Barbara Bennett
Encyclopedia
Barbara Jane Bennett was an American silent film
actress.
Born into an acting family, she was the daughter of actor Richard Bennett
and actress Adrienne Morrison
, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison. Her sisters were actresses Constance
and Joan Bennett
.
Bennett would never succeed to the fame that either of her sisters achieved. She married three times in her lifetime. Her first husband was singer and song writer Morton Downey
. They married on January 28, 1929, and had five children: adopted son Michael, daughter Lorelle, and sons Morton Downey Jr, who would go on to fame as a television personality, Anthony, and Kevin. They divorced in June 1941. Shortly afterward, Bennett married actor Addison Randall
, a popular romantic star and singing cowboy
at the time. On July 16, 1945, Randall died after suffering a heart attack and falling from a horse during the filming of The Royal Mounted Rides Again
. Bennett married Laurent Suprenant in 1954. They remained together until her death four years later.
Many people believe Bennett was portrayed in the 1981 film Mommie Dearest
by actress Jocelyn Brando
, older sister of actor Marlon Brando
, but this is not the case. It is a coincidence that the Redbook writer in the movie has the same name. Bennett was never a magazine writer. She held sporadic jobs, once as a literary rep for Walter Wanger; Bennett scouted best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for Wanger's wife, her sister Joan.
Barbara Bennett died at age 51 from a heart attack in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress.
Born into an acting family, she was the daughter of actor Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (actor)
Richard Bennett was an American actor who became a stage and silent screen matinee idol over the early decades of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
and actress Adrienne Morrison
Adrienne Morrison
Mabel Adrienne Morrison was a semi-successful stage actress of the early 20th century. She married actor Richard Bennett, with whom she had three daughters who later would become actresses. She was the daughter of actress and actor Lewis Morrison. She appeared as Nat-u-ritch, the Indian squaw, in...
, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison. Her sisters were actresses Constance
Constance Bennett
-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
and Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
.
Bennett would never succeed to the fame that either of her sisters achieved. She married three times in her lifetime. Her first husband was singer and song writer Morton Downey
Morton Downey
Morton Downey was a singer popular in the United States, enjoying his greatest success in the 1930s and 1940s. Downey was nicknamed "The Irish Nightingale".-Early years:...
. They married on January 28, 1929, and had five children: adopted son Michael, daughter Lorelle, and sons Morton Downey Jr, who would go on to fame as a television personality, Anthony, and Kevin. They divorced in June 1941. Shortly afterward, Bennett married actor Addison Randall
Addison Randall
Addison Byron Owen Randall was an American film actor, chiefly in Westerns...
, a popular romantic star and singing cowboy
Singing cowboy
A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s...
at the time. On July 16, 1945, Randall died after suffering a heart attack and falling from a horse during the filming of The Royal Mounted Rides Again
The Royal Mounted Rides Again
The Royal Mounted Rides Again was a Universal film serial. Adventure serials of this type were popular in the early days of cinema. The serial, often called cliffhangers, would show one episode per week, with an ending that would hide the outcome of an exciting event, sometimes ending with "tune...
. Bennett married Laurent Suprenant in 1954. They remained together until her death four years later.
Many people believe Bennett was portrayed in the 1981 film Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The book, which depicts Christina's childhood and her relationship with her mother, was published in 1978.-Christina Crawford's claims:...
by actress Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando
Jocelyn Brando was an American film, stage and television actress.Her film debut came in the war movie China Venture with Edmond O'Brien and Barry Sullivan. Her best-known movie role was as detective Glenn Ford's doomed wife in the gangster film noir The Big Heat...
, older sister of actor Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, but this is not the case. It is a coincidence that the Redbook writer in the movie has the same name. Bennett was never a magazine writer. She held sporadic jobs, once as a literary rep for Walter Wanger; Bennett scouted best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for Wanger's wife, her sister Joan.
Barbara Bennett died at age 51 from a heart attack in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
External links
- Barbara Bennett portrait by Nickolas MurayNickolas MurayNickolas Muray was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic fencer.-Biography:...