Whether you get your news from TikTok, Instagram, NPR, Fox or wherever, you will see the frequency of celebrities that die of a drug overdose or suicide.  Usually, when the death is first announced the cause of death is “unknown”.  Immediately I think; drugs, doing something stupid or a combination of both.  It IS usually the case.  Some people will attribute these deaths to the side effects of fame: social media pressure, easy access to drugs, YOLO, youthful feelings of immortality, the need to show off or go big, etc. 

NEWSFLASH!  Celebrities have been committing suicide (literally or slowly as a side effect of their lifestyle) since the 1920’s (and before). Influenced as I was by Kenneth Anger’s “Hollywood Babylon” as a teenager, I was super intrigued by what seemed to be the pervasive drug use, debauchery and deaths that plagued the silent stars of Hollywood.  And of course, I’ve added quite a few of their autographs, books or photos to my collection over the years.  

Let’s go for a ride on Silent Suicide Drive. 

WALLACE REID - It was the lascivious picture in “Hollywood Babylon” where Kenneth Anger focused on the Wally’s noticeable bulge, while the text talked about his tragic death that brought Wally Reid into my consciousness.  Wallace Reid was a top matinee idol, big box office, an athlete, race car driver and full of sex appeal.  With his head injured via train enroute to a movie location, they sewed up his scalp and gave him morphine to continue filming.  Times never change: the show must go on.  And so did the morphine, as it grew into a deadly addiction.  Wallace Reid died less than 4 years later, in 1923, at the age of 31.  He was in a “sanitorium” (we call it detox now) when he succumbed to influenza.  Clearly the morphine and attempt to become sober had weakened his system.  Nancy Reagan wasn’t born yet to tell him “Just say no”.   

Another aspect of his sad death that shows things never change is that his wife, actress Dorothy Davenport, starred in a movie (“Human Wreckage”) and did a national tour to warn of the dangers of drug addiction.  Widows need money after their drug addict husbands (and their funds) are gone. 

His entry in “Hollywood Babylon” has since been pilloried, as has most of that book’s contents, but partly in due to the sensationalism therein, Wally Reid’s untimely death has made him appealing to collectors.  There are a great many fan photos, facsimile autographs, and a few authentic hand-signed items that you will see on the internet for sale; and they’re not cheap.  I’m lucky enough to be in possession of the great portrait that you see here.  There's a longer, well-done documentary under "Hollywood Mysteries - Wallace Reid" on YouTube, but I wanted to showcase this 3 minute tribute to this handsome star.

BARBARA LA MARR - She was the “Girl Who Is Too Beautiful”.  She graced countless magazine covers in the 1920’s, many of which are reprinted and re-used today.  Louis B. Mayer renamed Hedwig Kiesler to Hedy Lamarr, tipping his hat to Hedy’s beauty by giving her Barbara’s last name.  Barbara bragged about sleeping 2 hours a day – “I have better things to do!” and was a party girl of an extreme nature.  Booze for sure and drug usage (morphine/heroin) has been bandied about but also disputed.   

Ultimately, because she was burning the candle at both ends, her flame went out at the age of 29 in 1926.  Technically she died of tuberculosis and nephritis (kidneys) – the party had come to an end.  Interesting side-note: Paul Bern, later to be the husband of Jean Harlow and victim of a still unsolved death, was with Barbara when she died at her parents’ home. 

There was a paperbook book (title forgotten) about tragic female silent stars that first got me intrigued.  Subsequently, a well-deserved full length biography has been published, which I highly recommend.  I still haven't seen any of her films, but I haven't looked to hard to see if any are available. Let me know if you have a recommendation or secret find! Shout out to Kenny M. for gifting me with the Fillmore Poster for George Clinton (!) featuring this great image Barbara. Once again, my careless storage and placement in my sun-filled home has dissipated the vibrance of the poster; but it's still cool!

An authentic autograph of Barbara LaMarr is hard to find and usually well over $1,000.  Shown here is an original 7x9 fan photo sent out at the height of her career.  "Hollywood Mysteries" documentary on her is very well done:

JACK PICKFORD – What would it be like if you’re the only boy in a family of all women (two sisters and a mother), and your older sister is the biggest female movie star IN THE WORLD? Umm.  I guess you go into the movie industry?   

