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Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent film during the 1920s. It was her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film ''It'' that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties〔Morella and Epstein (1976), p. 283〕 and is described as its leading sex symbol. She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as ''Mantrap'' (1926), ''It'' (1927) and ''Wings'' (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930.〔Basinger, Jeanine. ''A woman's view: how Hollywood spoke to women, 1930–1960'', New York: Knopf, 1993〕〔''Exhibitors Herald'', December 31, 1927〕 Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost 2-to-1, a "safe return".〔''Press-Telegram'', December 10, 1962〕 At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).〔Stenn (1988) p. 159〕 After marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada. Her final film, ''Hoop-La'', was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60. ==Early life== Bow was born in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York at 697 Bergen Street.〔Stenn (1988), p. 322〕 Her birth year, according to the US Censuses of 1910 and 1920, was 1905.〔In US census records, enumerated in 1910-04-15 and 1920-01-07, Bow's age is stated 4yrs and 14yrs.〕 The 1930 census indicates 1906〔Enumeration District 19–822, Bureau of the Census, Population Schedule, April 2, 1930,〕 and on her gravestone of 1965 the inscription says 1907. But 1905 is the accepted year by a majority of sources. Bow was her parents' third child; her two older sisters, born in 1903 and 1904 respectively, died in infancy.〔Stenn (1988), p. 8〕 Her mother, Sarah Frances Bow (née Gordon, 1880–1923), was told by a doctor not to become pregnant again for fear the next baby might die as well. Despite the doctor's warning, Sarah became pregnant with Clara in late 1904. In addition to the risky pregnancy, a heat wave besieged New York in July 1905 and temperatures peaked around ; "I don't suppose two people ever looked death in the face more clearly than my mother and I the morning I was born. We were both given up, but somehow we struggled back to life."〔Bow, Clara. St. Johns, Adela Rogers (ed.) "My life, by Clara Bow" ''Photoplay'' (February, March and April 1928).〕 Bow's parents were descended from English-Irish and Scottish immigrants who had come to America the generation before.〔Stenn (1988) p. 6〕 Bow said that her father, Robert Walter Bow (1874–1959), "had a quick, keen mind ... all the natural qualifications to make something of himself, but didn't...everything seemed to go wrong for him, poor darling".〔 Between 1905 and 1923, the family lived at 14 different addresses but seldom outside Prospect Heights. Robert was often absent.〔Morella and Epstein (1976) p. 17〕 "I do not think my mother ever loved my father. He knew it. And it made him very unhappy, for he worshiped her, always."〔 When Bow was sixteen, her mother Sarah fell from a second-story window and suffered a severe head injury. She was later diagnosed with "psychosis due to epilepsy",〔Stenn (1988), p. 26〕 a condition apart from the seizures that is known to cause disordered thinking, delusion, paranoia, and aggressive behavior.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=NYU Langone Medical Center website (psychosis and epilepsy) )〕 From her earliest years, Bow learned how to care for her mother during the seizures as well as how to deal with the psychotic and hostile episodes. She said her mother could be "mean" to her, but "didn't mean to ... she couldn't help it".〔 Still, Bow felt deprived of her childhood; "As a kid I took care of my mother, she didn't take care of me".〔Morella and Epstein (1976), p. 24〕 Sarah worsened gradually, and when she realized her daughter was set for a movie career, Bow's mother told her she "would be much better off dead". One night in February 1922, Bow awoke to a butcher knife held against her throat. She was able to fend off the attack and locked her mother up. In the morning, Sarah had no recollection of the episode but was later committed to a sanatorium by Robert.〔 Clara spoke about the incident later: On January 5, 1923, at the age of 43, Sarah died from her epilepsy. When relatives gathered for the funeral, Bow accused them of being "hypocrites" and became so mad she even tried to jump into the grave.〔 Bow attended P.S. 111, P.S. 9 and P.S. 98.〔Stenn (1988), p. 8〕 As she grew up, she felt shy among other girls, who teased her for her worn-out clothes and "carrot-top" hair. She said about her childhood "I never had any clothes. ... And lots of time didn't have anything to eat. We just lived, that's about all. Girls shunned me because I was so poorly dressed."〔quoted in Savage, Jon. ''Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture'' New York: Viking, 2007. ISBN 978-0-670-03837-4, pp. 237–38.〕 From first grade, Bow preferred the company of boys, stating, "I could lick any boy my size. My right arm was quite famous. My right arm was developed from pitching so much ... Once I hopped a ride on behind a big fire engine. I got a lot of credit from the gang for that."〔 A close friend, a younger boy who lived in her building, burned to death in her presence after an accident. In 1919, Bow enrolled in Bay Ridge High School for Girls. "I wore sweaters and old skirts...didn't want to be treated like a girl...there was one boy who had always been my pal... he kissed me... I wasn't sore. I didn't get indignant. I was horrified and hurt."〔 Bow's interest in sports and her physical abilities made her plan for a career as an athletics instructor. She won five medals "at the cinder tracks" and credited her cousin Homer Baker – the national half-mile champion (1913 and 1914) and 660 yards world-record holder – for being her trainer.〔''Boston Daily Globe'', March 23, 1924.〕 The Bows and Bakers shared the house – still standing – at 33 Prospect Place in 1920.〔〔1920 United States Census, Kings, NY〕〔Homer Baker, 33 Prospect Place, Passport application, No. 20276, June 24, 1920, to compete in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Clara Bow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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