Editing Corinne Griffith (section)

==Biography==
===1894–1932: Early life and Vitagraph films===
Griffith was born Corinne Griffin on November 21, 1894{{efn|Some sources state Griffith was born November 24,<ref name=wfpp/> though biographer [[Anthony Slide]]{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=168}} as well as the [[National Museum of American History]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1464539|work=[[National Museum of American History]]|title=Corinne Griffith cinema card|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010215121/https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1464539|archive-date=October 10, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> among others{{sfn|Wilson|2016|p=300}} cite November 21 as her birthdate. Sources regarding her birth year erroneously vary from 1896<ref name=wfpp/> to 1906,<ref name=nyt/> though the [[California Death Index]] corroborates November 21, 1894 as her birthday.<ref>California Death Index, 1940–1997 (November 26, 2014). [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPCQ-415 Corinne Griffith, 13 Jul 1979]; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. Retrieved October 11, 2019. {{subscription required}}</ref> Additionally, U.S. census records from 1900 indicate that a then six-year-old Corinne Griffin resided in a Waco boardinghouse with her father, J. L. Griffin, mother, A. Griffin, and sister, "Gussie" (Augusta).<ref>{{cite census | url = https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3PF-32T | title = Corine Griffin in household of Joe Lehman, Waco city Ward 4, McLennan, Texas, United States | year = 1900 | location = Waco, Texas | roll = T623 | page = 18A | line = 7 | enumdist = 78 | filmnum = 1,241,656 | nafilm =}} {{subscription required}} {{url|https://i.ibb.co/0mGVcWs/record-image-undefined.jpg|Archived copy}}.</ref>}} in Waco, Texas,{{efn|Several sources claim Texarkana as Griffith's birthplace, but her obituary in ''The New York Times''<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/22/archives/corinne-griffith-silent-movie-star-beauty-brought-nickname-orchid.html|title=Corinne Griffith, Silent Movie Star|last=Goodman|first=George Jr.|date=July 22, 1979|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315074839/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/22/archives/corinne-griffith-silent-movie-star-beauty-brought-nickname-orchid.html|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> states that she was born in Waco. This is supported by an article from ''The Washington Post'' that states Griffith herself asserted that she had been born in Waco, not Texarkana, though she was raised in the latter.<ref name=wp/>}} one of two daughters born to John Lewis "Jack" Griffin, a Methodist minister and train conductor of the [[Texas and Pacific Railway|Texas & Pacific]] railway,<ref name=death/> and Amboline Ghio.{{sfn|Pylant|2014|pages=31–35}} Griffith's maternal grandfather, Antonio Ghio, was an Italian immigrant who became a successful businessman in Texas{{sfn|Pylant|2014|pages=6–14}} and was a three-time mayor of Texarkana;<ref name=griffinghio>{{cite news|title=Griffin-Ghio|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21757328/griffin_ghio_wedding/|work=[[Dallas Daily Herald]]|location=Dallas, Texas|date=July 8, 1887|via=Newspapers.com|page=4}}</ref> her maternal grandmother, Maria Anthes, also an immigrant, was a native of Darmstadt, Germany.{{sfn|Pylant|2014|pages=13–16}} At the time of Griffith's birth, her mother Amboline was in her early 20s, while her father, John, was nearly 40.{{sfn|Pylant|2014|p=31}} Griffith's parents had married in 1887, and the wedding was a celebrated event among local high society.<ref name=griffinghio/>

Griffith and her sister were raised [[Catholic Church|Catholic]].{{sfn|Pylant|2014|p=160}} Her early years were spent in Waco<ref name=wacont>{{cite news|work=The Waco News-Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33905240/the_waco_newstribune/|title=Papa Was a Man to Make Kids' Dreams Come True|date=March 7, 1952|author=Caulfield, Tom|page=35|via=Newspapers.com|location=Waco, Texas}}</ref> before the family moved to Texarkana, Texas, where Griffith lived until age 10; she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to attend the Sacred Heart Convent school.{{sfn|Haile|2019|p=75}} Her father died in Mineral Wells, Texas on March 20, 1912.<ref name=death>{{cite news|work=The Marshall Messenge|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37017462/the_marshall_messenger/|title=Death of Jack Griffin|date=March 26, 1912|page=7|location=Marshall, Texas|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After completing her primary education, Griffin enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin for the 1912–1913 semester year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Many Film Stars Are Texas 'Exes'|work=The Kerrville Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37017199/the_kerrville_times/|date=November 24, 1938|page=2|via=Newspapers.com|location=Kerrville, Texas}}</ref>{{sfn|Pylant|2014|p=75}} She also worked as a dancer before she began her acting career.<ref>{{cite book|title=Who's Who in America|publisher=Marquis-Who's Who.|year=1954|page=1427}}</ref>

