Serge Mdivani

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Serge Mdivani with his wife Pola Negri. An unknown third person was retouched in the photo.

Serge Mdivani (born February 17, 1903 in Tbilisi, Georgia , † March 15, 1936 in Florida ) was one of the five siblings who were known as Marrying Mdivanis . He became world famous in 1927 as the husband of the film star Pola Negri .

Life

Serge Mdivani was the eldest son of Zakhari Mdivani, a general of Tsar Nicholas II , and his wife Elisabeth Viktorovna Sobolevska. Other family members were:

  • Nina Mdivani (born January 26, 1901 - † February 19, 1987)
  • David Mdivani (born February 14, 1904 in Tbilisi, † August 5, 1984)
  • Roussadana Mdivani (7 July 1905 - 16 December 1938)
  • Alexis Mdivani (born February 7, 1908 - August 1, 1935)

In 1914 the family moved from Tbilisi to Batumi , as Zakhari Mdivani had been appointed governor of the city by Nicholas II. Anyone interested in oil deals there had to go to General Mdivani. As a result, an American business traveler, Zenas Marshall Crane, came into contact with the family in 1919. He took Serge and David Mdivani to the United States, where they attended high school and boarding in Andover , Massachusetts. After finishing school, the brothers traveled to Paris for a short time , where the family had settled in 1921 after fleeing via Constantinople . Since her exile, Elisabeth Mdivani had acquired the title of princess for herself and her daughters, and the sons had them titled as princes, which served them as an entreé in high society. After their mother died unexpectedly, Serge and David returned to the United States in 1923. They took various jobs but planned to get into the oil business. From 1924 Serge is said to have worked as a secretary for the Georgian Exploration Co. Inc.

The wedding of Serge Mdivani and Pola Negri

Serge Mdivani met the Polish film actress Pola Negri through David, who now lived in Hollywood . She came to the United States in 1923 and was under contract with Paramount . Pola Negri had successfully matched David Mdivani with colleague Mae Murray and was maid of honor when the couple married in June 1926. Pola wanted to marry Rudolph Valentino , but he died completely unexpectedly. At the same time, her career in the USA came to an end with the sound film because her Polish accent did not reach the audience. Serge Mdivani and Pola Negri became a couple; In April 1927 they started the crossing to France with great press coverage, where they married on May 14, 1927. Pola Negri owned a castle there, the Château Reuil Seraincourt, which she had bought for herself and Valentino two years earlier. The love life of "Prince" and "Princess" Mdivani has been widely reported in the European and American press. The reporters did not miss the fact that the marital happiness was short-lived. A large part of Pola Negri's vast fortune was lost in the 1929 stock market crash . In addition, Serge Mdivani began a relationship with the opera singer Mary McCormic, whereupon Pola filed for divorce. At the court appointment, there was another reconciliation that did not last long. The marriage eventually ended in divorce, and Serge married Mary McCormic on April 27, 1931. He resumed his plans for the oil business and founded the Pacific Shore Oil Company with David Mdivani. They successfully sold shares in the company to private investors, with their wives - Mary McCormic and David's wife, Mae Murray - providing many customers and being among the shareholders themselves. A few years later, both marriages were about to end, and the ex-wives went to court against the brothers in 1933. They were accused of embezzling over $ 30,000 while the other investors came away empty-handed. Finally, in October 1934, charges of theft were dropped. Instead, Serge and David Mdivani were accused of conspiracy for the purpose of criminal activity on the mitigated charge and were sentenced to fines at the end of the trial.

On January 14, 1936, Serge Mdivani married for the third time. He stood before the altar with Louise Astor Van Alen, who was the wife of his younger brother Alexis Mdivani from 1931 to 1932. Only a few weeks later, on March 16, 1936, Serge Mdivani had a fatal accident while playing polo at the age of 33 . During a Palm Beach tournament, he fell from the saddle and was hit in the head by the hooves of his pony. He died of a head injury while still on the field. He was buried in the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery, Rhode Island, USA.

literature

  • Pola Negri: Memoirs of a Star. Doubleday, New York NY 1970.
  • Tony Villecco: Pola Negri - The Hollywood Years. Birmingham 2017.
  • Susanne Buck: murderer, fashion, dowry hunter. Jonas Verlag, Weimar 2019, ISBN 978-3-89445-568-2 .
  • Misia Sert : Parisian memories. Wiesbaden 1959.
  • Alice-Leone Moats: The Million Dollar Studs. New York 1977.
  • Michael G. Ankerich: Mae Murray - The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips. Kentucky 2013.
  • Neal Gabler: How an Early Hollywood Family Became the Original Kardashians. In: Los Angeles Magazine. November 29, 2016. (lamag.com)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Misia Sert: Paris memories . Wiesbaden 1959, p. 218 .
  2. ↑ Georgian Youth to Attend US schools . In: Los Angeles Herald . November 26, 1920, p. 12 .
  3. ↑ Denise Tual: Au cœur du temps . Paris 1987, p. 37 .
  4. ↑ The Mdivani Brothers' Own Story by David Mdivani. In: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Daily Magazine . December 7, 1935, p. 30 .
  5. ↑ Suits Against the Mdivanis Are Dismissed . In: The Binghampton Press . October 10, 1934, p. 10 .
  6. ↑ She May Become Princess again . In: The Nassau Daily Review . Long Island January 14, 1936, p. 16 .
  7. ↑ Prince Serge Mdivani Is Hurt Fatally When Kicked by Polo Pony in Florida. In: The Utica Observer Dispatch . March 16, 1936, p. 7 .
  8. ↑ Jen Snoots: Serge Mdivani. In: www.findagrave.com. March 19, 2007, accessed March 22, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Mdivani, Serge
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Georgian husband of Pola Negri
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Tbilisi
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1936
Place of death Florida