Miss Corinne Griffith

Corinne Griffith. Silent film actress. Some consider her one of (if not THE) most beautiful girl on the silent film screen. 

Went off the deep end later in life?

Read on and see!

Corinne Griffith was born Corinne Mae Griffin on November 21, 1894 in Texarkana, Texas. She was the only child of John, a Methodist minister, and Ambolina Griffin.

Her family moved from Texas to Illinois to Louisiana during her childhood, but she gained her education at a religious school in New Orleans.

She was a popular girl in New Orleans society and won first prize in a beauty contest, which is where a Hollywood studio director first laid eyes on her and offered her a contract, with the consent of her parents first of course.

In 1916, she joined the famous Vitagraph Studio, making her film debut in The High Cost of Living. Awhile later, she moved to First National Studios where she really hit her stride and became one of the studio's most bankable stars. Her first starring role was in the 1928 film, The Garden of Eden.

The year was 1929, and Hollywood decided that those working in front of the camera or behind it deserved some recognition, and lo, the Academy Awards were born. Corinne received a nomination the following year for her role in the film, The Divine Lady, which also featured the incredible Marie Dressler. Alas, she did not win. Instead, the award went to Mary Pickford.

When the talkies burst into the Hollywood scene, Corinne was one of the stars whose voice did not register well on film. Her first talking film, Lilies of the Field, failed at the box office. Critics also wrote that she talked very nasally.

After a bad talkie debut, she only appeared in three more films, and one of them was made overseas in Europe. None of the films were anything spectacular and did nothing for her career.

She made her last film appearance in 1962's Paradise Alley, which had a very marginal release.

Although she did not do well in talking pictures, she did not descend into poverty. Quite the opposite actually. After she quit acting, she turned her focus to writing and wrote over 10 books, two of which were best sellers. She used her life as inspiration for most of them, and one of the books, Papa's Delicate Condition, was made into a film in 1963 starring Jackie Gleason.

Also, like other stars of the time, she made good investments in real estate that helped to net her a pretty penny or two.

Corinne Griffith passed away on July 13, 1979 in Santa Monica, California. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea.

Corinne was married four times. Her first husband was actor Webster Campbell from 1920 to 1923. Her second husband was producer Walter Morosco from 1924 to 1934. Her third husband was George Preston Marshall, the owner of the Washington Redskins. They were married from 1936 to 1958.

And here is where it gets goofy. In 1966, Corinne married actor Danny Scholl, and then filed for divorce a few years later. While in divorce court Corinne testified that she was in fact the younger sister of Corinne Griffith and that the real Corinne died. A couple of her friends even went to court and said that they had no idea what she was talking about and that she was in fact the real Corinne Griffith, it would not shake her. Up until her death, according to some sources, she was still claiming to be the sister of the real actress. Wow.

The "real" Corinne (or is it the fake one?) while married to George Preston Marshall, wrote the Washington Redskins fight song, "Hail to the Redskins." The song is still used, although its lyrics have been changed to ones that are considered less offensive to Native Americans.

Corinne was a member of the Christian Science religion.

When she died, she was worth around $150 million. Hello! Sadly, in 1966, Corinne was robbed of over $100,000 worth of jewelry when robbers broke into her house with guns. One man held two of her maids hostage downstairs, while another forced Corinne to unlock her jewelry box. Thankfully, no one was injured. Almost sounds like what happened with Ramon Novarro, doesn't it? Ugh...some people are just evil.

Once she was cast in a film, she devoted herself completely to it. Sometimes she would work 10 hours a day and even through the night. She also wanted to be in on the behind the scenes workings as well as editing.

She was seen by her friends as very demure and prim because she would not smoke or swear and disapproved of others doing so around her. She was even nicknamed, "The Orchid Lady."

"There is only one beautiful woman in the movies. That is Corinne Griffith. The rest of us are just types." ~~ Gloria Swanson

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