Jack had a solid acting career as the “All American Boy”, but perhaps the shadow of living in the shadow of America’s Sweetheart was a lot to handle.  Was that a contributing factor to his serious drinking, abusive attitude, marriages to TWO women who died young and being close friends with another actor who shot himself at age 27.  What is up with the circle of cruddy circumstances around Jack Pickford? 

He died at age 36 in 1933 of “neuritis” believed to have been caused by his severe alcoholism.  At least he got 9 more years of life than his good friend (Bobby Harron) and first wife (Olive Thomas) and just one year less than his second wife (Marilyn Miller). 

OLIVE THOMAS – Jack Pickford’s first wife was another one of those tragic celebrity stories brought to my attention by “Hollywood Babylon”.  A pretty girl does some modeling, makes about twenty silent movies, and marries the brother of Mary Pickford.  Enjoying a delayed honeymoon in Paris, she returns to their room at The Ritz and drunkenly (accidentally) drinks her husband’s liquid (yet topical) medication for his SYPHILLIS SORES!!! I have so many questions.  So did the press and public.  And apparently Kenneth Anger was thrilled to have this fodder. 

It was 1920, she was 25 and it was the first of Hollywood’s scandals to become front page news and start the finger-pointing at Hollywood for being a cesspool of sin.   

The authentic hand-signed autograph of Olive Thomas is one of my favorites and most rare in the bobbyatgloss collection. 

Leave it to YouTube to provide a real good short documentary and vintage footage of Olive (and Jack):

BOBBY HARRON – Let’s proceed deeper into the Jack Pickford crux of doom!  Jack was close friends with boyish actor Bobby Harron who was quite successful with a prolific career in silent films, most notably in D.W. Griffith’s classics “Intolerance” and “Birth of a Nation”. 

It was after a viewing Griffith’s “Way Down East” (where apparently the audience thought the movie sucked – but I think it’s great) when Bobby Harron went to his hotel room.  And shot himself. Quite by accident, I’m sure.  He said so.  And then died 5 days later in Bellevue Hospital in 1920 – age 27.  So many questions on this one; never truly and fully answered. 

The Bobby Harron autograph shown here is a lucky find in a large collection that I bought, and it wasn’t until I logged my purchase and did my research that I found out about his tragic story.  Collectors, what can I say? (Hartsook photo dated 1918 with fan-written note about his death) 

MARILYN MILLER – We’re not done with Jack Pickford’s extension of deaths!  His second wife was a Ziegfeld girl, Broadway star and appeared in a few films.  Marilyn Miller was THE toast of Broadway.  “She made grown men cry”.  She was magic and personality incarnate.  Apparently, to see her in person was a life-altering experience.   

Marilyn married Jack Pickford in 1922 but his hard drinking, drug usage and abusive ways were not to her liking, and they divorced 4 years later.  It’s no wonder that her stardom, marriages, constant sinus infections (ummmm…snuff?) and heavy drinking led to a nervous breakdown and hospitalization.  Then a “toxic condition” and THREE blood transfusions before BAM – she “died suddenly from complications of nasal surgery” in 1936 at age 37. 

Marilyn Miller’s life has been told at least one book “The Other Marilyn” and movie “Look for the Silver Lining” with June Haver. But I mean there should seriously be a movie about Jack Pickford and this group of unlucky folks in his orbit.  Or is there one already and I just don’t know about it? 

Marilyn Miller’s autograph is highly sought after, with many forgeries and fakes on the market.  I’m truly lucky to own this beautiful, inscribed vintage photograph at the height of her beauty and fame.  Here's a well-done recap of her life and death with some great photos and details

HELEN TWELVETREES – Her name alone!  I’ve got her autograph in my collection and I’d seen glamorous movie stills of her, but I couldn’t name any of her movies off the top of my head.  It wasn’t until doing research on silent star early deaths that I found her to be a member of this group. Rabbit hole, here I come.  Ok she was in ONE silent movie, so she technically qualifies to be in this group.   

The drama in this woman’s life! I mean … I’m just an opinionated autograph collector who has some good stories.  But don’t we all use Wikipedia to fill in the blanks? I’ve just got to quote this juice from Wiki directly (and yes, I do donate to keep Wikipedia free!)  

