He is also known for his marriages to movie star Louise Brooks and racehorse owner Etti Plesch.
During his idle youth in Lake Forest, Illinois, Davis competed with future writer F. Scott Fitzgerald for the affections of Chicago socialite Ginevra King who inspired the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.
Enlisting in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Signal Corps in 1917, he was sent to Italy, where he flew scouting missions.
[3] He was sent home after an accident put him in hospital in Rome for many weeks, ending his service as a war pilot.
[12] According to film historian James Card, Davis was just "another elegant, well-heeled admirer", nothing more.