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Revision as of 01:06, 23 April 2006 by 69.22.249.79 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Paul Bern (December 3, 1889 – September 5, 1932) was a - German-American film director and writer.
Bern was born in Hamburg, Germany, as Paul Levy and came to the United States when he was a child. He worked as a director, scriptwriter and producer for MGM.
The all-star film Grand Hotel won the Best Picture Academy Award for 1931–32. Bern and Irving Thalberg produced the film, although neither was credited (in the early 1930s MGM did not list their films' producers in their credits). However the award was presented to Thalberg only, not Bern.
He married film star Jean Harlow in early 1932. On September 5 1932, Paul Bern was found naked, shot in the head, and possibly drenched in Harlow's perfume, in their Beverly Hills, California home. The official report stated that his death was a suicide.
In the biggest Hollywood scandal since the Fatty Arbuckle murder trial, Bern was widely believed to have shot himself in the head because he was impotent. A strange note was left near his body that raised more questions than it answered, stating that "last night was only a comedy." All America, it seemed, wanted to know what Bern meant. If Jean Harlow knew, she wasn't telling. Until her death five years later, Harlow spoke publicly of the matter only to the police and before a grand jury.
Years later, it was suggested by screenwriter Ben Hecht that Bern was murdered by an unbalanced former lover, Dorothy Millette. Millette is said to have committed suicide the next day by jumping from a boat. Her body was found later by men fishing on the Sacramento River. Doubts still persist that it was suicide, because her shoes were found on the boat.
In 1960 the investigation into Paul Bern's death was reopened by the Los Angeles District Attorney. Many people were questioned, including two gardeners. One claimed he heard a car driving away in the early morning. There was no conclusive evidence Bern argued with his wife before his death and handwriting analysts claim the suicide note was not in his handwriting. Eddie Mannix, MGM's vice-president, was believed to be the prime suspect. He was never charged with the crime.
Selected filmography
- Grand Hotel (1932)
- Anna Christie (1930)
- The Woman Racket (1930)
- The Dove (1927)
- The Beloved Rogue (1927)
- The Marriage Circle (1924)
- Head over Heels (1922)
- Greater than Love (1919)
Biography
Deadly Illusions: Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern by Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen