Bebe Daniels

A child star during the silent era who blossomed into a mature comedic and dramatic performer, Bebe Daniels made the rare smooth transition into talkies, only to retire from Hollywood in the mid-1930s while still in her prime. Daniels made her film debut at just four years old and was a star by the time she played Dorothy Gale in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1910), the earliest surviving adaptation of L. Frank Baum's novel. She later worked with star and lover Harold Lloyd on his Lonesome Luke series in the late-teens, before becoming a star at Paramount Pictures during the 1920s. She made a number of popular hits during the decade including "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920), "Affairs of Anatol" (1921), "Daring Youth" (1924) and "Monsieur Beaucaire" (1924), starring Rudolph Valentino. Following hits like "Miss Brewster's Millions" (1926) and "She's a Sheik" (1927), Daniels was dropped by Paramount at the beginning of the sound era. But she made a number of hits after making the transition, starring or co-starring in "Rio Rita" (1929), "Reaching for the Moon" (1931), "The Maltese Falcon" (1931), "Counsellor at Law" (1933) and the classic musical "42nd Street" (1933). She left Hollywood for London in 1935, where she and her husband, actor Ben Lyon, had successful careers on stage and screen, while becoming national heroes for entertaining audiences during The Blitz of World War II. Though not well-remembered by modern audiences, Daniels undoubtedly left an indelible mark during her time in Hollywood.