Paul Bern
Encyclopedia
Paul Bern was a German
-born American
film director, screenwriter
and producer for MGM.
, which was then a town in the Prussian
province of Schleswig-Holstein
(now a district of the city of Hamburg
). Bern's family immigrated to the United States
in 1899 where they eventually settled in New York City
.
Bern pursued a career in acting on the stage and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
. He later pursued other aspects of theater production. He eventually moved to Hollywood and worked as a writer and director for various, smaller film companies. This led to his working full-time as a producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, the major studio of the time.
The star-studded film Grand Hotel
, released six days after Bern's death, won the Best Picture
Academy Award
for 1931–32. Bern and Irving Thalberg
produced the film, although neither was listed in the film credits. (In the early 1930s MGM did not list their films' producers in their credits.) However, the prestigious award was presented solely to Thalberg and Bern was excluded.
Bern married film star Jean Harlow
on July 2, 1932. Two months later, on September 5, he was found dead, from a gunshot in the head, in their home on Easton Drive, Beverly Hills, California
. The coroner ruled his death a suicide
.
Police discovered a note at the scene that read as follows:
Authorities viewed this as a suicide note signed by Bern.
To the police, and before a grand jury
, Harlow's only statement was that she "knew nothing". Harlow never publicly spoke on the matter. She died in 1937.
Bern is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery
, in Inglewood, California
.
, screenwriter Ben Hecht
questioned the official verdict of Bern's death causing renewed interest in the case. Hecht suggested that Bern was murdered by an unnamed woman, and that Bern's death investigation was a "suicide whitewash". Hecht went on to say that the explanation of Bern's suicide "would be less a black eye for their [MGM's] biggest movie making heroine. It might crimp her [Harlow's] box office allure to have her blazoned as a wife who couldn't hold her husband". The article prompted Los Angeles County District Attorney
William B. McKesson to reopen the case, but McKesson later closed it stating, "When I ordered the record check I assumed Hecht was still a responsible reporter. It now appears...that he apparently was peddling a wild and unconfirmed rumor as fact."
, a friend of both Bern and Irving Thalberg, published a book giving an alternate theory of Bern's death. Marx, at the time MGM's Story Editor (the head of the screenwriting department) had gone to Bern's house in the early morning of September 5, 1932, before the police were notified of the body's discovery, and had seen Thalberg tampering with the evidence. The next day, he had been among the studio executives who were told by Louis B. Mayer
that the case would have to be ruled "suicide because of impotence" in order to avoid a scandal which would have finished Harlow's film career. Marx contended that Bern was murdered by his abandoned common law wife Dorothy Millette, who then committed suicide by drowning, jumping overboard from the Delta King
on the way to Sacramento, California
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and producer for MGM.
Early life and career
Bern was born Paul Levy to a Jewish family in WandsbekWandsbek
Wandsbek is the second-largest of seven boroughs that make up the city of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes here. The quarter Wandsbek, which is the former independent city, is urban and, with the quarters Eilbek and Marienthal part of the...
, which was then a town in the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
province of Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
(now a district of the city of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
). Bern's family immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1899 where they eventually settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Bern pursued a career in acting on the stage and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
. He later pursued other aspects of theater production. He eventually moved to Hollywood and worked as a writer and director for various, smaller film companies. This led to his working full-time as a producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, the major studio of the time.
The star-studded film Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel (film)
Grand Hotel is a 1932 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by William A. Drake and Béla Balázs is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Drake, who had adapted it from the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum...
, released six days after Bern's death, won the Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for 1931–32. Bern and Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
produced the film, although neither was listed in the film credits. (In the early 1930s MGM did not list their films' producers in their credits.) However, the prestigious award was presented solely to Thalberg and Bern was excluded.
Personal life and death
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
on July 2, 1932. Two months later, on September 5, he was found dead, from a gunshot in the head, in their home on Easton Drive, Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. The coroner ruled his death a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Police discovered a note at the scene that read as follows:
"Dearest Dear, Unfortuately [sic] this is the only way to make good the frightful wrong I have done you and to wipe out my abject humiliation, I Love [sic] you.
