In Summer 1956, after many decades of heavy drinking, Davies suffered a minor cerebral stroke and was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. After the stroke, her Hollywood friends noted that "much of her old spirit and fire were gone," and Davies quipped to columnist Hedda Hopper that "we blondes seem to be falling apart." She would never fully regain her health. During this time, many of her friends would die including Louis B. Mayer and Norma Talmadge. Their deaths convinced Davies that she would soon pass as well.