User:Hm62501/Cleo Madison

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Later Career

“One of these days, men are going to get over the fool idea that women have no brains,” Cleo Madison told Photoplay magazine in 1916, “and quit getting insulted at the thought that a skirt-wearer can do their work quite as well as they can. And I don’t believe that day is very far off”

While her contributions to the film industry were notable, she is also recognized as a trailblazer for women in film and a feminist icon.

Madison was one of the few women who worked behind the camera during the silent film era, a time when women's roles in the film industry were limited. In 1916, she directed her first film, "Her Defiance," which was notable for featuring a strong, independent female protagonist who refused to conform to traditional gender roles.

Madison continued to produce, write, and direct films throughout the 1910s and early 1920s, often featuring female protagonists who challenged gender norms. She also founded her own production company, the Cleo Madison Productions, which gave her greater control over the creative direction of her films.

In addition to her work in film, Madison was also an outspoken feminist and advocate for women's rights. She believed that women should have equal opportunities in the workplace and the right to control their own bodies. Madison's films often dealt with themes of female empowerment and challenged traditional gender roles, making her an important figure in the feminist movement.

Personal Life

Most intriguingly, existing accounts of Madison’s life and career seem not to have noticed her marriage in November 1916 to“Don Peake of San Francisco, western sales manager for the Briscoe Motor Corporation,” although the Los Angeles Times noted the event. A records request to Riverside County, California, returned the marriage license included here. The date, groom’s name, and location on the certificate all match the details in announcements of Madison’s marriage, but the bride is identified as Lulu Bailey. Two items make it possible to confirm that Cleo Madison, Lulu Bailey, and Lulu Peake are the same person. First, a 1916 Motography story identifies Cleo Madison’s invalid sister as Helen Bailey. Also, Universal credited Grace Helen Bailey as the author or scenarist of nine titles between 1915 and 1917. Second, in 1917, Lulu Peake filed a complaint for divorce, included here, that identifies her as an actress. The case was dismissed in July of 1918, which makes it uncertain whether the Peakes actually divorced.

In addition to providing Cleo Madison with what was likely her birth name, these sources offer a possible explanation for the redirection of Madison’s career in late 1916. The divorce complaint paints Peake as a violent husband jealous of his wife’s work. It should be noted, however, that marriage was not the only development in her life that year. Articles in late 1916 and early 1917 in the Los Angeles Times as well as the Exhibitor’s Trade Review and Moving Picture World indicate that she planned to start an independent production firm called the Cleo Madison Film Corporation with former Universal General Manager Isadore Bernstein. Further research will be necessary to understand these developments.