Belle Bennett
Encyclopedia
Belle Bennett was a stage
and screen
actress who started her professional career in vaudeville
. She was born in Milaca
, Minnesota
.
performances during her childhood. Her father was Billie Bennett, owner of a circus. He trained her to be a trapeze
performer after she spent some years in the Sacred Heart Convent in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. By age thirteen she was appearing in public. Performances with stock companies led Bennett to Broadway. There she appeared in theatrical productions staged by David Belasco
.
(1914). Then Samuel Goldwyn
selected her from among seventy-three actresses for the leading role in Stella Dallas
(1925). The film has been ranked as one of the finest movies of all time. While filming the movie her son, sixteen-year-old William Howard Macy, died. Macy had posed as Bennett's brother for some time because of her fear that her employers might find out her true age. She was actually thirty-four rather than twenty-four, which she had claimed to be.
After playing the mother role in Stella Dallas Bennett was typecast for the remainder of her film career. She later appeared in Mother Machree
(1928), The Battle of the Sexes
(1928), The Iron Mask (1929), Courage
(1930), Recaptured Love
(1930) and The Big Shot (1931).
, in 1918. Her second husband was William Macy of La Crosse, Wisconsin
. She later married film director Fred Windermere.
theater. She collapsed on stage and was eventually checked into a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
hospital. There she underwent blood transfusion
s and was able to continue acting briefly. In September 1932 she was rushed by plane from New York
following a relapse of cancer
which she had been suffering from for two and a half years. She died that November at the age of 41 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
in Los Angeles
, California
. Late in her life Bennett came to believe in the power of prayer. A practitioner of Christian Science
influenced her. She is interred in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
in North Hollywood.
Bennett has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and screen
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actress who started her professional career in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. She was born in Milaca
Milaca, Minnesota
Milaca is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,946 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mille Lacs County and is situated on the Rum River.-Geography:...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Stage actress
Bennett appeared in circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
performances during her childhood. Her father was Billie Bennett, owner of a circus. He trained her to be a trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
performer after she spent some years in the Sacred Heart Convent in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. By age thirteen she was appearing in public. Performances with stock companies led Bennett to Broadway. There she appeared in theatrical productions staged by David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
.
Motion pictures
Bennett was cast in numerous minor Hollywood motion pictures like the western film A Ticket to Red Horse GulchA Ticket to Red Horse Gulch
A Ticket to Red Horse Gulch is a 1914 American silent short Western starring William Garwood, William Lowery and Belle Bennett.-Cast:* Belle Bennett* William Garwood* William Lowery* Mollie McConnell* W.A. Pyk* Charles Rogers* Billy Stafford...
(1914). Then Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
selected her from among seventy-three actresses for the leading role in Stella Dallas
Stella Dallas (1925 film)
Stella Dallas is a 1925 film that was adapted by Frances Marion and directed by Henry King. It stars Ronald Colman, Belle Bennett, Lois Moran, Alice Joyce, Jean Hersholt, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.-Cast:*Ronald Colman - Stephen Dallas...
(1925). The film has been ranked as one of the finest movies of all time. While filming the movie her son, sixteen-year-old William Howard Macy, died. Macy had posed as Bennett's brother for some time because of her fear that her employers might find out her true age. She was actually thirty-four rather than twenty-four, which she had claimed to be.
After playing the mother role in Stella Dallas Bennett was typecast for the remainder of her film career. She later appeared in Mother Machree
Mother Machree
Mother Machree is a 1928 silent film, directed by John Ford, based on a novel by Rida Johnson Young about a poor Irish immigrant in America. John Wayne had a minor role in the film.-Cast:* Belle Bennett as Mother Machree...
(1928), The Battle of the Sexes
The Battle of the Sexes (1928 film)
The Battle of the Sexes is a film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Jean Hersholt, Phyllis Haver, Belle Bennett, Don Alvarado and Sally O'Neil, and released by United Artists. The film was a remake by Griffith of an earlier film he directed in 1914, which starred Lillian Gish...
(1928), The Iron Mask (1929), Courage
Courage (1930 film)
Courage is a drama film which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1929 and released early in 1930. The movie is based on a stage play of the same name by Tom Barry which was a hit on Broadway in 1928.-Preservation:...
(1930), Recaptured Love
Recaptured Love
Recaptured Love is an All-Talking musical drama film based on the play Misdeal by Basil Woon.-Plot:In this drama, a 50-year-old married man goes with his wife and son to a nightclub in a fancy hotel in Detroit...
(1930) and The Big Shot (1931).
Marriages
Bennett was married three times. Jack Oaker, a sailor at the San Pedro, California submarine base, was married to her when she worked with the Triangle Film CorporationTriangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in the summer of 1915 in Culver City, California, and envisioned as a prestige studio based on the producing abilities of filmmakers D. W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett...
, in 1918. Her second husband was William Macy of La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
. She later married film director Fred Windermere.
Illness and death
During a break in her film career Bennett performed in vaudeville at a Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
theater. She collapsed on stage and was eventually checked into a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
hospital. There she underwent blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
s and was able to continue acting briefly. In September 1932 she was rushed by plane from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
following a relapse of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
which she had been suffering from for two and a half years. She died that November at the age of 41 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Late in her life Bennett came to believe in the power of prayer. A practitioner of Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
influenced her. She is interred in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.The cemetery has a special section called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for a number of aviation pioneers — barnstormers, daredevils and...
in North Hollywood.
Bennett has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.