Vaudeville Entertainer, Showgirl, Socialite. She was born the daughter of James Wilcox, a Kentucky optometrist and drugstore owner, who was married six times, twice to one woman; with his first wife, he had six children. There were several members of her family that were in the film industry. She was the second wife of Nicholas Schenck, the President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio's parent company Loew's, Inc. They had three daughters and she retired from show business to be their mother. Her sister was Ruth Selwyn, the first woman Broadway producer and instrumental in the development of Palm Springs, California. She was the sister of Fred MacLeod Wilcox , movie director. Silent movie film star Norma Talmadege was married to her brother-in-law Joseph Schenck, who was head of several film studios. She became the mother-in-law of actor Helmut Dantine, who is best known for appearing in “Casablanca” in 1942; he married her daughter, who was an actress using the stage name Niki Dantine. She was a socialite in Hollywood and New York City during the Golden Era of glamorous parties. She was very generous with her time and monetary gifts to various charities. By some estimates, her husband was the eighth richest individual in the United States during the 1930s. Started in 1948, “The Nicholas & Pansy Schenck Foundation”, which is still in existence today, is a very successful charity organization. Recently, their grant helped published Tom Wolf’s book, “In Fire’s Way: A Practical Guide to Life in the Wildfire Danger Zone”. Some documents have her year of birth as 1898, whereas her marker has 1905. Her siblings, Ruth and Fred’s graves are located near hers.
Vaudeville Entertainer, Showgirl, Socialite. She was born the daughter of James Wilcox, a Kentucky optometrist and drugstore owner, who was married six times, twice to one woman; with his first wife, he had six children. There were several members of her family that were in the film industry. She was the second wife of Nicholas Schenck, the President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio's parent company Loew's, Inc. They had three daughters and she retired from show business to be their mother. Her sister was Ruth Selwyn, the first woman Broadway producer and instrumental in the development of Palm Springs, California. She was the sister of Fred MacLeod Wilcox , movie director. Silent movie film star Norma Talmadege was married to her brother-in-law Joseph Schenck, who was head of several film studios. She became the mother-in-law of actor Helmut Dantine, who is best known for appearing in “Casablanca” in 1942; he married her daughter, who was an actress using the stage name Niki Dantine. She was a socialite in Hollywood and New York City during the Golden Era of glamorous parties. She was very generous with her time and monetary gifts to various charities. By some estimates, her husband was the eighth richest individual in the United States during the 1930s. Started in 1948, “The Nicholas & Pansy Schenck Foundation”, which is still in existence today, is a very successful charity organization. Recently, their grant helped published Tom Wolf’s book, “In Fire’s Way: A Practical Guide to Life in the Wildfire Danger Zone”. Some documents have her year of birth as 1898, whereas her marker has 1905. Her siblings, Ruth and Fred’s graves are located near hers.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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