Editing Irene Dunne (section)

=== Relationships ===
Between 1919 and 1922, Dunne was close to Fritz Ernst, a businessman based in Chicago who was 20 years older than she, and a member of one of the richest families in Madison, Indiana.{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=22|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} They frequently corresponded while Dunne was training for musical theater but when Fritz proposed, Dunne declined, due to pressure from her mother and wanting to focus on acting.{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=22|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} They remained friends and continued writing letters until Ernst died in 1959.{{sfnmp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929|Gehring|2003|2p=22}}
[[File:Irene Dunne with her husband.jpg|thumb|Dunne with husband, Dr. Francis Griffin]]
At a New York, [[New York Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore Hotel]] supper party in 1924, Dunne met [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]-born dentist<ref>{{cite news|work=The [[Indianapolis Star]]|date=July 31, 1927|page=57|title=Figures in Recent Local Weddings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173753/indianapolis-star-31-july-1927-p57/|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103025/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173753/indianapolis-star-31-july-1927-p57/|url-status=live}}</ref> Francis Griffin.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}<ref>{{cite journal |url-access=subscription |title=Frank Griffin |journal=Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911 |date=1883 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5062/images/41262_b139303-00019?pId=3151035|location=Massachusetts, U.S |series=Births Registered in the Town of Northampton for the Year Eighteen-hundred and eighty-three |publisher=[[New England Historic Genealogical Society]]|via=[[Provo, Utah]] and [[Ancestry.com]]}} (Griffin is listed at number 88)</ref> According to Dunne, he preferred being a bachelor, yet tried everything he could to meet her.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} To her frustration, he did not telephone her until over a month later, but the relationship strengthened and they married in Manhattan on July 13, 1927.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Manhattan |journal=Index to Marriages |volume=8 |pages=372, 588 |publisher=[[New York City Municipal Archives]] |location=New York |via=[[Ancestry.com]] |url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61406&h=7683611&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=AVe5&_phstart=successSource |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 4, 2020}} (Dunne and Griffin's marriage license code is 19627; Dunne's name is on page 372, and Griffin's name is on page 588)</ref> They had constantly argued about the state of their careers if they ever got married,{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} with Dunne agreeing to consider theater retirement sometime in the future and Griffin agreeing to support Dunne's acting.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=22}} Griffin later explained: "I didn't like the moral tone of show business. [...] Then Ziegfeld signed her for ''Show Boat'' and it looked like she was due for big things. Next came Hollywood and [she] was catapulted to the top. Then I didn't feel I could ask her to drop her career. [I] really didn't think marriage and the stage were compatible but we loved each other and we were both determined to make our marriage work."<ref name="griffin">{{cite news |last1=Hyams |first1=Joe |title='Be A Trailer' Irene Dunne's Husband Says |work=The [[Daily Boston Globe]] |date=April 27, 1958 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65205267/ |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=2020-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213163455/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65205267/the-boston-globe/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

When Dunne decided to star in ''Leathernecking'', it was meant to be her only Hollywood project, but when it was a [[box-office bomb]], she took an interest in ''Cimarron''.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} Soon after, she and her mother moved to Hollywood and maintained a long-distance relationship with her husband and brother in New York until they joined her in California in 1936.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|pp=24-25, 50, 94}} A family friend described their dynamic as "like two pixies together,"<ref name="Birmingham"/> and they remained married until Griffin's death on October 14, 1965,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Francis D Griffin |journal=California Death Index, 1940-1997 |url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=5180&h=2875617&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=61843 |publisher=California Department of Health Services |location=Sacramento, CA, USA |url-access=subscription |via=[[Ancestry.com]] |access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne's Husband Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/618601930/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=1965-10-16 |quote=Dr. Francis D. Griffin, 79, husband of actress Irene Dunne, has died of a heart ailment. He died Thursday night in the couple's home after a long illness. |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614123540/https://www.newspapers.com/image/618601930/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |url-status=live }}</ref> living in the [[Holmby Hills]] in a "kind of French [[Chateau]]"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Orr |first1=Robin |title=Portrait of a Lady |work=[[Oakland Tribune]] |date=February 24, 1969}}</ref> they designed.<ref>{{harvp|Frye|2004}}: "When Irene and her husband, Frank Griffin, who was a dentist, arrived in Hollywood in 1930, they bought a lot in Holmby Hills for $10[,]000 and built a two-story house on it for $40[,]000."</ref>{{refn|group=Note|Considered out-of-date, the home was demolished after Dunne's death.{{sfnp|Ward|2006}}}} A hobby they both shared was [[astronomy]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Irene Dunne |url=https://archive.org/details/pictureshowannua00amal_13/page/60/ |magazine=Picture Show Annual|issue=1940 |publisher=[[Amalgamated Press]], Ltd. |date=1939 |page=60}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Biographical Information on RKO Radio Pictures Personalities |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalinfo00unse/page/n35/ |publisher=[[RKO Pictures]] |date=1937-04-23 |format=[[periodical]]}}</ref> Griffin explained the marriage had lasted so long because: "When she had to go on location for a film I arranged my schedule so I could go with her. When I had to go out of town she arranged her schedule so she could be with me. We co-operate in everything. [...] I think a man married to a career woman in show business has to be convinced that his wife's talent is too strong to be dimmed or put out. Then, he can be just as proud of her success as she is and, inside he can take a bow himself for whatever help he's been."<ref name="griffin"/> Due to Dunne's privacy,{{refn|group=Note|Dunne's indifference about giving interviews was revealed to be the result of [[shyness]]. She did not like attending Hollywood parties and was paranoid about interviewers asking about an uncomfortably invasive topic, describing it as like living in a glass house.<ref name="shy">{{cite news |author1=Irene Dunne |title=My Favorite Publicist |work=Movieland |volume=6 |issue=3 |date=April 1948 |pages=16, 98–100}} [{{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n242|1st page}}, {{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n323/|2nd and 3rd page}}, and {{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n325/|4th page}}]</ref> "There are talented people who can talk amusingly, charmingly, blithely about themselves to friends, acquaintances and strangers on the slightest provocation [and I] find myself not only enjoying but envying them," she later explained.<ref name="shy"/> This apathy was interpreted as snobbery, at first, and is partially why her "ladylike" reputation stuck.<ref name="shy"/>}} Hollywood columnists struggled to find scandals to write about her—an eventual interview with ''Photoplay'' included the disclaimer, "I can guarantee no juicy bits of intimate gossip. Unless, perhaps she lies awake nights heartsick about the kitchen sink in her new home. She's afraid it's too near to the door. Or would you call that juicy? No? No, I thought not."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Photoplay]] |issue=April 1936 |date=1936 |title=This Is Really Irene Dunne |first=Sara |last=Hamilton}}</ref> When the magazines alleged that Dunne and Griffin would divorce, Griffin released a statement denying any marital issues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Press |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128231734/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/ |archive-date=2011-01-28 |url-status=usurped |quote=Fed up with speculations about a pending divorce, Frank finally issued a statement [...] At last Hollywood had to accept a working, happy marriage.}}</ref>

