George Brent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Brent (born George Patrick [or George Brendan] Nolan, 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor.
Brent was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway in 1904 to John J. and Mary (née McGuinness) Nolan. His mother was a native of Clonfad, Moore, County Roscommon.
Brent made his first film, Under Suspicion, in 1930. Over the next two years, he appeared in a number of minor films produced by Universal Studios and Fox, before being signed to contract by Warner Bros. in 1932. He remained at Warner Bros. for the next 20 years, carving out a successful career as a top-flight leading man during the late 1930s and 1940s.
Highly regarded by Bette Davis, he became her most frequent male co-star, appearing with her in 13 films, including Front Page Woman (1935), Special Agent (1935), The Golden Arrow (1936), Jezebel (1938), The Old Maid (1939), Dark Victory (1939), and The Great Lie (1941). Brent also played opposite Ruby Keeler in 42nd Street (1933), Greta Garbo in The Painted Veil (1934), Ginger Rogers in In Person (1935), Madeleine Carroll in The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936), Jean Arthur in More Than a Secretary (1936), Myrna Loy in Stamboul Quest (1934) and The Rains Came (1939), Merle Oberon in 'Til We Meet Again (1940), Ann Sheridan in Honeymoon for Three (1941), Joan Fontaine in The Affairs of Susan (1945), Barbara Stanwyck in So Big! (1932), The Purchase Price (1932), Baby Face (1933), The Gay Sisters (1942), and My Reputation (1946), Claudette Colbert in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946), Dorothy McGuire in The Spiral Staircase (1946), Lucille Ball in Lover Come Back (1946), and Yvonne De Carlo in Slave Girl (1947).
Brent drifted into "B" pictures from the late 1940s and retired from film in 1953. He continued to appear on television until 1960, having appeared on the religion anthology series Crossroads. He was cast in the lead in the 1956 television series Wire Service. In 1978, he made one last film, the made-for-television production Born Again.
In 1960, Brent was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars. He received a motion-pictures star located at 1709 Vine Street, and a second star located at 1612 Vine Street for his work in television.
Brent was married five times: Helen Louise Campbell (1925–1927), Ruth Chatterton (1932–1934), Constance Worth (1937), Ann Sheridan (1942–1943), and Janet Michaels (1947–1974). His final marriage to Janet Michaels, a former model and dress designer, lasted 27 years until her death in 1974. They had a son and a daughter.
Brent also carried on a lengthy relationship with his frequent Warner Bros. co-star, actress Bette Davis, who described her last meeting with Brent after many years of estrangement. He was suffering from advanced emphysema, and she expressed great sadness at his ill health and deterioration. George Brent died in 1979 in Solana Beach, California.
Acted in
Jezebel: Legend of the South
2006
as Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Born Again
1978
as Judge Gerhard Gesell
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960
as Fred Girard
Rawhide
1959
as Jefferson Devereaux
Death of a Scoundrel
1956
as Man with Balloon at Party
Wire Service
1956
as Dean Evans
Climax!
1954
Mexican Manhunt
1953
as David L. 'Dave' Brady
Tangier Incident
1953
as Steve Gordon
Montana Belle
1952
as Tom Bradfield
The Last Page
1952
as John Harman
FBI Girl
1951
as Jeff Donley
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Sam Bentley
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Bride for Sale
1949
as Paul Martin
The Kid from Cleveland
1949
as Mike Jackson
Illegal Entry
1949
as Chief Agent Dan Collins
Red Canyon
1949
as Matthew Bostel
Luxury Liner
1948
as Captain Jeremy Bradford
Angel on the Amazon
1948
as Jim Warburton
Christmas Eve
1947
as Michael Brooks
Slave Girl
1947
as Matt Claibourne
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
1947
as Joe Medford
Out of the Blue
1947
as Arthur Earthleigh
Temptation
1946
as Nigel Armine
Lover Come Back
1946
as Bill Williams
Tomorrow Is Forever
1946
as Lawrence Hamilton
The Spiral Staircase
1946
as Professor Warren
My Reputation
1946
as Major Scott Landis
The Affairs of Susan
1945
as Roger Berton
Breakdowns of 1944
1944
as Self
Experiment Perilous
1944
as Dr. Huntington Bailey
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
Silver Queen
1942
as James Kincaid
You Can't Escape Forever
1942
as Steve Mitchell
The Gay Sisters
1942
as Charles Barclay
In This Our Life
1942
as Craig Fleming
Twin Beds
1942
as Mike Abbott
International Lady
1941
as Tim Hanley
They Dare Not Love
1941
as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
The Great Lie
1941
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
Honeymoon for Three
1941
as Kenneth Bixby
Breakdowns of 1940
1940
as Self
South of Suez
1940
as John Gamble
The Man Who Talked Too Much
1940
as Stephen Forbes
'Til We Meet Again
1940
as Dan Hardesty
Adventure in Diamonds
1940
as Capt. Stephen Dennett
The Fighting 69th
1940
as Wild Bill Donovan
The Rains Came
1939
as Tom Ransome
The Old Maid
1939
as Clem Spender
Land of Liberty
1939
as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
Dark Victory
1939
as Dr. Frederick Steele
Wings of the Navy
1939
as Cass Harrington
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Swingtime in the Movies
1938
as Himself (uncredited)
Secrets of an Actress
1938
as Richard 'Dick' Orr
Racket Busters
1938
as Denny Jordan
Out Where the Stars Begin
1938
as Jared Whitney (archive footage)
Jezebel
1938
as Buck Cantrell
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938
as Jared Whitney
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
Submarine D-1
1937
as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
The Go-Getter
1937
as Bill Austin
Mountain Justice
1937
as Paul Cameron
God's Country and the Woman
1937
as Steve Russett
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
More Than a Secretary
1936
as Fred Gilbert
Give Me Your Heart
1936
as James 'Jim' Baker
The Golden Arrow
1936
as Johnny Jones
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
1936
as Matt Logan
Snowed Under
1936
as Alan Tanner
A Dream Comes True
1935
as Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
1935
as Self
In Person
1935
as Emory Muir
The Goose and the Gander
1935
as Bob McNear
Special Agent
1935
as Bill Bradford
Front Page Woman
1935
as Curt Devlin
Stranded
1935
as Mack Hale
Living on Velvet
1935
as Terry Parker
The Right to Live
1935
as Colin Trent
The Painted Veil
1934
as Jack Townsend
Desirable
1934
as McAllister
Housewife
1934
as William H. Reynolds
Stamboul Quest
1934
as Douglas Beall
From Headquarters
1933
as Lt. Jim Stevens
Female
1933
as Jim Thorne
Baby Face
1933
as Courtland Trenholm
Lilly Turner
1933
as Bob Chandler
The Keyhole
1933
as Neil Davis
42nd Street
1933
as Pat Denning
Luxury Liner
1933
as Dr. Karl Bernhard
They Call It Sin
1932
as Dr. Tony Travers
The Crash
1932
as Geoffrey Gault
The Purchase Price
1932
as Jim Gilson
Week-End Marriage
1932
as Peter Acton
Miss Pinkerton
1932
as Police Inspector Patten
The Rich Are Always with Us
1932
as Julian Tierney
So Big!
1932
as Adult Roelf Pool
The Lightning Warrior
1931
as Alan Scott
Homicide Squad
1931
as Jimmy
Ex-Bad Boy
1931
as Donald Swift
Charlie Chan Carries On
1931
as Capt. Ronald Keane
Fair Warning
1931
as Les Haines
Once a Sinner
1931
as James Brent
Under Suspicion
1930
as Inspector Turner