“She married her first husband, actor Clark Twelvetrees, in February 1927. During the marriage, her husband attempted suicide in the middle of a dinner party by jumping out of a Manhattan hotel window. He struck two awnings before landing on a parked taxi and was hospitalized for several months. In March 1930, she filed for divorce, citing mental cruelty. During the divorce trial, Twelvetrees claimed that her husband was an alcoholic who was drunk when they married and beat her on four occasions. Their divorce became final in March 1931. Clark Twelvetrees died in August 1938 of a skull fracture after striking his head on a curb when a man, who witnessed Clark hit a woman to the ground with whom he was arguing, physically intervened. Murder charges against the man, 29-year-old painter James Paskovics, were dismissed.” 

As you can tell, Helen was off to a great start as soon as that Twelvetrees became part of her name.  And I thought it was just a horribly made-up Hollywood moniker.  She was in films for about 10 years, making her last movie in 1939.  Per IMDb: “By 1935, the public had grown tired of her roles and directors had grown weary of her temperament.” Oh? Raised eyebrow; pray tell??  

“Through the balance of her life there seemed to be a void”.  Helen Twelvetrees’ body was “found” (lonely and alone?), she had been suffering from a kidney ailment (liquor?) and she had taken an overdose of sedatives. Dead by suicide at 49 in 1958.   

Her life and overview of her 32 films has merited a full biography “Perfect Ingenue”. And of course, I had to buy it.  Still haven’t read it.  Still haven’t seen any of her movies.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we collectors are “special”. 

One last check of her films on IMDb to see if I’ve seen or know any of them.  And no, neither. But I’ll close out with a few choice movies in which she appeared.  When put together, their titles make a tidy biography of Helen Twelvetrees:  

She Was a Lady. A Woman of Experience. Disgraced. Is My Face Red? Unashamed. The Ghost Talks.  And leave it to YouTube to show this "pre-code lesbian (?) scene" ....

JULIA BRUNS

The "supermodel of her day" (in the 19-teens) was a beauty often photographed and immortalized in photos my James Montgomery Flagg. Shown here is a vintage oversized magazine photo from the time when she was super famous. I have yet to see ANY autographs for sale of Julia Bruns. But I had to include her, because of her story. Alcohol and drugs did her in at the age of 32. Shop-lifting jewels to buy drugs, demanding that her Chow Chow dog and an autographed photo of Enrico Caruso be with her in her prison cell, bumming cigarettes from detectives in order to talk and writing about her troubles (for money - like Mary Nolan) - these all add to the tragic glamour. Found dead in a furnished room. Lights out.

MARIE PREVOST

Kenneth Anger, once again, raised the gruesome flag in “Hollywood Babylon” with the death photo of Marie Prevost.  I believed everything I read when I was a teenager, but this story seems too far out to be true.  But even without the Kenneth embellishments, the seamy death of Marie Prevost was a messy, sad situation. 

Before we get to the gnawed leg of a corpse, let’s talk about something pretty and glittery.  Marie Prevost was a glamour girl with quite the career, some amazing photographs and beautiful fan photos. Grist for a collector’s mill.  

Most of her success was in silent films where face would win the race.  The microphone dulled her career because of her New England accent, but she did work.  And I saw her in “Paid” from 1930 (when I was watching all Joan Crawford films in chronological order), but I don’t remember her much onscreen.  When I think of Marie Prevost, my mind goes to beautiful movie stills, fan photos and her death. 

By all Hollywood-friend accounts she was a sweet, lovable woman.  Even Howard Hughes had a thing for her. But weight gain and dwindling roles was a vicious cycle that Marie tried to combat weight gain by not eating. At all. Only drinking.  Alcohol. 

She had been dead for 6 days from anorexia/malnutrition and acute alcoholism by the time her neighbors complained about her barking dachshund and her body was found. In the squalid, room were empty liquor bottles, the barking dog, and a promissory note to Joan Crawford (Who has THAT now?!?! Talk about collectible!) 

All this talk about her dog having been so hungry that he chewed on her body was part of Kenneth Anger’s fever dream.  Thankfully history and due diligence by latter day fans has cleaned up that part of her story. 