After retiring from dentistry, Griffin became Dunne's business manager<ref name="Frye"/> and helped negotiate her first contract.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=24}} The couple became interested in real estate, later investing in the Beverly Wilshire<ref name="Frye"/> and throughout [[Las Vegas]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Hits It Rich |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63988112/irene-dunne-1-million-real-estate/ |work=Star Tribune |date=June 16, 1952 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204134511/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63988112/irene-dunne-1-million-real-estate/ |archive-date=2020-12-04 |location=[[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]] |page=24}}</ref> (including co-founding and chairing the board of [[Huntridge Theater|Huntridge Corporation]]),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Norm |title=Vegas Confidential: 1,000 Naked Truths |date=2004 |publisher=Stephens Press |location=Las Vegas, Nev. |isbn=9781932173260 |page=220 |quote=Huntridge Theater — It was opened on October 10, 1944, by film star Irene Dunne, and, for a brief time, Loretta Young was a partner.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRlF5CLdrcYC&dq=huntridge+irene+dunne&pg=PA220|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mrs. Gall Writes About Las Vegas, Nev.: A Growing Town in Heart of Desert; Climate Dry and Warm |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64808825/ |work=The Lathrop Optimist |date=January 13, 1944 |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Robin Orr |title=Portrait Of A Lady |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64595867/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=February 24, 1969 |page=23 |quote=Francis {{sic|W.}} Griffin, Miss Dunne inherited the board chairmanship of the Huntridge Corp., a real estate development firm, after her husband's death two years ago.}}</ref><ref name="Huntridge">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne: Front Liner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64594914/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=24 February 1969 |page=19 |quote=She's also on the board of Technicolor, Inc., chairman of the Huntridge Corporation, a member of the Fine Arts Council of Notre Dame University.}}</ref> and partnering with Griffin's family's businesses (Griffin Equipment Company and The Griffin Wellpoint Company.)<ref name="griffin"/> Griffin sat as a board member of numerous banks,<ref name="griffin"/> but his offices were relocated from [[Century City]] to their home after his death, when Dunne took over as president.<ref name="la1970">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne – a Famous Actress Who Didn't Look Back |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1970-irene-dunne-a-famous-actress-who-didn-t-look-back/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 29, 1970 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430043519/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1970-irene-dunne-a-famous-actress-who-didn-t-look-back/ |archive-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> They had one daughter, Mary Frances (née Anna Mary Bush; 1935{{refn|group=Note|Birth originally reported as 1932.<ref name="new"/>}} – 2020),<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Gage Obituary - Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=mary-frances-gage&pid=196548698 |access-date=2020-11-17 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2020-07-26}}</ref> who was adopted by the couple in 1936 (finalized in 1938) from the New York Foundling Hospital, run by the [[Sisters of Charity of New York]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118769,00.html | title=Good Night, Irene Dunne; Hollywood Loses An Airy and Elegant Gal from Film's Golden Age | magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] | date=September 17, 1990 | access-date=May 8, 2016 | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090214/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118769,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="new">{{cite news|date=March 17, 1938|title=Irene Dunne Adopts Baby: Actress Formally Becomes Foster-Mother of Girl, 4|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/03/17/96806293.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|quote=Irene Dunne, screen actress, and her husband, Dr. Francis Griffin, have adopted a 4-year-old girl whom they have named Mary Frances Dunne, it was learned yesterday at the County Clerk's office, where the adoption order is on file.|page=17|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175530/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/03/17/96806293.html}}</ref>