorous photos of Mae Murray from her acting career and life.
