Thoughts & Things

Sensational Deaths in The World of Early Cinema: Part Two

In the 1920s and 1930s, deaths of film stars and directors were just as sensationalised as they are now. I started discussing some examples of these heavily publicised, scandalous, and significant deaths from this time period in my previous blog post, "Sensational Deaths in The World of Early Cinema: Part One" , and I am continuing it here. These deaths are only the tip of the iceberg of early celebrity deaths and Hollywood scandals.

The Death of Peg Entwistle
Peg Entwistle was best known during her lifetime for her career as a stage actress, that began when she was in her late teens. Entwistle even appeared on Broadway a number of times during her short career. She only ever starred in one film, Thirteen Women (1932), and it was released posthumously. Like some of the young stars in my previous list, Peg Entwistle's true fame came as a result of her death. In 1932, at the age of twenty-five, Peg Entwistle took her own life by leaping off of the "H" in the famed "Hollywood" sign. An anonymous woman found Entwistle's belongings near the sign when on a hike, including the suicide note found in her purse. When she looked down the mountain, she saw a body. The anonymous woman reported the incident to the local police, but refused to identify herself. Entwistle wasn't immediately identified, and it wasn't until she had been missing for days that her uncle realised it was her. The suicide note found in her purse was published in the local papers, and was partially responsible for her uncle coming forward to identify her. The note read, "I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E." The tragic tale was widely publicised. In 2014, a public fundraiser was held at a screening of her only film to raise money for suicide prevention.

The Death of Thelma Todd
Thelma Todd is most certainly not one of the unknowns to make this list. Todd was a widely popular comedy actress who starred in over one hundred films, and acted alongside the Marx brothers, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. She even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Todd was only twenty-nine years old when she was found dead in her car in 1935. Her car was in a garage owned by Jewel Carmen, the former wife of Todd's then lover and business partner, Roland West. West claimed to have locked her out, leading Todd to seek refuge in the car, which she started to keep warm. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Police investigated her death as a potential suicide, but nothing in her life led them to believe she might be suicidal, and no note was left behind. The autopsy reported a superficial wound to her mouth, and the media speculated wildly at the potential that she had suffered further wounds. After suicide had been ruled out, further investigations went on to determine if perhaps it had been a murder. Ultimately, no evidence of murder was found, and the Homicide Bureau ruled her death "accidental with possible suicidal tendencies" despite no evidence supporting it having been a suicide either.

The Death of Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Pince was a director, actor, producer, and writer of silent film. He is believed to have been responsible for the making of over eight hundred films, is considered the father of the western, and was responsible for helping to develop the role of the producer in film and to develop some of the first major Hollywood studios. Ince's films The Italian (1915) and Civilization (1916) have since been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. In 1924, Ince was aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst, a well known media tycoon of the day and the eventual inspiration for the film Citizen Kane, when Ince fell severely ill. After consuming salted almonds and champagne, both forbidden to him due to his peptic ulcers, he suffered from some indigestion. Ince left the yacht to seek medical attention, and ended up dying in his home at the age of forty-four. The cause of death was determined to be heart failure. The media sensationalised the details of his death, and included reports that he had been shot on the yacht. Despite this story having been pulled, rumours still circulated, speculating that Ince had been shot in the head by Hearst. His funeral featured an open casket, with no reports of visible bullet wounds. Despite no real evidence of foul play, rumours about the potential that Ince had been murdered even came to overshadow the legacy of pioneering filmmaking he left behind.

The Death of Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels was a Broadway success, a silent film actress, and an actress in the budding sound film industry. As she gained fame, she began to abuse alcohol, and developed a drug habit, including the use of heroin. Eagels admitted herself to several sanitariums in an attempt to kick the habit. In her thirties, she developed health problems that were aggravated by her addictions. In 1929, at the age of thirty-nine, Eagels was suffering from neuritis and breathing problems when she underwent an eye surgery. After a ten day stay in the hospital, she was able to return home. When she returned to her doctor for an appointment, she began convulsing in his office, and died. Eagels' autopsy reports that she died of "alcoholic psychosis." It is reported that she had not consumed alcohol for two days leading up to this appointment, but that she had suffered from hallucinations. The toxicology report shows that she still had alcohol, heroin, and chloral hydrate in her organs when she died. Eagels used the chloral hydrate to help sleep, and it was concluded that she overdosed on it, one of Hollywood's earliest examples of deadly addictions. Following her death, Eagels became the first person to ever be posthumously nominated for an Oscar.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Eight.)