Most people who search for George Beldam Jr. already know the famous names attached to him. His mother was Clara Bow, the biggest female star of silent Hollywood. His father was Rex Bell, a western film actor who became a Nevada politician. What searchers find when they look for George Jr., though, is mostly silence — a name in a genealogy database, an old photograph, a family tree entry with few details.
That is not unusual. George Beldam Jr. lived a private life, away from cameras and headlines. But his family story is genuinely interesting, and there is enough confirmed information to piece together a clear picture of who he is and where he fits.
This article covers his confirmed identity, his parents’ remarkable careers, the ongoing surname confusion between Beldam and Bell, and what life likely looked like growing up as the son of a Hollywood legend and a Nevada lieutenant governor.
Who George Beldam Jr. Is
George Beldam Jr. was born in 1938. He was the younger of two sons born to Rex Bell — whose real name was George Francis Beldam — and his wife, actress Clara Bow.
His older brother was Tony Beldam, who later went by Rex Anthony Bell Jr. Rex Jr. had a minor career in western films and carried the Bell name publicly for most of his life. George Jr., by contrast, left almost no public record behind. He did not pursue acting, did not enter politics, and does not appear in any documented career or public role.
You may see his name written slightly differently depending on the source. Genealogy records list him as George Beldam Jr., George F. Beldam Jr., George Bell Jr., or even George Beldon Jr. These variations all refer to the same person. The inconsistency comes from the family’s use of two different surnames over the years, which is explained in detail below.
His existence is confirmed through the Wikipedia entry for Rex Bell, through the Geni profile for the Bell-Beldam family, and through an archival photograph held by UNLV Special Collections, which shows two young boys — identified as George and Rex Jr. — with a pony in a ranch setting.
His Parents — Clara Bow and Rex Bell
To understand George Beldam Jr., you have to understand his parents. They were two of the more fascinating public figures of mid-20th century America.
Clara Bow
Clara Bow was one of the defining stars of the silent film era. She was nicknamed the “It Girl” after her 1927 film It, and at her peak, she received more fan mail than almost any actor in Hollywood. She was a major box office draw throughout the late 1920s.
Her career slowed in the early 1930s as sound films took over and personal struggles — including tabloid coverage and health difficulties — took their toll. By the time George Jr. was born in 1938, Clara had largely stepped away from public life. She was living in Nevada, raising her sons, and staying well out of the spotlight she had once dominated.
Rex Bell
Rex Bell was born George Francis Beldam on October 16, 1903, in Chicago. He built a solid career as a western film actor before moving into Nevada politics.
He married Clara Bow in 1931, and that same year, the couple established Walking Box Ranch in Nevada. The ranch became their permanent home and retreat from Hollywood life.
Rex Bell’s political career was significant. He served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1955 until his death. On July 4, 1962, he suffered a fatal heart attack during a campaign kickoff event while running for Governor of Nevada. He did not live to see his campaign through.
His death left Clara Bow a widow, and it left their two sons — including George Jr., who was around 24 at the time — without their father.
The Beldam and Bell Surname Confusion
One of the most common questions people have when researching this family is simple: why do some records say Beldam and others say Bell?
The answer starts with Rex Bell’s real name. He was born George Francis Beldam. When he entered the film industry, he adopted the stage name Rex Bell — shorter, easier to remember, and better suited for a western star. But a stage name is not a legal name change in every sense, and his children were recorded under the original family surname in official documents.
That is why the younger son is documented as George Beldam Jr., not George Bell Jr. He was named after his father — George Francis Beldam — and carried that surname in records even as the Bell name was used publicly.
Over time, both brothers appeared under Bell in media references and everyday use, while Beldam showed up in legal and genealogical records. The older brother eventually settled on Rex Anthony Bell Jr. as his public name. George Jr. seems to have lived privately without ever standardizing a public version of his name.
If you are using Geni, MyHeritage, or similar platforms, you may see all three variations — Beldam, Bell, and even Beldon — used across the same family tree. They all refer to the same people. This is one of the more common sources of confusion for anyone tracing this family line.
Growing Up at Walking Box Ranch
Walking Box Ranch in Nevada was not just a vacation property. It was the Bell family’s primary home, and it is where George Jr. spent his childhood and early years.
The ranch was founded in 1931, the same year Rex Bell and Clara Bow married. It represented a deliberate step away from Hollywood — a quieter life in the Nevada desert, far from the studios and the press.
For George Jr., that meant growing up in a setting that was part ranch life, part political household, and entirely removed from the celebrity world his mother had once inhabited. The UNLV Special Collections archive holds a studio photograph of the two Bell boys with a pony, offering a small but clear window into that childhood environment. It is a western, outdoors image — not a Hollywood one.
Having a father who became Lieutenant Governor of Nevada added another layer to that upbringing. Rex Bell was a prominent Republican figure in the state through the late 1950s and early 1960s. Family life during those years would have included the rhythms of political campaigns, public events, and Nevada civic life alongside the more ordinary routines of ranch living.
Clara Bow’s retreat from public attention shaped things too. She was a private person by the time her sons were growing up, dealing with personal health challenges and staying away from press attention. That culture of privacy within the family may help explain why both sons — and especially George Jr. — stayed so thoroughly out of the public record.
How to Distinguish Him from Other George Beldams
Genealogy research on this name can get confusing quickly, because there is another well-documented George Beldam who has nothing to do with Clara Bow’s family.
That older George Beldam was born on May 1, 1868, in England. He was a photographer and sports writer, known for his work in early British sports photography. He died on November 23, 1937 — one year before George Beldam Jr. was even born.
The two are separate people from entirely different family lines. There is no confirmed genealogical connection between the English photographer and the American actor’s family. If you are tracing the Clara Bow and Rex Bell line, you are looking for the George Beldam born in 1938, not the one born in 1868.
A quick timeline helps keep things straight:
- George Beldam (1868–1937) — English photographer and sports figure, no connection to Clara Bow
- George Francis Beldam (1903–1962) — American actor and politician, better known as Rex Bell, father of George Jr.
- George Beldam Jr. (born 1938) — younger son of Rex Bell and Clara Bow
Keeping these three people clearly separated will save a lot of confusion in any family tree research.
What We Do and Don’t Know About His Later Life
Beyond his birth year and family identity, the confirmed public record on George Beldam Jr. is thin. There is no documented acting career, no political record, and no reliable biographical details about his adult life.
An informal social media post has suggested that a “George Bell (1938–2024)” passed away in 2024, identifying him as Rex Jr.’s younger brother. However, this comes from a social media source and has not been confirmed by any verifiable obituary or public record. It should be treated as unconfirmed unless and until a more reliable source supports it.
For anyone researching celebrity family history and looking for current coverage on similar topics, Businessverb covers a wide range of public figures and family background stories worth exploring.
What can be said with confidence is that George Beldam Jr. was not a public figure in the way his parents and brother were. He did not continue the family’s connection to film or politics in any documented way. His life, whatever shape it took, was a private one.
Why This Name Comes Up in Searches
People find George Beldam Jr.’s name in a few specific ways. Clara Bow fans researching her descendants often come across both sons in family tree databases. Rex Bell researchers encounter the Beldam surname through his political records and genealogy profiles. And anyone tracing the Bell or Beldam family through platforms like Geni or MyHeritage will eventually land on George Jr. as one of two children listed under Rex Bell’s entry.
He is not famous on his own terms. But he is a confirmed, real person — the younger son of two genuinely remarkable public figures — and that is reason enough to want the record to be clear and accurate.
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