The “autographed” fan photos that you see here were not authentically signed, but in the 1920’s movie stars had some of the most high-end beautiful and realistic stamps such as these.  Many untrained eyes will sell these on eBay declaring “hand-signed” “in-person” and/or authentic.  Nope.  Read Bobby’s Brief on stamped photos! 

And BTW … Marie Prevost still lives on … such as this song by Nick Lowe.  But the lyrics … “she was a winner that became a doggie’s dinner”.  That’s Ken Anger’s fault – see the pic from Hollywood Babylon. 

Her dachshund was a cry for help, not a people eater! 

Beautiful tribute:  

ART ACORD – We’ll take a brief respite from the morbid and just skip to basic suicide.  Art Acord was a successful silent star, cowboy, and rodeo champ.  Yet another casualty who couldn’t adapt to the microphones of the talking picture, he crawled into the bottle.  Then plagued by a litany of issues: a serious burn injury, no work, failed marriages citing abuse and cheating, etc. he did what a lot of film cowboys do.  Got a hotel room in Mexico. Killing himself with cyanide was his personal cherry on top to go out on his own. It was 1931 and he was 40.  I don’t have any autographs of Art Acord, but I do have this original fan postcard in mint condition from 1920 (which is also the picture they use on his Wikipedia page). 

VERA SISSON - Who? The notoriety around Vera Sisson is that she made a movie with Valentino in 1918 and that she and her husband were arrested by the Nazis on charges of espionage in 1939 and held in solitary confinement. A year after her husband committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, she followed his lead by overdosing on barbiturates in 1954. Simply being in movies with Valentino, Louise Brooks and Constance Talmadge does not make one a celluloid legend.

The autograph that you see here is highly dubious. Although sold to me as "Vera" Sisson, the date on the picture is 1926, which means that the real Vera Sisson would have been 33 and that girl in the picture looks much younger than 33. Additionally, even if I'm misreading the "2" and it's 1916, the woman in the signed photo hardly resembles the Vera Sisson pictured on the cover of the DVD with Valentino or the accompanying publicity pictures released during her career. She's included her, because I find the inside of a rabbit hole to be one of my vacation homes.

ALMA RUBENS – Her auto/biography is entitled “Snowbird”.  Such a subtle reference to her drug of choice.  When I first discovered her in SILENT BOOK my first thoughts were that she wasn’t terribly attractive compared to the other ladies in the book (La Marr, etc.) but hers was a DOOZY of a tale.  Sanitariums, stabbing a physician, drug addictions, a cocaine bust, a first husband that dislocated her jaw, her marriage to Ricardo Cortez that was so effed up and contentious that he said he wasn’t notified of her death and hadn’t seen her in months.  (I’ll talk about him separately, but by all accounts, including Loretta Young, he was NOT a nice person). 

She died at 33 in 1931, after being released from jail for possessing blow.  Technically it was pneumonia and bronchitis that killed her, but the technical cause of death for almost all drug addict suicide (whether accidental or purposeful) is simply jargon for “They abused their body so much that their organs, respiratory and/or immune systems stopped working”.  It’s such a coincidence that Alma Ruben’s first movie in 1914 is a lost film called “Narcotic Spectre”.  A life summation in her case.   

Due to my obsession after reading about her, she was on my eBay Saved Searches for so many months (years?) before I found this really nice, authentic autographed photo of hers.  ADDENDUM: This autograph is apparently NOT authentic since there are others EXACTLY like it, stroke for stroke (mind out of the gutter please) and it appears to be one of those superb stamps (or whatever they used) that were done by big silent stars. Mind boggling how the autographs from the 20's can be better "authentic forgeries" than autopens or pre-prints of later days. Interesting short video of the house where she died, looking pretty much the same as it did at the time of her death (from the outside) along with some nice vintage photos.

PIERRE BATCHEFF – Who? Pierre was a French movie star, matinee idol and diverse actor, but above all he was an “artiste”.  He didn’t like the fluff of celebrity or fans and even mentions (see close-up text from the book about his attitude toward autographs) But he has the distinction of collaborating with people like Salvador Dali and Josephine Baker – AND of having a book devoted almost entirely to a deep analysis of his 25 films.  Sometimes artistes are like delicate flowers; hydrangeas that succumb to intense heat.  Pierre was one such soul and died of a drug overdose at 30 years old in 1931. “No autographs, please.  Just remember my art.”  So yes, of course, I have the book. 