Accounts of Griffith's entry into the film industry vary.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=514}} At some point after her father's death, Griffith left Texas and relocated with her mother and sister, Augusta, to Southern California.<ref name=richter>{{cite news|work=[[Texarkana Gazette]]|location=Texarkana, Texas|url=http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2019/oct/04/silent-film-stardom-just-start-texas-sides-griffith/798227/|title=Silent film stardom just the start for Texas side's Griffith|last=Richter|first=Karl|date=October 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005104729/http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2019/oct/04/silent-film-stardom-just-start-texas-sides-griffith/798227/|archive-date=October 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Some sources claim she was urged by [[Vitagraph Studios]] director [[Rollin S. Sturgeon]] to pursue an acting career after winning a beauty contest in Santa Monica, California, in which Sturgeon was a judge.{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=169}}{{sfn|Sanchez|1930|p=41}} According to another account, Griffith met Sturgeon at a high-society event in Crescent City, California, and he offered her a film contract on the spot.{{sfn|Haile|2019|p=75}} In a 1919 newspaper article, Griffith said she was approached by Sturgeon in New Orleans after she won a pageant during the [[Mardi Gras]] festival.<ref name=nyd>{{cite news|work=[[New York Daily News]]|location=New York City, New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37013394/daily_news/|title=Corinne Griffith Thanks Mardi Gras|date=February 28, 1919|page=7|via=Newspapers.com|last=Griffith|first=Corinne}}</ref> According to Griffith, Sturgeon suggested she become an actress, and several months later she traveled to California to meet with executives at Vitagraph.<ref name=nyd/>
[[File:Corinne.Griffith 1918.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.9|alt=Woman with feather hat, looking over shoulder|Griffith in 1918]]
In 1916, she signed a $15-weekly contract with Vitagraph<ref name=richter/> and took the stage name Corinne Griffith.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37016492/corsicana_semiweekly_light/|title=A Talented Texas Girl|date=November 23, 1915|work=Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light|location=Corsicana, Texas|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She made her screen debut in a short film titled ''La Paloma'', opposite [[Earle Williams]].<ref name=nyd/> She appeared in a series of short films for the studio before becoming a leading lady.<ref name=richter/> On April 22, 1920, Griffith married her first husband, [[Webster Campbell]], in a private ceremony in Oceanside, California.<ref name=stand/>

Griffith's performance in one of her later films for Vitagraph, ''[[The Broadway Bubble]]'' (1920), was described by a critic of the ''Austin American-Statesman'' as the "strongest and most fascinating role in her notable career" and lauded it as her "crowning achievement."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37013778/austin_americanstatesman/|work=[[Austin American-Statesman]]|location=Austin, Texas|date=December 26, 1920|title=Screen Favorites Booked This Week At Crescent Theater|via=Newspapers.com|page=14}}</ref>

===1923–1932: First National contract===
[[File:Corinne Griffith in Six Days.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Woman walking through a door|upright=1|Griffith in ''Six Days'' (1923)]]
In 1923, after three years of marriage, Griffith divorced Campbell, whom she claimed was an abusive alcoholic.{{sfn|Pylant|2014|pages=115–116}} The same year, Griffith left Vitagraph Studios, signing a more lucrative contract of $10,000 a week with [[First National Pictures|First National]],<ref name=richter/> where she became one of their most popular stars.{{sfn|Lowe|2004|p=258}} Her first film for the studio was [[Frank Lloyd]]'s ''[[Black Oxen]]'' (1923), a drama in which she portrayed a mysterious Austrian countess. The film, in which Griffith co-starred with [[Conway Tearle]] and [[Clara Bow]], became a hit.{{sfn|Woodward|1999|p=96}}

Griffith married producer [[Walter Morosco]] in February, 1924.<ref name=stand/> The same year, she starred in and executive-produced three pictures: ''[[Single Wives]]'', ''[[Love's Wilderness]]'', and ''[[Lilies of the Field (1924 film)|Lilies of the Field]]''.{{sfn|Sanchez|1930|p=411}} All three of the films were box-office hits.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=518}} By 1927, Griffith had begun investing her film income in real estate and owned approximately $500,000 worth of properties.{{sfn|Haile|2019|p=77}}

In 1928, she had the starring role in ''[[The Garden of Eden (1928 film)|The Garden of Eden]]'' for [[United Artists]] which, though critically praised, was not a box-office hit.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=520}} Disappointed by the film's lackluster dividends, Griffith returned to First National to appear in Frank Lloyd's ''[[The Divine Lady]]'' (1929), a sound film featuring synchronized music, but no audible dialogue.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=520}} Griffith earned critical accolades for her performance, including a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=520}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1930 |title=The 2nd Academy Awards (1930) Nominees and Winners |work=[[Academy Awards]]| publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002823/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1930 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>

