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Marion Davies was one of the great comedic actresses of the silent era and into the 1930s.

Marion Cecelia Douras was born in the borough of Brooklyn, New York on January 3, 1897, the daughter of Rose (Reilly) and Bernard J. Douras, a lawyer and judge. Her parents were both of Irish descent. Marion had been bitten by the show biz bug early as she watched her sisters perform in local stage productions. She wanted to do the same. As Marion got older, she tried out for various school plays and did fairly well. Once her formal education had ended, Marion began her career as a chorus girl in New York City, first in the pony follies, and eventually found herself in the famed Ziegfeld Follies. But she wanted to do more than dance. Acting, to Marion, was the epitome of show business and aimed her sights in that direction. Her stage name came when she and her family passed the Davies Insurance Building. One of her sisters called out "Davies!!! That shall be my stage name", and the whole family took on that name.

Her first film was Runaway Romany (1917), when she was 20. Written by Marion and directed by her brother-in-law, the film wasn't exactly a box-office smash, but for Marion, it was a start and a stepping stone to bigger things. The following year Marion starred in two films, The Burden of Proof (1918) and Cecilia of the Pink Roses (1918). The latter film was backed by newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst. When Marion moved to California, she already was involved with Hearst. They lived together at his San Simeon castle, an extremely elaborate mansion which stands as a California landmark to this day. At San Simeon, they threw grand parties, many of them in costume. Frequent guests included Carole Lombard, Mary Pickford, Sonja Henie, and Dolores Del Río - basically all the top names in Hollywood and other celebrities including the mayor of New York City, President Calvin Coolidge, and Charles Lindbergh. Davies and Hearst would continue a long-term romantic relationship for the next 30 years. Because of Hearst's newspaper empire, Marion would be promoted as no actress before her.

She appeared in numerous films over the next few years, with The Cinema Murder (1919) being one of the most suspenseful. In 1922, Marion appeared as Mary Tudor in the historical romantic epic, When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922). It was a film into which Hearst poured in millions of dollars as a showcase for her. Although Marion didn't normally appear in period pieces, she turned in a wonderful performance, and the film turned a profit. Marion remained busy, one of the staples in movie houses around the country. At the end of the twenties, it was obvious that sound films were about to replace silents. Marion was nervous because she had a stutter when she became excited and worried she wouldn't make a successful transition to the new medium, but she was a true professional who had no problem with the change. Time after time, film after film, Marion turned in masterful performances. In 1930, two of her better films were Not So Dumb (1930) and The Florodora Girl (1930). By the early 1930s, Marion had lost her box office appeal and the downward slide began.

Had she been without Hearst's backing, she possibly could have been more successful. He was more of a hindrance than a help. Hearst had tried to push MGM executives to hire Marion for the role of Elizabeth Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934). Louis B. Mayer had other ideas and hired producer Irving Thalberg's wife, Norma Shearer instead. Hearst reacted by pulling his newspaper support for MGM without much impact. By the late 1930s Hearst was suffering financial reversals and it was Marion who bailed him out by selling $1 million of her jewelry. Without her, the Hearst Corporation might not be where it is today. Hearst's financial problems also spelled an end to her career. Although she had made the transition to sound, other stars fared better, and her roles became fewer and further between. In 1937, a 40-year-old Marion filmed her last movie, Ever Since Eve (1937). Out of films and with the intense pressures of her relationship with Hearst, Davies turned more and more to alcohol. Despite those problems, Marion was a very sharp and savvy business woman.

When Hearst died in 1951, Marion did not really know what was going on. The night before, there had been a lot of people in the house. Marion was very upset by the large crowd of family and friends. She said it was too noisy, and they were disturbing Hearst by talking so loud. She was upset and had to be sedated. When she woke, her niece, Patricia Van Cleve Lake, and her husband, Arthur Lake, told her that Hearst was dead. Upon Patricia's death, it was revealed she had been the love child of Davies and Hearst. Marion was banned from Hearst's funeral.

She later started many charities including a children's clinic that is still operating today. She was very generous and was loved by everyone who knew her. She went through a lot, even getting polio in the 1940s. Marion married for the first time at the age of 54, to Horace Brown. The union would last until she died of cancer on September 22, 1961 in Los Angeles, California. She was 64 years old.

Moe Howard, the "Boss Stooge" and brother of Stooges Curly Howard and Shemp Howard, began his acting career in 1909 by playing bit roles in silent Vitagraph films. At 17 he joined a troupe working on a showboat and also appeared in several two-reel comedy shorts. In 1922 he, brother Shemp and Larry Fine joined roughhouse vaudeville comic Ted Healy, forming the act that would become The Three Stooges. Howard toured vaudeville and appeared in films with Healy for ten years before the Stooges left to pursue a separate career. Moe appeared in more than 250 films during his 66-year career, including 190 Three Stooges shorts. Over the act's 50-year history, the Stooges went through several personnel changes; when Moe died, the act ended.

Shemp Howard was born Samuel Horwitz in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was also the brother of fellow stooges Moe Howard and Curly Howard. Larry Fine was not related to any of the other stooges.

When not working with The Three Stooges, Shemp made a lot of feature film appearances, such as The Bank Dick (1940) with W.C. Fields. Shemp, Moe, Larry and Curly appeared in only one short together -- Hold That Lion! (1947). In it, Curly appears as an uncredited train car passenger. Watch for the man with the hat on his face. This was a short, non-speaking cameo, due to a stroke Curly suffered the prior year.

