The year 1933 was a big one for Jean Harlow; riddled with blockbuster films, social outings, and quite a few dates. After Harlow’s mourning period for Paul Bern ended in March, she kept the company of a few different men including young Jesse Lasky, John Arledge (who bore a striking resemblance to Charles McGrew), and William Haggin Perry, who will be focusing on.
Jean Harlow is pictured here dining with William Haggin Perry, wealthy Brooklyn heir and prominent horseman, in 1933. A shortlived relationship, Jean and W. H. Perry only dated once or twice. I have never come across them mentioned together in any period publication.
This image is often shared with erroneous information that Jean is dining with her cousin, Donald Roberson, at the Trocadero in 1934. Although Roberson bears a strong resemblance, this is Perry, who often lived in California. That piece of information is definite, but I also have reason to speculate and believe this candid was snapped earlier.
The Trocadero on Sunset did not open until September 1934. Jean Harlow had married Hal Rosson by September 1933, though they were separated by May. Harlow did not wear this coiffure by May, and definitely not by September. Not neglecting to mention her eyebrows had migrated upward by 1934; let’s see for ourselves. Here’s Jean in a candid and a studio photograph from April 1934, months before this date supposedly took place. At this point she was still married to Hal and the Trocadero did not exist.
Looks a lot different, doesn’t she? Sporting loose waves and different brows. Now, why couldn’t have this picture been taken after the divorce? For one, Jean was already deeply involved with Bill Powell. Perry visited California in late 1933, and his mother followed in October.
The kicker is, Perry was back in Manhattan and married only two months later. And to none other than Gertrude “Pat” Wing, sister of the famous Harlow lookalike Toby Wing!
Every mention of William Haggin Perry from 1934 puts him in Rhode Island with Pat. But if this is 1933 and the Trocadero hasn’t opened, where did Perry and Harlow dine? Since the interior is remarkably similar to the Troc, minus the chairs, I’m guessing this was actually Café La Boheme, predecessor to the Trocadero located in the same building.
Legendary figure Billy Wilkerson acquired Café La Boheme in 1933, running it as usual until he had bigger ideas. Wilkerson hired designer Harold Grieve to reimagine the restaurant. La Boheme reopened as the Trocadero on September 17th, 1934. A fun fact: Harold Grieve also designed a vanity and three-tiered mirror for Jean’s home on Easton Drive, which she shared with Paul Bern until his death.
Of course, this is simply educated speculation on a photo that did not come with a press snipe identifying the location. If anyone has an original snipe to this photo that proves me wrong, let me know!
So, enough about the history of the Trocadero; that’s been talked about extensively. What happened to William Haggin Perry?
He apparently had an appetite for blondes. His love life is talked about in this 1945 article from the New York Daily News:
His apparent taste for flaxen starlets aside, Perry was an accomplished man. He was the product of a Wall Street broker and a descendant of the hugely affluent horseman James B.A. Haggin. With these circumstances, it was no surprise Perry made something of himself. Barely four months older than Jean, he was educated at Yale.
Perry remarried for a third time later in the century. He went on to score several successes racing thoroughbred horses in the 1960s. He and his wife operated a nearly 150 acre equestrian estate, which gained national importance throughout the 1970s and 80s. Perry passed away there in November 1993, aged eighty two.
We will never know what personally transpired between Jean Harlow and this forgotten date of hers, but both were married only months later. Perry was definitely an afterthought for Harlow, and probably vice versa.
One wonders what sort of memories William Haggin Perry held of our Jean on this date, or any other time. Perhaps he saw a certain twinkle in those blue eyes. Maybe he never forgot that harmonious laugh of hers. However unlikely, maybe Harlow’s influence started a certain preference with him. Pat Wing was a brunette, but it’s entertaining to think she was a second choice after Toby.
Either way, even the smallest interactions Jean had contain copious amounts of information should one look for it. I wonder if Perry and Harlow talked horseback riding….
Harlow Heaven 