MARIE WALCAMP – Here’s one that falls into the category of how obscure can Bobby go?!?!?  Marie Walcamp was one of the earliest silent players, starting her career in 1913 at the ripe old age of 19.  She had a great run as a Pearl White type of serial heroine and did her own stunts.  It was her final stunt that caught my attention and put her in this group.  Nine years after her final film role, suffering from depression, Marie snuffed out her life by turning on the gas. She was 36 and it was 1942.  I have TNS (typed note signed) by Marie Walcamp, which is interesting for two reasons: the fan mail requests were coming in even as of 1919 - AND she tells the writer to make sure to send her money. The commercialization of monetization of autographs is over a century old. Whether the autograph is authentic or not is hard to tell, since every example of her autograph that have seen online are all slightly different. Also, please take a close look at the vintage fan postcard of Marie.  Understand that she had to be 27 or younger in this photo and how differently people aged back in the day.  Cameras and lighting were BRUTAL back then.  Plus, no filler or all the human “youthful” tricks we have today.  Oh, fuck it. I’m old. Wait … does MY house have a gas heater??? 

MAX LINDER -  Look at the handsome face and profile in this great vintage postcard of Max Linder from the early 1900’s.  He is considered the “first movie star” making his debut in 1905 (one year before oft cited “first movie star” Florence Lawrence) and he was also known internationally which was truly a feat in those early days of film.   

There is a documentary, which I’m dying to find, called “The Mystery of the King of Kinema” from 2014.  Here’s the synopsis: “In 1914, one century ago Max Linder was the first movie star. He was known as "The King of Kinema". Then came the war, and the world changed forever. His daughter Maud has struggled for 70 years to recover his legacy. This is their story.” 

Max was a king of comedy and there are lots of YouTube videos with clips and full-length movies that showcase his talents.  One that I find very interesting is when the French comedian met Charlie Chaplin and clowned around together.  Check out the footage of these two together:  

The litany of issues and drama in this Max Linder’s personal life sound like fodder out of National Enquirer headlines.  Mental breakdowns, injuries from being thrown from a vehicle, kidnapping a minor (his 17-year-old wife), severe depression and serious opium (morphine/heroin) usage.  But the REAL headline is his death. 

Both he and his wife were found dead in October 1925.  They had drunk phenobarbital, injected themselves with morphine AND slashed their wrists.  She was 19, he was 41.  If this was submitted as a screenplay, I think the producers would say “This shit is unbelievable”.  I mean you can’t make this shit up!  But it’s true and that’s how they died.  Whether it was a suicide pact, or he killed her first has never been firmly established and the mystery lingers on. 

Max Linder lingers on as well.  My fellow cinephile mired in obscure references, and one of my favorited directors, Quentin Tarantino refers to him in “Inglourious Basterds”. 

When I dig, I dig DEEP!  Infer what you may. 

BILLIE CARLETON – Ok, so technically she wasn’t a silent star.  Never even appeared in a movie.  She was a West End musical comedy stage star.  But the story is too juicy to pass up and not include her since her fame WAS in the silent era.   

Let’s veer to Liam Payne for a minute.  You know how he was found dead splattered on the ground after “falling” off a balcony in Argentina?  And how the authorities are holding and charging his drug suppliers for his death?  Well, the same thing happened with Billie Carleton. 

Except that it was a homosexual, cross-dressing blackmailer who was charged and got off the hook after serving 8 months for providing the cocaine that killed her.  Along with a Scotch woman with a Chinese last name (marriage) who also had to serve 5 months hard labor for supplying Billie with opium.  Billie Carleton was 22 years old when she died in 1918. 

This little-known actress and her whole sordid situation not only became the basis on which Noel Coward wrote “The Vortex” (with many stage, TV, and film productions), but she is also the thinly disguised main character in the 1918 novel simply titled “Dope”. 

This type of occurrence is now so common, I guess there should just be a regular podcast called “Fentanyl Factor”. 

