Adolph Menjou: Best Man For Gene Markey's Wedding?

Adolphe Menjou was an American actor whose career spanned both silent films and talkies. He was known for his elegance, debonair attitude, and unique moustache. Gene Markey was an American writer, producer, screenwriter, and highly decorated naval officer. He was married four times, with his first three marriages being to prominent film actresses. Given that both Menjou and Markey were prominent figures in Hollywood during the same era, and that they are both known to have attended social events with other Hollywood figures, it is possible that they knew each other. However, there is no definitive evidence that Adolphe Menjou was the best man for Gene Markey's wedding.

Who was Gene Markey?

Eugene Willford "Gene" Markey was an American writer, producer, screenwriter, and highly decorated naval officer. Born in Jackson, Michigan, in 1895, Markey came from a military family. His father, Eugene Lawrence Markey, was a colonel in the United States Army, and his uncle, Daniel P. Markey, had been Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1918, Markey joined the infantry as a lieutenant and saw action at the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I. Following the war, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1919 to 1920, worked as a journalist in Chicago, and became a writer in the 1920s, specialising in novels about the Jazz Age.

In 1929, Markey moved to Hollywood and began working as a screenwriter for Twentieth Century Fox. He wrote several films, including "King of Burlesque" (1936) and "On the Avenue" (1937). He also produced films, such as the 1937 Shirley Temple film "Wee Willie Winkie". Markey's skill as a conversationalist and his military background made him a popular figure in Hollywood. He counted many prominent figures as friends, including producer John Hay Whitney, composer Irving Berlin, and actors Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ward Bond, and John Wayne.

Markey was married four times, always to prominent film actresses. His first marriage was to Joan Bennett, with whom he had a daughter, Melinda. He then married Hedy Lamarr, followed by Myrna Loy, and finally, Lucille Parker Wright, the widow of Warren Wright, the owner of the famous Calumet Farm racing stable. Markey was a lover of horses and dogs, and he was known to be a skilled party host, often mixing his Hollywood and Kentucky friends at his parties.

In addition to his writing and producing career, Markey continued his military service in the U.S. Naval Reserve, joining in 1920 and rising to the rank of rear admiral by the end of World War II. He served as an assistant intelligence officer on the staff of Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey and was highly decorated for his service. Markey was proud of his military rank and insisted on being addressed as "Admiral Markey". He remained married to his fourth wife until his death in 1980 and was buried in the Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.

Who was Adolphe Menjou?

Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor whose career spanned silent films and talkies. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1890, he was the son of a French father and an Irish mother. Menjou graduated from Cornell University with a degree in engineering but was drawn to the vaudeville stage, making his movie debut in 1916.

During World War I, he served as a captain in the United States Army Ambulance Service. After the war, he rose through the ranks in the film industry, appearing in films such as The Faith Healer (1921) and The Three Musketeers (1921). By the late 1920s, he was receiving top billing for films with Famous Players-Lasky and Paramount Pictures. His supporting role in A Woman of Paris (1923) solidified his image as a well-dressed man-about-town, and he was voted the Best Dressed Man in America nine times.

Menjou's career continued through the 1930s and 1940s, with notable performances in Morocco (1930), The Front Page (1931), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, A Farewell to Arms (1932), and Morning Glory (1933). He also appeared in State of the Union (1948) alongside Katharine Hepburn, with whom he clashed due to their differing political views.

A staunch Republican, Menjou equated the Democratic Party with socialism and actively supported the House Committee on Un-American Activities, believing that Hollywood was a centre of Communist activity. Because of his political leanings, he became a leading member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, which opposed communist influence in Hollywood.

Menjou was married three times. His first two marriages ended in divorce, but his third marriage, to actress Verree Teasdale, lasted from 1934 until his death in 1963. They had one adopted son, Peter Menjou. In addition to his acting career, Menjou served in World War II and published an autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors, in 1948. He died of hepatitis in Beverly Hills, California, and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Gene Markey's marriages

Gene Markey was married five times, four times to prominent film actresses, and once to the widow of a racing stable owner. His first marriage was to Joan Bennett, from 1932 to 1937, with whom he had a daughter, Melinda, in 1934. Markey's second marriage was to Hedy Lamarr, from 1939 to 1940. He then married Myrna Loy in 1946, and they divorced in 1950. At first, Loy claimed mental cruelty, but later retracted this, saying:

> He could make a scrubwoman think she was a queen and he could make a queen think she was the queen of queens.

After returning to Hollywood following World War II, Markey married his fourth wife, Lucille Parker Wright, in 1952. Wright was the widow of Warren Wright, the owner of the Calumet Farm racing stable. Markey left California after this marriage. He and Wright remained married until his death in 1980, and she was buried next to him upon her death in 1982.

While I found no information confirming whether Adolphe Menjou was the best man at any of Gene Markey's weddings, I did find a record of them both attending a party for Bette Davis at the Trocadero nightclub in Hollywood.

Adolphe Menjou's marriages

Adolphe Menjou was married three times. His first marriage, in 1920 to Kathryn Conn Tinsley, ended in divorce in 1927. He married Kathryn Carver in 1928; they divorced in 1934. His third and final marriage, to Verree Teasdale, lasted from 1934 until his death on October 29, 1963. They had one adopted son, Peter Menjou.

Menjou had also adopted Tinsley's son, Harold Lawton Tinsley, but after his death, his will revealed that he had included only Peter Menjou as his heir.

Gene Markey, on the other hand, was married four times. His first marriage was to Joan Bennett, from 1932 to 1937, and they had a daughter, Melinda, in 1934. He was married to Hedy Lamarr from 1939 to 1940 and to Myrna Loy from 1946 to 1950. Markey's fourth marriage, to Lucille Parker Wright, took place in 1952, and they remained married until his death in 1980.

Gene Markey's career

Gene Markey was a writer, producer, screenwriter, and highly decorated naval officer. Born in Michigan in 1895, Markey graduated from Dartmouth College in 1918 and became a lieutenant in the infantry during World War I, seeing action at the Battle of Belleau Wood. After the war, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and in 1920, he entered the Art Institute of Chicago, claiming to have "studied painting and learned nothing".

Markey then worked as a journalist in Chicago, writing for various newspapers and magazines, including Photoplay magazine. In the 1920s, he began writing novels about the Jazz Age, including *Anabel, Stepping High, Women, Women, Everywhere,* and *His Majesty's Pyjamas*. Literary Lights (1923) was a collection of fifty caricatures of important literary authors of the day.

In 1929, Markey went to Hollywood and became a screenwriter for Twentieth Century Fox. His screen credits included *King of Burlesque* (1936), *Girls' Dormitory* (1936), and *On the Avenue* (1937). He also produced several films, including the 1937 Shirley Temple film, *Wee Willie Winkie*. Markey's skill as a conversationalist made him a popular figure in Hollywood, where he befriended many notable figures, including John Wayne, Irving Berlin, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

During World War II, Markey served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of commodore and serving as an assistant intelligence officer on the staff of Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey. He was highly decorated for his service, receiving awards such as the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat V, Navy Commendation Medal, Italy's Star of Solidarity, and France's Legion of Honor.

After the war, Markey returned to Hollywood and married his fourth wife, Lucille Parker Wright, in 1952. He continued to write, with works such as *Kentucky Pride* and *That Far Paradise*. Markey was also known for his skill in naming the horses on his wife's racing stable, including "Our Mims" and "Eastern Fleet". He was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 1958 and remained in the public eye, serving as the model for a character in the 1965 film *In Harm's Way*, starring his friend John Wayne. Markey passed away in 1980 and was buried in Lexington, Kentucky.

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