Francis X. Bushman

The life of silent star Francis X. Bushman has finally been written!

Author Lon Davis, who recently published Silent Lives (a series of short biographies of silent stars), has finally completed a project that took almost 30 years.

Bushman (1883-1966) is best remembered for his role as Messala in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. Unlike many stars of the silent era, he didn't have a problem adjusting to talkies... but the talkies may have had some problems adjusting to him. According to Bushman himself, he made an enemy of Louis B. Mayer, that same mogul who is rumored to have ruined the career of superstar John Gilbert. Evidently, Mayer hated Bushman's attitude; Bushman attempted to get more money during the shooting of Ben-Hur, and afterwards, found so much difficulty finding work that he placed the blame at Mayer's door.

At the age of 13, Davis met Beverly Bayne, Bushman's second wife. She had little, if anything, good to say about Bushman, but Davis was fascinated; this is when he began to research Bushman. Lon and his then-fiancee, Debra, began to co-author the manuscript in the early 1980s; they met Bushman's last wife, Iva, who kindly allowed them to view and even handle some of Bushman's silent-film paraphernalia (much of which they shipped to the Smithsonian later). The book was finished in 1983, but remained unsold until it was published by Bear Manor Media.

What happened to Bushman's career?

To hear Bushman tell it, it was because he made a powerful enemy out of Louis B. Mayer. In 1917, Bushman starred in Mayer’s first production, "The Great Secret," a serial that was something of a flop. When he was making "Ben-Hur" in the mid-twenties for the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer company, Bushman alienated Mayer by holding him up for more money when the production was stalled. After a few major movies at the end of the twenties, he turned to radio for the next two decades.
He did state that he loved the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur, and even helped to promote the film.

Will we see more of Bushman's films now?

I hope so!