MARY NOLAN - 

Mary Nolan: “Take me”  

John Gilbert: “The paint’s all peeled off – there’s nothing tempting about you now”  

This exchange in “Desert Nights” (full movie available on YouTube) is very foretelling about Mary Nolan’s Hollywood career.  When I was in my favorite male silent movie star (John Gilbert) phase, I watched this movie and got really intrigued about Mary Nolan.  She’s also fun to watch with Lon Chaney in “West of Zanzibar”.  But her personal life was a friggin’ roller coaster!!!  

Imogene “Bubbles” Wilson was a beyond-beautiful Ziegfeld showgirl.  She got fired for being in a messy affair with a married, alcoholic, blackface actor - whom she had charged with assault and got him arrested.  So she ditches the States, moves to Germany and appears in German films for 3 years under the name Imogene Robertson. 

Back to the United States and changes her name to Mary Nolan, gaining some success in films such as those noted above.  But then the paint starts peeling.  Drugs, drugs, drugs. Hospitalizations, claims of abuse and forced abortions, decline with less and less work in lower quality films and venues, theft, jail time, psychiatric ward, attempted suicide and an attempt to reinvent herself as Mary Wilson.   

But the paint and veneer are all gone and “there’s nothing tempting” about the remnants of Mary Nolan.   

She hadn’t appeared in a film in 16 years and had nothing left to capitalize on when she died of an overdose of Seconal in 1948 at the age of 45. The autographs, photos, and memorabilia that I have scrupulously assembled shows a glimpse into the shooting star known as Mary Nolan.  Self-silenced and forgotten. 

“Yesterday’s Girl” was the title of the autobiography she was working on when she died.  It’s been incorporated into the biography of hers that of course I have in my collection.  Buy why hasn’t somebody written a screenplay about this dizzying whirlwind of a life?  

“And the Oscar for Best Actress goes to Sabrina Carpenter in Yesterday’s Girl”.  Sabrina, watch this doc for your research before filming

We see it every day - whether it be a social media, reality, sports or legitimate movie/TV star - deaths caused by depravity, bad choices, indulgence, sloth or lost luster depression are regular headlines.

THIS IS NOT NEW BEHAVIOR! Have you seen the movie “Babylon” about early Hollywood with Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt? The film’s displays of debauchery, drugs, alcohol, and excess are NOT exaggerations.   

Today’s playas ain’t got nothin’ new on the hard-partyin’ silent star colony! 

 *** The rest of this page is a Bobby G work in progress.  Just some quick bullet points:

JAMES MURRAY – Starred in "The Crowd" with Eleanor Boardman. Drank way too much, sacrificed his career, fell or jumped off a pier and drowned at 35.

HAROLD LOCKWOOD - Technically not a suicide; but randomly died at 31 from Spanish Influenza. RFK told him not to get vaccinated.

GRANT WITHERS – The 25 year old actor married 17 year old Loretta Young; short marriage. Gained a lot of weight, unhappy, married and divorced another entertainer, attempted suicide and then finally succeeded with an overdose of barbiturates at 54.

LUPE VELEZ - Kenneth Anger and Hollywood Bablylon will tell you that she ate Mexican food, took pills and laid herself out in her best nightgown to be photographed "looking good when she was dead" - but that the Mexican food made her puke and she was found dead, drowned in the toilet bowl from throwing up. Umm. All I know is the open casket pix online are pretty vivid. Check Wikipedia for the suicide note and "details"

ESTELLE TAYLOR – She had dinner with Lupe Velez on the night before Lupe committed suicide. Good footnote, but it would have bee more interesting if she followed it up with a booty call with her ex-husband, Jack Dempsey.

KEN HARLAN - Notable mention and included here, NOT because he died young (he was 71). But the bro married NINE times including one of our Suicide Girls (Marie Prevost) . We need to unpack whatever he was packin.

MABEL NORMAND - Legend. So many things to say. Early death by tuberculosis, but all the drugs and alcohol and being part of the Mary Miles Minter and William Desmond Taylor murder scandal took a serious toll. The mystery and possibilities and theories around her death are numerous. I'll be conferring with Bernadette Peters and get back to this later.

SUMMATION: Have you seen the movie “Babylon” about early Hollywood with Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt? The film’s displays of debauchery, drugs, alcohol, and excess are NOT exaggerations.   

Today’s playas ain’t got nothin’ new on the hard-partyin’ silent star colony!