Hearst financed Davies' pictures and extensively promoted her career via his newspapers and Hearst Newsreels. He founded Cosmopolitan Pictures to produce her films. By 1923, Davies was the #1 female box office star in Hollywood due to the popularity of "When Knighthood Was in Flower" and "Little Old New York", which were among the biggest box-office hits of their respective years. During the zenith of the Jazz Age, Davies became renowned as the hostess of lavish soirées for Hollywood actors and political elites. However, in 1924, her name became linked with scandal when film producer Thomas Ince died at a party aboard Hearst's yacht.