Griffith's first full sound film was ''[[Lilies of the Field (1930 film)|Lilies of the Field]]'', a remake of her 1924 silent film in the same role. Griffith's voice, which was regarded as [[nasal voice|nasal]],<ref name=richter/> did not record well (''The New York Times'' stated that she "talked through her nose"),{{sfn|Porter|2005|p=301}} and the film was a box office flop.{{sfn|Barrios|1995|p=317}} The following year, she starred in the drama ''[[Back Pay (1930 film)|Back Pay]]'' (1930), based on a story by [[Fannie Hurst]], which was promoted as her final screen appearance.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=520}} After a two-year hiatus, Griffith starred in the British film ''[[Lily Christine]]'' (1932)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aee4b96|work=[[British Film Institute]]|title=''Lily Christine'' (1932)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114024827/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aee4b96|archive-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref> and then left the public eye completely.{{sfn|Bodeen|1975|p=520}}

===1933–1964: Post-film career===
After her retirement from film, Griffith divorced Morosco in 1934. Two years later, she married businessman and [[Washington Redskins]] owner [[George Preston Marshall]]. In December 1941, the couple adopted two daughters, Pamela and Cynthia.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date=December 20, 1941|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37008770/the_los_angeles_times/|via=Newspapers.com|title=Corinne Griffith Assumes Mother Role, Adopting Two|page=23}}</ref> In the early years of her marriage to Marshall, she wrote the lyrics to the truly racist original fight song, "[[Hail to the Redskins]]".{{sfn|Richman|2007|p=15}}

In the 1940s, Griffith began investing in real estate in the Los Angeles area.<ref name=nar /> She funded the construction of four commercial buildings on all four corners of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California.<ref name=nar>{{cite web|work=[[National Association of Realtors]]|url=http://infoservices.blogs.realtor.org/2008/11/13/movie-star-corinne-griffiths-romance-in-real-estate/|title=Movie Star Corinne Griffith's 'Romance in Real Estate'|author=National Association of Realtors Staff|date=November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508022246/http://infoservices.blogs.realtor.org/2008/11/13/movie-star-corinne-griffiths-romance-in-real-estate/|archive-date=May 8, 2017}}</ref> The construction of the buildings, each named after her, proved lucrative, and she turned down an offer of $2.5 million for them in 1950.<ref name=wp>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1979/07/15/corinne-griffith-film-star-redskins-adviser-dies/8a0e7caf-57ee-484e-8712-7cc1071e9118/|title=Corinne Griffith, Film Star, Redskins Adviser, dies|author=Joyce, Maureen|date=July 15, 1979|archive-url=https://archive.today/20191011055457/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1979/07/15/corinne-griffith-film-star-redskins-adviser-dies/8a0e7caf-57ee-484e-8712-7cc1071e9118/|archive-date=October 11, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> The same year, she spoke at the inaugural National Association of Real Estate Boards convention in Florida.<ref name=nar /> "I liked the vacant business lots I saw in Beverly Hills with the For Sale signs on them," she recalled. "They were so near the beautiful homes there in that section and I couldn't help but feel that someday the business section would grow up to the great buying power of these wealthy estates."<ref name=nar />

{{quotebox|align=right|bgcolor=lavender|width=22em|quote="I got my money without the help of any man. Women wise enough to earn their own money will get a broader understanding of life, a new respect from their husbands and a bank account which they can use without resorting to the old tricks that sicken every wife at heart."}}
In addition to her real estate ventures, beginning in the 1950s, Griffith became a vocal supporter of repealing the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|16th Amendment]], which authorized income tax.<ref name=richter /> Over the ensuing decade, she gave approximately 500 speeches on the subject.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37025346/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|title=Film Star Leads War on Income Tax|date=November 17, 1960|page=60|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Commenting on her dedication to the topic, she stated: "We have no substitute of other taxes because we have no substitute for waste, graft and corruption. If the federal government will eliminate only part of its waste, just 40 billions of dollars a year of its waste...&nbsp; I can prove to you in dollars and cents that the government does not need the income tax."<ref name=tax /> Griffith also spoke in support of women seeking their own financial autonomy: "I got my money without the help of any man. Women wise enough to earn their own money will get a broader understanding of life, a new respect from their husbands and a bank account which they can use without resorting to the old tricks that sicken every wife at heart."<ref name=nyt />

