Book delves into the life of ‘Hollywood’s Good Little Bad Girl’ Bebe Daniels

Contributed by Kate Gaddis, UHCL alumna

Charles Epting is a dashing young man from Hunting Beach, California. He is only 25 years old and has accomplished so much including having written an amazing book that was published in 2016 about the life of Bebe Daniels called “Bebe Daniels: Hollywood’s Good Little Bad Girl.”

Bebe was an actress in the silent and classic era with her most popular film being “42nd Street.” She was born Phyllis Virginia Daniels on Jan.14, 1901 in Dallas, Texas. Her parents were performers and when they got a divorce little Bebe was moved to California with her mother, while Bebe’s talent managed to get her on the stage, her screen career started at the age of 9.

With Epting embarking on the journey of writing about Bebe’s life story, he said that if he did not write it, no one else would. He became a fan of Bebe in a few different ways. The first way was watching her in “42nd Street.” Then, he bought a box set of actor Harold Lloyd films, as she appeared in many of his films as his leading lady. He saw that Bebe was featured in both films and he wanted to know what happened from 1917 to 1933.

“I wanted to fill in the gaps between what had occurred between those years,” Epting said in a phone interview.

When Bebe began doing talkies in the early 30s, she also took some singing lessons. She sang in many of the talking pictures she did, including “42nd Street.” Bebe’s dancing and singing came in handy when it came to recording songs for her other films. Bebe met the love of her life, actor Ben Lyon in 1930 and they married that year. The Lyons were a power couple. They were really happy together and would not have it any other way.

In 1931, Bebe gave birth to her daughter, Barbara Bebe Lyon. Bebe was a natural mother. She woke up at every hour of the night, changing diapers and singing to her. Bebe and Ben then moved to England, where the couple adopted a baby boy, whom they named Richard. “A brother for Barbara,” Bebe said as they signed the adoption papers.

During WWII, Bebe bowed out gracefully from Hollywood. But, in the 1950s, with the medium of TV, her family became a household name. “Life with the Lyons” became a hit British TV show and ran for 5 seasons. After that, Bebe bowed out gracefully from show business once and for all.

She continued to be married to Ben Lyon until her untimely death in March 1971 of a cerebral hemorrhage, caused by the strokes that she was recovering from. She was cremated and sent back to the USA to rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where her husband would join her in 1979.

Bebe’s children died in 1995 and Richard died in 2013. The only legacy Bebe has left is a grandson named Bruce Birkett.

“I tried contacting Bruce several times,” Epting said. “I know there isn’t a whole lot that he could tell me about Bebe since he was only 3 when she died.”

Epting established a magazine called the Silent Film Quarterly, where he writes on silent films. “Bebe Daniels: Hollywood’s Good Little Bad Girl” can be found on Amazon, on the McFarland Books website or on iBooks. Epting is a gracious man whose passion is silent films. The book also contains beautiful and never before seen photographs. Go check this book out!

Also published on Medium.