[5][6] He claimed descent from two English Prime Ministers, William Pitt (1708–1778) and "Iron Duke" Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), and said he stemmed from a family of medieval Irish scholars.

[7] He spent his early childhood in India, later attending St. Paul's school in London and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

[1] During World War I, Davoren served in the British Army with the 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, under the command of Colonel Charles Douglas Parry Crooke.

His versatility almost cost him the role of Professor Deming in the September 1930 stage production of The Poor Nut when its casting director initially did not believe that the clean-shaven Davoren could be the same actor he remembered from Rope's End.

[19] In June 1934, The Los Angeles Times reported Davoren to be one of four "well-known actors" to be principals in the cast of the stage play The People, Inc.[20] He went on to have a large number of roles in sound films.

[22] According to de Verley, she developed the style after her husband asked her to create his death mask after being told he had a short time to live following exposure to poison gas.

[7] Despite the prominent involvement of William Randolph Hearst and the purchase of 1,800 acres (730 ha), the planned yacht harbor never materialized.