If you ever get a chance to drive down Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, take a turn onto Sunset, and visit the Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. As you wander along the beautiful lake, take note that this used to be Inceville.
Thomas H. Ince was born in Rhode Island in 1880. He made his Broadway debut at the age of 15. Ince later tried to form his own vaudeville company but failed. He met his actress wife, and together, they had three kids.
Ince found out that the New York Motion Picture Company had a studio called Bison Studios in Edenville, California, present-day Echo Park. Ince wanted to be a director. He accepted the job and moved his family out west. Ince was shocked to find Bison Studios were nothing more than a barn and a small house. He looked for a larger location and settled upon an 18,000-acre ranch in the Pacific Palisades he named Inceville.
Inceville was the first studio to offer production offices, printing labs, silent stages, and a cafeteria large enough to feed hundreds of workers. Most of the employees lived at Inceville or took the Red Car Trolley to the Long Wharf Pier. All that remains now is a small Long Wharf sign along Pacific Coast Highway.
Ince wrote and directed most of his films but loved producing the most. He loved Civil War movies and Westerns and was known as the “King of the Westerns.” He created more than 150 films at Incville and opened another studio where Sony Pitcures sits today.
Ince was the wealthiest movie mogul in Hollywood. He owned a lavish estate in Beverly Hills atop Benedict Canyon, complete with tennis courts, swimming pool, bowling green, and trout pond.
In November 1924, Ince was invited to William Randolph Hearst’s yacht to celebrate his birthday. Ince took a train to San Diego and joined the others on the 200 foot USS Oneida.
Ince fell ill that night and suffered from indigestion. He left the party and took a train home, where he died. Ince was only 44 years old and at the prime of his life. His doctor determined Ince died of a heart attack, which might explain his indigestion.
Rumors begin to fly around Hollywood. The Los Angeles Times printed the headline “Movie Producer Shot on Hearst’s Yacht.” Rumors are always the cheapest form of entertainment.
Hearst supposedly shot Ince in the head, mistaking him for Charlie Chaplin. Hearst was jealous of Chaplin for having an affair with his actress girlfriend, Marion Davies. The idea that old man William Randolph Hearst would kill for his mistress seemed credible. Hearst and Davies had a child out of wedlock named Patricia Lake, who they hid away and claimed to be Davies’ niece. Hearst never divorced his first wife and would not marry Davies because of his Catholic faith.
Thomas H. Ince was cremated, and his ashes scattered at sea. His studio was sold, and his estate at 1051 Benedict Canyon was demolished. Ince’s wife fled to Europe. Some say it was because of money that Hearst had given her to stay silent. She built the Hollywood apartment building Chateau Elysee, which still stands today and was later bought by the Church of Scientology. Mrs. Ince and William Randolph Hearst repeatedly denied the shooting story. They both claimed Tom Ince died of a heart attack.
The myth of Ince’s murder overshadowed his legacy. Not much remains of Thomas H. Ince in Hollywood today except for his star (6727 Hollywood Blvd) on the Hollywood walk of fame and a street sign.