every newspaper, the woman’s estranged husband had been spurred on to take his revenge. He may have lost his wife, but he could regain his dignity by hitting Richman where it hurt – in his wallet. With that in mind, the man contacted the press to announce what the cad had done to his marriage, and to threaten a lawsuit.
This episode certainly did nothing to persuade Clara to marry Richman, and by January 1930 he was back in New York, much to the relief of Bow. But while they may have been on different sides of the country, it still did not stop Richman from continuing to make a fool of himself, this time by boasting that he had recently bought his fiancée a limousine and a diamond bracelet. However, by now even he was suspecting that Clara was having second thoughts about the engagement, though when she finally agreed to come east for a visit, he was still so excited that he hinted to the press that they might just go through with a wedding this time.
“If we do marry it will be in secret,” he told reporters, and anxiously awaited the arrival of his love. Unfortunately for Richman, however, he was in for a shock: Clara had only agreed to come to New York because she had decided to break the engagement, once and for all.
Richman had been so engrossed in the publicity brought on by his relationship with Bow that he had failed to see that there was never any chance of her marrying him. She had refused to name a date, publicly told him off for declaring his love in the newspapers, and even had an affair with Gary Cooper, but still Richman refused to leave her. Clara was struggling to see how she would ever rid herself of her unwanted beau, but in the end she decided to use her fertile imagination. Gathering together reporters in her suite at the Park Central Hotel, she let out a long sigh. “I cannot marry Harry Richman,” she sadly announced, “as I am expecting a nervous breakdown.”
Reporters were bemused that the actress could possibly predict her nervous breakdowns in advance, but Richman at last seemed to take the hint. On 17 February he accompanied his former fiancée to the station to see her off, kissed her on the cheek and left quickly before the train had rolled out of the station. Clara told reporters that publicity had stopped their wedding. “We couldn’t be alone long enough to be married,” she told them, while Harry Richman pretended to be upset about the press situation by declaring, “We were on the front pages all the time – and the things they said about us!” He forgot to mention, of course, that he had revelled in the publicity and had taken every opportunity to propel both himself and his relationship into the headlines.
Despite several meetings and attempts at reconciliation, by June 1930 the “engagement” was well and truly on its last legs. The last nail in the coffin came when Clara was spotted with her former flame, none other than Dr Pearson, which infuriated Richman to such a degree that he immediately requested the return of his engagement ring. Clara travelled to New York to negotiate with him, and in an attempt to sweeten the deal, described him as “a darling” to the waiting press. “We can never be married as long as I must remain in Hollywood and he in New York . . . But we are still engaged,” she quickly added, though the cynical could be forgiven for thinking this was just her attempt to keep the ring.
But while Richman was quite happy to think he might still be engaged to Clara Bow, another threatened lawsuit was bubbling; this time from his former sweetheart, actress Flo Stanley. She had dated the nightclub-owner some eight years before, but in spite of the fact that the romance had been over for a long time, she still had feelings for her lost love and hoped one day to reconcile. Like a scene from a bad romance movie, the spurned woman took the decision to contact Clara Bow and demand she “keep away from my man”. The actress paid no heed to the
This episode certainly did nothing to persuade Clara to marry Richman, and by January 1930 he was back in New York, much to the relief of Bow. But while they may have been on different sides of the country, it still did not stop Richman from continuing to make a fool of himself, this time by boasting that he had recently bought his fiancée a limousine and a diamond bracelet. However, by now even he was suspecting that Clara was having second thoughts about the engagement, though when she finally agreed to come east for a visit, he was still so excited that he hinted to the press that they might just go through with a wedding this time.
“If we do marry it will be in secret,” he told reporters, and anxiously awaited the arrival of his love. Unfortunately for Richman, however, he was in for a shock: Clara had only agreed to come to New York because she had decided to break the engagement, once and for all.
Richman had been so engrossed in the publicity brought on by his relationship with Bow that he had failed to see that there was never any chance of her marrying him. She had refused to name a date, publicly told him off for declaring his love in the newspapers, and even had an affair with Gary Cooper, but still Richman refused to leave her. Clara was struggling to see how she would ever rid herself of her unwanted beau, but in the end she decided to use her fertile imagination. Gathering together reporters in her suite at the Park Central Hotel, she let out a long sigh. “I cannot marry Harry Richman,” she sadly announced, “as I am expecting a nervous breakdown.”
Reporters were bemused that the actress could possibly predict her nervous breakdowns in advance, but Richman at last seemed to take the hint. On 17 February he accompanied his former fiancée to the station to see her off, kissed her on the cheek and left quickly before the train had rolled out of the station. Clara told reporters that publicity had stopped their wedding. “We couldn’t be alone long enough to be married,” she told them, while Harry Richman pretended to be upset about the press situation by declaring, “We were on the front pages all the time – and the things they said about us!” He forgot to mention, of course, that he had revelled in the publicity and had taken every opportunity to propel both himself and his relationship into the headlines.
Despite several meetings and attempts at reconciliation, by June 1930 the “engagement” was well and truly on its last legs. The last nail in the coffin came when Clara was spotted with her former flame, none other than Dr Pearson, which infuriated Richman to such a degree that he immediately requested the return of his engagement ring. Clara travelled to New York to negotiate with him, and in an attempt to sweeten the deal, described him as “a darling” to the waiting press. “We can never be married as long as I must remain in Hollywood and he in New York . . . But we are still engaged,” she quickly added, though the cynical could be forgiven for thinking this was just her attempt to keep the ring.
But while Richman was quite happy to think he might still be engaged to Clara Bow, another threatened lawsuit was bubbling; this time from his former sweetheart, actress Flo Stanley. She had dated the nightclub-owner some eight years before, but in spite of the fact that the romance had been over for a long time, she still had feelings for her lost love and hoped one day to reconcile. Like a scene from a bad romance movie, the spurned woman took the decision to contact Clara Bow and demand she “keep away from my man”. The actress paid no heed to the
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