Viola Dana (real name Virginia Flugrath) was born in Brooklyn, NY, on June 26, 1897. She was the middle sister of three sisters (the other two were Edna Flugrath and Shirley Mason). She made her film debut in 1914 in Molly the Drummer Boy (1914). The following year she received top billing playing "Gladiola Bain" in Gladiola (1915). She was in top demand as evidenced by securing another lead in The Innocence of Ruth (1916). She continued to turn in great performances, particularly as Katie O'Doone in Bred in Old Kentucky (1926). Viola's final silver screen role was in 1929's One Splendid Hour (1929). The last the general public saw her was in a documentary about 'Buster Keaton' called Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987).

Viola died on July 3, 1987, at age 90.

Eddie Dunn was born on 31 March 1896 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Gay Falcon (1941), The Great Dictator (1940) and A Fig Leaf for Eve (1944). He died on 5 May 1951 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Harry Warren was born on 24 December 1893 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Shape of Water (2017), An Affair to Remember (1957) and Sphere (1998). He was married to Josephine Wensler. He died on 22 September 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Gangly and rugged stage and screen character star Otto Hoffman was born in New York in 1879. Began as a stage performer in the 1890's. Made his movie debut under the direction of Stuart Paton in The White Terror (1915) starring Hobart Henley for the IMP Film Company. Otto directed only one film, The Secret of Black Mountain (1917) made in 1917 starring Vola Vale, afterwards he just concentrated on acting he was much better at it. He most often played cadaverous, crafty, menacing characters in more than 200 movies, such as The Kaiser's Shadow (1918), The Eagle (1925), The Valley of the Giants (1927), The Terror (1928), and Noah's Ark (1928). His ethnic range in many talkies include The Desert Song (1929), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Cimarron (1931), Eddie Cantor's Kid Millions (1934), Girl Loves Boy (1937), W.C. Fields' My Little Chickadee (1940), and his last film just before he died was as Oscar in This Is the Life (1944). Married Laura King and has a daughter Eugenie Hoffman.

Charles Previn was born on 11 January 1888 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for My Man Godfrey (1936), Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Saboteur (1942). He died on 22 September 1973 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Richard Tucker was born on 4 June 1884 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Jazz Singer (1927), The Squall (1929) and Wings (1927). He was married to Ruth Mitchell and Mabel Reed. He died on 5 December 1942 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Bayard Veiller was born on 2 January 1869 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Sherlock Brown (1922), The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929) and There Are No Villains (1921). He was married to Margaret Wycherly. He died on 16 January 1943 in New York City, New York, USA.

William Marien Conselman was at the time of his death one of Hollywood's best-paid writers. Like many others, he came from the ranks of newspaper writers, having worked on papers in both Los Angeles and New York. In 1925 Conselman, along with artist Charles Plumb, started the daily comic strip "Ella Cinders", a modern version of the Cinderella story. The strip would stay in syndication until 1961. Conselman's entrance into the film industry as a gag writer came as a result of work he did in the mid-20s for a Hollywood studio publicity department.

Conselman was the oldest of three children born to Henry and Marian Connely Conselman. His father was originally from Pennsylvania, where his parents settled after arriving from Germany. Henry was employed in the theater districts in New York as a carpenter. Marian was born in Ireland and came to America at an early age.

Conselman and his wife Mina were both collectors. He loved to cook and had a large collection of dishes, while her passion was acquiring sculptured hands. They had two children: daughter Diedre was, for a while, married to tennis champion Don Budge and son William Conselman Jr. who would also have a career in Hollywood. William Marien Conselman died at home after a month's illness. His early death at the age of 43 was attributed to a liver ailment.

Robert Emmett Tansey was born on 28 June 1897 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Badman's Gold (1951), Timber Terrors (1935) and Courage of the North (1935). He was married to Kitty. He died on 17 June 1951 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.

James A. Furey was a 19th century musical comedy singer and stage manager at the famous New York Casino on Broadway. He played the Marquis in the Casino's original production of "Erminie". He also sang in all of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas produced there. When advancing years robbed him of his singing voice, he turned to the movies. In his short six-year movie career he acted with such silent movie greats as Theda Bara, Norma Talmadge and Ethel Barrymore.

Frank Losee was born on 12 June 1856 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Old Homestead (1915), Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917) and Sinners (1920). He was married to Marion Elmore. He died on 14 November 1937 in Yonkers, New York, USA.

His parents were Richard J.and and Emma Ennis of Brooklyn. Three of his grandparents were Irish immigrants. Bert had two brothers, neither of whom, like Bert, used the original forms of their names: Frank Leslie, known as Leslie or F. Leslie, a banker, and Richard, known as Harry, whom Bert reported to have been a song-writer and who died at an early age. The family were Roman Catholic, to which religion Bert faithfully adhered.

Bert Ennis was involved with the development of musical accompaniment to silent films.

In his World War II Draft Registration form, Bert described himself as "self-employed" by Bert Ennis Productions c/o Advance Pictures, 630 Ninth Avenue, NY, NY.

Bert spent the latter decades of his life in Roosevelt, Nassau County, NY. He often said that he was writing a history of silent films, but no trace of this work was found after his death. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Samuel Zierler was born on 5 March 1895 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Tomorrow at Seven (1933), The Woman of Bronze (1923) and Command Performance (1931). He was married to Frieda. He died in October 1964 in California, USA.