Mildred Davis

Harold Lloyd's leading lady in his best-remembered silent comedy, the thrilling Safely Last (1923), Mildred Davis became Mrs. Lloyd offscreen as well and left the screen in 1927 to raise their family. As a youngster, Davis had appeared in Marriage à la Carte (1916) opposite Bryant Washburn but then more or less disappeared. Reportedly, producer Hal Roach thought of her when his star comic, Lloyd, needed a replacement for the departing Bebe Daniels and a search commenced. She was found attending high school in Tacoma, WA, and the rest, as they say, is history. Blonde and doll-like, Davis became Lloyd's leading lady in all his shorts and feature comedies, up to and including Safety Last (1923). They married on February 10, 1923, and although Davis was loath to leave films, Lloyd more or less demanded that she do so. The comic did secure her a role in Too Many Crooks (1927), a comedy for Paramount, but it proved her cinematic swan song. Mildred Davis died from the aftereffects of a stroke.