Paul
You understand that last night was only a comedy"
Authorities viewed this as a suicide note signed by Bern.
To the police, and before a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
, Harlow's only statement was that she "knew nothing". Harlow never publicly spoke on the matter. She died in 1937.
Bern is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood Park Cemetery was founded in 1905 in Inglewood, California. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed here.-List of notable and celebrity interments at Inglewood Park:...
, in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
.
Investigation reopened, 1960
In the November 1960 issue of PlayboyPlayboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, screenwriter Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
questioned the official verdict of Bern's death causing renewed interest in the case. Hecht suggested that Bern was murdered by an unnamed woman, and that Bern's death investigation was a "suicide whitewash". Hecht went on to say that the explanation of Bern's suicide "would be less a black eye for their [MGM's] biggest movie making heroine. It might crimp her [Harlow's] box office allure to have her blazoned as a wife who couldn't hold her husband". The article prompted Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County District Attorney
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, California....
William B. McKesson to reopen the case, but McKesson later closed it stating, "When I ordered the record check I assumed Hecht was still a responsible reporter. It now appears...that he apparently was peddling a wild and unconfirmed rumor as fact."
Alternate theories
In 1990, film producer Samuel MarxSamuel Marx
Samuel Marx was an American film producer, screenwriter and book author.-Life:...
, a friend of both Bern and Irving Thalberg, published a book giving an alternate theory of Bern's death. Marx, at the time MGM's Story Editor (the head of the screenwriting department) had gone to Bern's house in the early morning of September 5, 1932, before the police were notified of the body's discovery, and had seen Thalberg tampering with the evidence. The next day, he had been among the studio executives who were told by Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
that the case would have to be ruled "suicide because of impotence" in order to avoid a scandal which would have finished Harlow's film career. Marx contended that Bern was murdered by his abandoned common law wife Dorothy Millette, who then committed suicide by drowning, jumping overboard from the Delta King
Delta King
The Delta King is a . The Delta King is the sister ship to the Delta Queen, both christened May 20, 1927, traveling between Sacramento, California and San Francisco, California on 10-hour trips.-History:...
on the way to Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.
Director
- Head over HeelsHead Over Heels (1922 film)Head Over Heels is a 1922 film starring Mabel Normand and directed by Paul Bern and Victor Schertzinger. This is a surviving comedy at the Library of Congress. The supporting cast includes Raymond Hatton and Adolphe Menjou.-Cast:*Mabel Normand ... Tina...
(1922) - The Woman Racket (uncredited, 1930)
Writer
- Greater Than LoveGreater Than LoveGreater Than Love is a 1921 silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo.-Cast:* Louise Glaum - Grace Merrill* Patricia Palmer - Elsie Brown* Rose Cade - Maizie* Eve Southern - Clairice* Willie Mae Carson - Pinkie* Betty Francisco - Helen Wellington...
(1919) - The ChristianThe Christian (1923 film)The Christian is a silent film drama, released by Goldwyn Pictures, directed by Maurice Tourneur, and starring Richard Dix and Mae Busch.-Production background:...
(1923) - The Marriage CircleThe Marriage CircleThe Marriage Circle is a 1924 silent film produced by Ernst Lubitsch and Warner Brothers with direction by Lubitsch and distribution by the Warners. Based on the play Only a Dream by Lothar Schmidt, the screenplay was written by Paul Bern...
(1924) - The Beloved RogueThe Beloved RogueThe Beloved Rogue is a 1927 American silent film, loosely based on the life of the 15th century French poet, François Villon. The film was directed by Alan Crosland for United Artists....
(1927) - The Dove (1927)
- Grand HotelGrand Hotel (film)Grand Hotel is a 1932 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by William A. Drake and Béla Balázs is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Drake, who had adapted it from the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum...
(1932)
Footnote
- Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen: Deadly Illusions (Random House, New York, 1990), re-published as Murder Hollywood Style - Who Killed Jean Harlow's Husband? (Arrow, 1994, ISBN 0 09 961060 4)
External links
- Paul Bern short Biography
- "Shedunit", review of Deadly Illusions by Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen, Time, October 1, 1990 by Otto Friedrich