Adrienne Ames

Born in Fort Worth, TX, in 1907, Adrienne Ames hit Hollywood in the late 1920s. Although her career only lasted about ten years, she crammed a lot of living into it--high-profile marriages (and divorces) and her reputation as a clothes horse and glamour queen par excellence far outshone her reputation as an actress. In 1933 she married Bruce Cabot after leaving her second husband, a rich New York City stockbroker, but she and Cabot only lasted four years. In her divorce she told the court that the main reason she left him was that he was a violent, uncontrollable drunk. In 1938 the pair appeared before a US Tax Appeals Board to explain why she wrote off more than $9000 in wardrobe and jewelry on her 1934 tax form, which she claimed was necessary for "professional reasons" (as was her maid). She claimed that her "daily expenses" included flowers, massages, taxis and beauty work. Her career lasted from 1929-40, during which she appeared in about 30 films, mostly "B" pictures. The best-known of her movies would probably be You're Telling Me! (1934) with W.C. Fields. After her film career ended she worked as a radio commentator. She died in New York City in 1947 after a long illness.