Griffith was also an accomplished writer who published eleven books, including two best-sellers, ''My Life with the Redskins'' (1947), and the memoir ''Papa's Delicate Condition'' (1952), which chronicled her upbringing and family life in Texarkana.{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=169}} Her third publication, 1955's ''Eggs I Have Known'', was a recipe book with gossipy anecdotes interspersed.<ref name=wfpp /> In 1958, Griffith divorced Marshall (who she referred to in print as "The Marshall ''without'' a plan").<ref name=wfpp /> In 1960, she was honored for her contributions to the motion picture industry with a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1560 Vine Street. She later published her fourth book, ''Antiques I Have Known'', a non-fiction book about her interest in antiques.{{sfn|Liebman|1996|p=138}} Griffith returned to the screen in 1962 in the low-budget melodrama ''Paradise Alley'', which received scant release and marked her final film role. Also in 1962, she published two books: ''Hollywood Stories'', a selection of short fiction,{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=169}} and ''Taxation Without Representation—or, Your Money Went That-a-Way'', which argued against the income tax.<ref name=tax>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37025735/the_jackson_sun/|work=[[The Jackson Sun]]|location=Jackson, Tennessee|title=Corinne Griffith Would Eliminate Tax|last=Johnson|first=Erskine|date=May 13, 1963|page=11|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The following year, her memoir ''Papa's Delicate Condition'' was made into a biographical [[Papa's Delicate Condition|feature film of the same name]] starring [[Jackie Gleason]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37025356/elizabethton_star/|work=Elizabethton Star|location=Elizabethton, Tennessee|title=State Line Shows Variety Of Hits During Week|date=September 8, 1963|page=6|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

===1965–1979: Claims about identity and final years===
In February 1965, she married her fourth husband, Broadway actor Danny Scholl in Alexandria, Virginia.<ref name=kiss>{{cite news|work=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|location=Tampa, Florida|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37012076/the_tampa_tribune/|date=May 15, 1966|via=Newspapers.com|page=10-A|title=Hubby Loses Alimony Plea, Actress Wins Her Divorce|agency=United Press International}}</ref> Scholl was 44 years old, more than 25 years younger than Griffith.<ref name=kiss/> The couple separated after two months of marriage.<ref name=kiss/> Within the year, Griffith filed for a divorce after a judge denied her motion for an annulment; she contended that the marriage had not been consummated.<ref name=kiss/> Pending trial, she was ordered to pay Scholl alimony of $200 per month beginning in December 1964.<ref name=kiss/>

During the divorce court proceedings in May 1966,<ref name=kiss/> Griffith testified that she was actually not Corinne Griffith. She instead claimed that she was Corinne's younger sister, who, although twenty years younger, had taken Corinne's place when she died in 1924.{{sfn|Higham|2004|pages=131–132}} She also denied having married her former two husbands, Webster Campbell and Walter Morosco.<ref name=stand>{{cite news|work=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|title=Divorce Puzzler: Will Real Corinne Griffith Please Stand Up?|location=Tampa, Florida|agency=United Press International|date=May 6, 1966|page=9|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37012372/the_tampa_tribune/}}</ref> In court, Scholl's attorney proposed that Griffith had falsified her age in the couple's marriage documents as well as failed to disclose her previous two marriages.<ref name=stand/> Upon being questioned about her age, Griffith refused to comment, stating that her religion, [[Christian Science]], prevented her from publicly disclosing it.{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=169}} She also claimed not to have kept record of her age since she was 13 years old.<ref name=stand/> Actresses [[Betty Blythe]] and [[Claire Windsor]], who had both known Griffith since the 1920s, contradicted her testimony, but did not shake her story, and she continued to claim that she was in fact Corinne's sister.{{sfn|Pylant|2014|p=207}}{{sfn|Higham|2004|p=14}}

In a subsequent interview, Griffith further complicated her story, claiming to be Corinne's twin named Mary, rather than her younger sister: 
{{blockquote|I am Mary Griffith. Her twin sister. Let me explain. She, Corinne, was starring in a film in Mexico in 1920. She was stricken by a mysterious local malady and died suddenly at age twenty-four. Mr. Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount, called me in person and told me I must save the day; a cancellation of the picture would be a disaster for the studio. He told me what had happened; I cried and cried. He said I must pull myself together: there was a million dollars in it if I would become my sister. I had never acted and didn't want to act. But I couldn't resist the money, and I felt Corinne would want me to help. So I went to Mexico and took over, and nobody knew the difference. From then on, I was Corinne Griffith.{{sfn|Higham|2004|p=132}}}}

In the same interview, she stated that Corinne had been buried in an unmarked grave in Mexico.{{sfn|Higham|2004|p=132}}

Following the publicity surrounding her divorce and identity claims, Griffith spent the remainder of her years writing. In 1969, she published ''Not for Men Only – but Almost'', a non-fiction book detailing the appeal of sports to men and its lack of appeal for most women.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37025536/the_news_journal/|work=[[The News Journal]]|location=Wilmington, Delaware|title=Sports Bookshelf|date=December 18, 1969|page=68|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She published another collection of personal non-fiction stories titled ''This You Won't Believe'' in 1972.{{sfn|Slide|2010|p=169}} Her final book ''I'm Lucky at Cards'' (1974) was a book of her essays.{{sfn|Addis|1983|p=194}}