The Mysterious Affair of Thomas Ince

The name Thomas Ince conjures up mystery, intrigue, and yes, even murder. Never mind that Ince was a hardworking, talented, not to mention, dedicated pioneer of silent film-a movie mogul, if you will. An ambitious producer/director, Ince partnered up with D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett, in 1915, to form the now forgotten Triangle Motion Picture Company. Three years later, he founded his most famous studio-in Culver City. But it wasn't his Hollywood accomplishments that Thomas Ince is known for. It was his untimely death and the cast of real life characters who witnessed the sordid events.

Even back then, hobnobbing with the rich and famous was just part of the Hollywood territory. That's why it seemed only natural for William Randolph Hearst to throw a birthday party for Ince on board his yacht, the Oneida. As fate would have it, Ince's forty-second birthday would be his last, and that weekend cruise would become Hollywood legend.

It was on a Saturday, November 15, 1924 to be exact, that the Oneida set sail from San Pedro, California heading for San Diego. Among the guests that weekend were Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, silent film star Charlie Chaplin, columnist Louella Parsons and Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman, Hearst's film production manager. Ironically, Ince, the guest of honor, was late due to a production deal he was negotiating with Hearst's International Film Corporation. The Oneida left without him.

Determined not to miss his own party, Ince finished up his business in L.A. and took a train down to San Diego where he joined Hearst and the gang on board ship the next morning. At dinner that Sunday night, the group enthusiastically celebrated Ince's birthday. Early Monday morning, Ince was taken from the yacht by water taxi and brought ashore, accompanied by Dr. Goodman, still a licensed, though non-practicing, physician. By Tuesday night, Thomas Ince was dead.

Forty-eight hours after leaving the Oneida, Ince died in his own home. Dr. Ida Glasgow, Ince's personal physician, signed the death certificate citing heart failure as the cause of death. The Wednesday morning papers, however, told another story: "Movie Producer Shot on Hearst Yacht!"--Headlines that magically vanished in the evening edition. Without further ado, Ince's body was cremated, after which his widow, Nell, soon left for Europe.

Things were getting interesting when the Hearst organization issued a statement claiming that Ince fell ill while visiting the Hearst ranch in San Simeon with Nell and their children. Who were they kidding? Too many people knew where Ince really was-on board The Oneida alone-nowhere near San Simeon or Nell or their children. One thing was certain-someone was lying, but who and why?

Hollywood legend says that William Randolph Hearst shot Thomas Ince in the head by mistake. He really wanted Chaplin. As the story goes, Hearst suspected that Davies and Chaplin were secretly lovers. In order to keep tabs on the two, he invited them both on board The Oneida. Supposedly, he found the couple in a compromising clinch and went for his gun. Davies' screams awakened Ince who rushed to the scene. A scuffle ensued, followed by a gunshot and Ince took the bullet for Chaplin.

A second version of the story had Davies and Ince alone in the galley late Sunday night. Ince, who suffered from ulcers, was supposedly looking for something to ease his upset stomach when Hearst walked in. Mistaking Ince for Chaplin, Hearst shot him. But there's more…a third version tells of a struggle over a gun belowdecks between unidentified passengers. The gun fired accidentally and the bullet ripped through a plywood partition straight into Ince's room where it struck him.

An even more colorful account of the shooting came from Marion Davies' secretary, Abigail Kinsolving, who claimed that Ince raped her that weekend on board the yacht. Of course, things became even more interesting when, several months later, the unmarried Kinsolving delivered a baby, and died shortly after, in a mysterious car accident near the Hearst ranch. Two bodyguards, employed by Hearst, found her body, along with a suspicious looking suicide note. Her baby, a girl, was conveniently sent to an orphanage supported by Marion Davies.

Toraichi Kono, Chaplin's secretary, added fuel to the fire. He claimed to have seen Ince when he came ashore. Kono told his wife that, Ince's head was bleeding from a bullet wound. The story quickly spread among the Japanese domestic workers throughout Beverly Hills. One month after Ince's death, the rumors ran so rampant that the San Diego District Attorney's Office was forced to take action.

The D.A. interviewed only one person--Dr. Goodman -- who explained that once ashore, he and Ince caught a train heading back to Los Angeles. According to Goodman, Ince got sick on the train so they disembarked in Del Mar and checked into a hotel. Goodman then called a doctor, as well as Nell Ince. Concerned for her husband, Nell agreed to come to Del Mar immediately. Goodman, unclear whether Ince was suffering from a heart attack or indigestion, claimed he left Del Mar before Nell arrived. The D.A. quickly closed the investigation.

Nonetheless, the rumors and suspicions continued spurred on by the very people who celebrated with Ince that ill-fated weekend. Chaplin always denied being there, insisting that he, Hearst and Davies visited the ailing Ince later that week. He also stated that Ince died two weeks after their visit. In reality, Ince was dead within forty-eight hours after leaving the Oneida with Chaplin attending the memorial services that Friday.

Marion Davies also added to the mystery in her attempts to deny the incident. She never acknowledged that Chaplin or Goodman were on board the yacht that weekend, and always denied that Louella Parsons was among the guests. Davies insisted that Nell Ince called her late Monday afternoon at United Studios to inform her of Ince's death. Was it a premonition since he didn't die until Tuesday?

It seems that Hearst took care of Louella Parsons-apparently rewarding her for her silence. When The Oneida sailed, Parsons was a New York movie columnist for one of Hearst's papers. After the Ince affair, Hearst gave her a lifetime contract and expanded her syndication. Her legendary power over Hollywood blossomed.

Supposedly, Hearst, himself, also provided Nell Ince with a trust fund just before she left for Europe. In return, she refused an autopsy and ordered her husband's immediate cremation. Rumor also has it that Hearst paid off Ince's mortgage on his Chateau Elysee apartment building in Hollywood. D.W. Griffith always said: "All you have to do to make Hearst turn white as a ghost is mention Ince's name. There's plenty wrong there, but Hearst is too big."

So what really killed Thomas Ince? A sudden heart attack? A bout of indigestion? A misguided bullet? We'll probably never know for sure, but when we think of Thomas Ince, we'll remember his famous friends and the odd circumstances under which he left this world.