The Exquisite Madge Bellamy

Madge Bellamy (1899?-1990) was one of the silent screen's most talented divas. Singing, dancing and acting, Bellamy perfected her "toe dance" on Broadway. Refusing to perform for MGM after its CEO failed to stand when she entered the room, Bellamy did have empathy and never forgot her animal costars, continuing to visit them at the Los Angeles Zoo. Bellamy was an only child and her pianist mother, Annie, guided her investments. Bellamy's career tanked after she burned too many bridges with Hollywood directors and she descended into shame after losing her virginity. With her second husband for just 6 days, Bellamy considered suicide when she was relegated to being an extra. Bellamy's real investments finally paid off in the 1950s, but her short stories and plays have never been published. However her autobiography A Darling of the Twenties was published one month after her death and continues to bemuse biographers.

Sources:

Madge Bellamy: Hollywood Star Walk, The LA Times, https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/madge-bellamy/index.html

Madge Bellamy, A Darling of the Twenties: The Autobiography of Madge Bellamy, 1990

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