Hearst fluctuated between endorsing and attacking F. In public, Roosevelt, on his part, would woo Hearst with invitations to the White House, obtaining a temporary truce, while in private, Roosevelt complained of Hearst's power and had his income taxes investigated. Once, he had served as the self-appointed tribune of the common man, and his progressive politics was denounced by the plutocrats as radical, but by the s, Hearst was flirting with Fascism.
The Hearst papers carried paid-for columns by both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, though Hearst claimed that he was only an anti-Communist. The Hearst media empire has reached its zenith in terms of circulation and revenues the year before the Stockmarket Crash of October , but the huge over-extension of the Hearst media empire eventually cost him control of his holdings.
Hearst's newspaper chain likely had never been profitable, but had been supported by the income from his mining, ranching and forest products interests. All of Hearst's business interests were adversely affected by the economic downturn, but the newspapers were hit particularly hard due to the decline in advertising revenues, the life's blood of any newspaper. His bellicose and eccentric behavior only made matters worse. By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt exerted himself over the U.
He could live openly in California with Davies. Along with his sensationalism and jingoism, William Randold Hearst was a racist who hated minorities, particularly Mexicans, both native-born and immigrants.
He used his newspaper chain to frequently stir up racial tensions. Hearst's newspapers portrayed Mexicans as lazy, degenerate and violent, marijuana-smokers who stole jobs from "real Americans. The Great Depression hurt Hearst financially, and he never recovered from it. At one point, his financial distress was so great, his mistress, Marion Davies, had to pawn some of her jewels to get him the cash to keep him afloat. They officially separated in Hearst spent many years and a fortune promoting Marion Davies' film career.
According to the great critic Pauline Kael, Davies was a first-rate light comedienne, but Hearst wanted her to play the classical roles of a tragedienne, with the result that he pushed her into movies that were ill-suited for her, and that made her look ridiculous.
She was not, however, the talentless drunk that Charles Foster Kane's second wife, Susan Alexander was. His wife and children remained in New York, where Hearst became known as a leading philanthropist, creating the Free Milk Fund for the poor in He had started out as a populist, but had veered right in the s, then tacked left in the early s, only to veer to the far right beginning in the mid-'30s. Always a maverick, Hearst might have been psychologically unable to maintain a constant position; unable or unwilling to reign in his ego and support those in power, he could never stay allies with anyone for long, and thus regularly shifted positions.
As Roosevelt went left, Hearst went right. Apparently, as his flirtation with fascism elucidates, he had cast himself as the savior of America in his own mind. The economic result of Hearst's shift to the right which also may have been influenced by his need to cajole financiers, who decidedly were anti-Roosevelt was that advertising sales and circulation declined, just as millions in debt came due and had to be refinanced.
On acres overlooking the California coast north of Cambria, he built what is now called Hearst Castle but that he called "La Cuesta Encantada. Founder of International Film Service Company, a distribution company, in The company merged with Pathe Exchange later that year.
The closest he got to a president other than socializing with one was marrying Millicent Wilson, who shared the name of Woodrow Wilson The nuptials took place the day before he turned His family opposed his marriage to Millicent, who was a year-old showgirl whom he had known for many years.
Before Millicent, he had been involved with Tessie Powers, a waitress he had financially supported since he had attended Harvard and trysted with her while still sporting the college's beanie. Hearst's personal life often was featured in stories that his competitors, the tabloid newspapers, ran during his lifetime, the kind of press he would have no moral qualms about if the proverbial shoe were on the other foot and it was someone else's other than his ox being gored.
However, he failed in his two bids to become mayor of New York City in and , and was defeated by the Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes in his attempt to become governor of New York State in He supported the Spanish-American War - many observers believe he even was the casus belli of that conflict - but opposed the U.
He also opposed President Wilson's formation of the League of Nations and American membership in the organization. By the time of the First World War, his political ambitions frustrated, he decided to live openly with Davies in California and at a castle he bought in Wales. Casey Bahr Association Football Player. Lisa Marie Thalhammer Painter. Erika Taylforth Figure Skater.
Blake J. Harris Film Writer. Tara Radcliffe Reality Star. Famous Birthdays April Bradford Burgess Basketball Player. Toby Dundas Drummer. Stephen Maxwell Basketball Player. Vinny Dunn Professional Wrestler. By , the corporation faced a court-ordered reorganization, and Hearst was forced to sell many of his antiques and art collections to pay creditors. During this time, his editorials became more strident and vitriolic, and he seemed out of touch. He turned against President Franklin D.
Roosevelt , while most of his readership was made up of working-class people who supported FDR. In , young film director Orson Welles produced Citizen Kane, a thinly veiled biography of the rise and fall of Hearst. Hearst was not pleased. He mustered his resources to prevent release of the film and even offered to pay for the destruction of all the prints.
Welles refused, and the film survived and thrived. Hearst spent his remaining 10 years with declining influence on his media empire and the public. He died on August 14, , in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Gerald Ford became the 38th president of the United States following Richard Nixon's resignation, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
Soviet spy William Fisher, a. Author R. Stine is famous for writing 'Goosebumps,' the bestselling horror series for kids. He also created the successful 'Fear Street' series. American radio and television news broadcaster Edward R. Flavor Flav is an American hip-hop artist known for his work with Public Enemy and for his appearances on multiple reality television series.
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