Russell Clifford Durant (November 26, 1890 – October 31, 1937) was an American

playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

and

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Early life

Durant was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, the son of

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, founder of General Motors and co-founder of Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple brands – ...

and Clara Miller Pitt. His older sister,

Margery Durant Margery Pitt Durant (May 24, 1887 – February 3, 1969) was the daughter of businessman and General Motors founder, Billy Durant. She was notable for authoring a book about her father, her contributions to increasing travel abroad via aviation, ...

, was three years his senior. In 1900, the family lived at 704 Garland Street in Flint and were attended by servants. Durant went to Flint grammar schools and later the University of Detroit and the Pennsylvania Military Academy. In 1908, his parents divorced and in the divorce settlement, Durant's mother, Clara, was granted the house on Garland Street.

Personal life

Durant had four marriages and was rumored to treat his wives poorly through extramarital affairs and physical abuse. Durant's four wives were Lena Pearl McFarland, Adelaide Pearl Frost, Lea Gapsky, and Charlotte Phillips. His second wife, Adelaide Pearl Frost (1885–1977), whom he married on September 1, 1911, was a singing star who later married fellow racer, and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

flying ace,

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient. In 1919 Durant was named the "Pacific Coast Champion," when he drove a blue

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

-sponsored "Special" to victory in the Santa Monica Road Race. (The car was actually a 1915 Stutz, but called a Chevrolet due to his father regaining control of General Motors.) He averaged in the open topped machine for a total of 3 hours and 4 minutes. His teammate,

Eddie Hearne Edward Ames Hearne (March 1, 1887 – February 9, 1955) was an American racing driver from Kansas City, Kansas who was active in the formative years of auto racing. Early life Hearne was born on March 1, 1887. Racing career Hearne partici ...

, finished only 7 minutes behind Durant (also in a rebadged 1915 Stutz). Throughout the run, neither Durant nor Hearne were lapped by any other drivers in all of the on the course. Durant only pitted twice, for tire changes. One of those

pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...

s was for a tire that blew while he was running almost .

Beverly Hills Speedway ownership

Durant was a co-owner of the

Beverly Hills Speedway The Beverly Hills Speedway (also called the Los Angeles Speedway) was a Board track racing, wooden board track for Motorsport, automobile racing in Beverly Hills, California. It was built in 1919 on of land that includes the site of today's Bev ...

(1920–1924), a board track, along with the Speedway Association, which consisted of Durant,

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

, Jake Dansinger and Silsbee Spalding, among others. It was located at the site of the present

Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It ha ...

. In its day, it rivaled the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

for speed. In May 1923, Durant shattered eight world speed records for events and under at the Beverly Hills Speedway.

Detroit Special

Early in 1927, Durant financed the design and construction of an 8-cylinder

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

vehicle, designed and built by C. W. Van Ranst and

Tommy Milton Thomas Willard Milton (November 14, 1893 – July 10, 1962) was an American racing driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. In spite of having only one functional eye, Milton came to be known as one of the finest ra ...

. The vehicle was assembled in a basement laboratory at the General Motors Building in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and, as such, was named the "Detroit Special" in honor of the city in which it was built. The vehicle was later purchased by

Harry Hartz Harry Henry Hartz (December 24, 1896 – September 26, 1974) was an American racing driver and auto mechanic. Career Hartz was born in Pomona, California, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. At age eighteen, he began to drive in support even ...

, who installed a new

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

engine. Durant was to have driven the car in the

1932 Indianapolis 500 The 20th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1932. Attrition was the story of the race, with 26 of the 40 cars dropping out due to crashes or mechanical failure. A record eight d ...

. Instead it was driven by

Fred Frame Frederick William Frame (born Frederick William Colbath, June 3, 1894 – April 24, 1962) was an American racing driver. One of the leading AAA Championship Car drivers of the late 1920s and early 1930s, Frame is best remembered for his victory a ...

, who won the race.

Other racing accomplishments

1922 Tacoma Speedway Cliff Durant Marvin D Boland Collection G521089

Durant competed at many tracks and events around the country, including: Santa Monica and

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

road races,

Tacoma Speedway Tacoma Speedway (sometimes called Pacific Speedway or Tacoma-Pacific Speedway) was a (approximate) wooden board track for automobile racing that operated from 1914 to 1922 near Tacoma, Washington. In its time, the track was renowned nationwide a ...

, Cactus Derby (a challenging off-road race between

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Phoenix), and the

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. In the

1923 Indianapolis 500 The 11th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1923. After winning previously in 1921 Indianapolis 500, 1921, Tommy Milton became the first multiple winner of the Indianapolis ...

, Durant had the largest stable of cars (6) ever to participate in the Indianapolis 500 until modern times. He finished in seventh that year. Durant was the financial backer of the famous Harry Miller racing engines, which dominated the racing world in the 1920s–30s.

Other activities

Durant had his own flight school, airplanes for sale, and a field, "Durant Field" in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

in 1919. It was located between 80th Ave., 83rd Ave., and Snell Street. He also had Air Mail contracts for mail delivery with the government and his airport was the terminus for the first transcontinental air mail flight in August 1920. In 1921 Durant was a partner with Thomas O'Brian in the Lebec Hotel in the Mountains north of Los Angeles near present-day I-5. Durant had a large estate in Roscommon, Michigan on the South Branch of the Au Sable River, where "The Castle," a 54-room mansion, burned to the ground February 6, 1931. On the estate was his own private air strip, with several planes. On April 25, 1930, test pilot Herbert J. Fahy died two days after an airplane he had been showing Durant had crashed on takeoff at this airstrip. Fahy and his wife Claire, both prominent pilots, acted as sales agents for Lockheed. Durant agreed to buy the airplane if the Fahys could prove that the

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

could land and take off safely from Durant's personal strip. Herb and Claire Fahy landed the plane without incident, but as they took off, one of the wheels hit a partially hidden stump, which flipped the plane over. Herb Fahy, at age 33, sustained a fractured skull and a severe concussion from which he never recovered. The community airport in Roscommon, Michigan, was named Durant Field in his honor on July 16, 1933. At various times in his career he presided over the West Coast division of

Durant Motors Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers who financed GM. Corporate relationships Durant Motors attempted t ...

, and had been vice president of sales for Chevrolet in Oakland, California. He left Chevrolet in 1921, after his father, W.C. "Billy" Durant, left

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. Durant was an accomplished musician as well, playing the violin. He owned the

Guarneri del Gesu Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

violin, and played the piano and trumpet. He was at one time the owner of one of the most prized collections of violins in the world. In addition to being a businessman, race car driver, aviator and musician, he was also a yachtsman who owned the sailing yacht "Aurora."

Death

Durant died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

home on October 31, 1937, aged 46. His wife, Charlotte Phillips, had summoned medical assistance but he was pronounced dead when the assistance arrived. He is buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Photo of Durant in airplane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durant, Cliff 1890 births 1937 deaths Sportspeople from Flint, Michigan Racing drivers from Michigan Racing drivers from California Indianapolis 500 drivers AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen