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.
Known For
Credits
- 2006 · Jezebel: Legend of the South as Self (archive footage)
- 1994 · Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill as Self (archive footage)
- 1983 · Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1978 · Born Again as Judge Gerhard Gesell
- 1960 · The Chevy Mystery Show as Fred Girard
- 1959 · Rawhide as Jefferson Devereaux
- 1956 · Death of a Scoundrel as Man with Balloon at Party
- 1956 · Wire Service as Dean Evans
- 1954 · Climax! as
- 1953 · Mexican Manhunt as David L. 'Dave' Brady
- 1953 · Tangier Incident as Steve Gordon
- 1952 · Montana Belle as Tom Bradfield
- 1952 · The Last Page as John Harman
- 1951 · FBI Girl as Jeff Donley
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Sam Bentley
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as
- 1949 · Bride for Sale as Paul Martin
- 1949 · The Kid from Cleveland as Mike Jackson
- 1949 · Illegal Entry as Chief Agent Dan Collins
- 1949 · Red Canyon as Matthew Bostel
- 1948 · Luxury Liner as Captain Jeremy Bradford
- 1948 · Angel on the Amazon as Jim Warburton
- 1947 · Christmas Eve as Michael Brooks
- 1947 · Slave Girl as Matt Claibourne
- 1947 · The Corpse Came C.O.D. as Joe Medford
- 1947 · Out of the Blue as Arthur Earthleigh
- 1946 · Temptation as Nigel Armine
- 1946 · Lover Come Back as Bill Williams
- 1946 · Tomorrow Is Forever as Lawrence Hamilton
- 1946 · The Spiral Staircase as Professor Warren
- 1946 · My Reputation as Major Scott Landis
- 1945 · The Affairs of Susan as Roger Berton
- 1944 · Breakdowns of 1944 as Self
- 1944 · Experiment Perilous as Dr. Huntington Bailey
- 1942 · Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
- 1942 · Silver Queen as James Kincaid
- 1942 · You Can't Escape Forever as Steve Mitchell
- 1942 · The Gay Sisters as Charles Barclay
- 1942 · In This Our Life as Craig Fleming
- 1942 · Twin Beds as Mike Abbott
- 1941 · International Lady as Tim Hanley
- 1941 · They Dare Not Love as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
- 1941 · The Great Lie as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
- 1941 · Honeymoon for Three as Kenneth Bixby
- 1940 · Breakdowns of 1940 as Self
- 1940 · South of Suez as John Gamble
- 1940 · The Man Who Talked Too Much as Stephen Forbes
- 1940 · 'Til We Meet Again as Dan Hardesty
- 1940 · Adventure in Diamonds as Capt. Stephen Dennett
- 1940 · The Fighting 69th as Wild Bill Donovan
- 1939 · The Rains Came as Tom Ransome
- 1939 · The Old Maid as Clem Spender
- 1939 · Land of Liberty as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
- 1939 · Dark Victory as Dr. Frederick Steele
- 1939 · Wings of the Navy as Cass Harrington
- 1938 · Breakdowns of 1938 as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938 · Swingtime in the Movies as Himself (uncredited)
- 1938 · Secrets of an Actress as Richard 'Dick' Orr
- 1938 · Racket Busters as Denny Jordan
- 1938 · Out Where the Stars Begin as Jared Whitney (archive footage)
- 1938 · Jezebel as Buck Cantrell
- 1938 · Gold Is Where You Find It as Jared Whitney
- 1937 · Breakdowns of 1937 as Self
- 1937 · Submarine D-1 as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
- 1937 · The Go-Getter as Bill Austin
- 1937 · Mountain Justice as Paul Cameron
- 1937 · God's Country and the Woman as Steve Russett
- 1936 · Breakdowns of 1936 as Self
- 1936 · More Than a Secretary as Fred Gilbert
- 1936 · Give Me Your Heart as James 'Jim' Baker
- 1936 · The Golden Arrow as Johnny Jones
- 1936 · The Case Against Mrs. Ames as Matt Logan
- 1936 · Snowed Under as Alan Tanner
- 1935 · A Dream Comes True as Himself (uncredited)
- 1935 · Things You Never See on the Screen as Self
- 1935 · In Person as Emory Muir
- 1935 · The Goose and the Gander as Bob McNear
- 1935 · Special Agent as Bill Bradford
- 1935 · Front Page Woman as Curt Devlin
- 1935 · Stranded as Mack Hale
- 1935 · Living on Velvet as Terry Parker
- 1935 · The Right to Live as Colin Trent
- 1934 · The Painted Veil as Jack Townsend
- 1934 · Desirable as McAllister
- 1934 · Housewife as William H. Reynolds
- 1934 · Stamboul Quest as Douglas Beall
- 1933 · From Headquarters as Lt. Jim Stevens
- 1933 · Female as Jim Thorne
- 1933 · Baby Face as Courtland Trenholm
- 1933 · Lilly Turner as Bob Chandler
- 1933 · The Keyhole as Neil Davis
- 1933 · 42nd Street as Pat Denning
- 1933 · Luxury Liner as Dr. Karl Bernhard
- 1932 · They Call It Sin as Dr. Tony Travers
- 1932 · The Crash as Geoffrey Gault
- 1932 · The Purchase Price as Jim Gilson
- 1932 · Week-End Marriage as Peter Acton
- 1932 · Miss Pinkerton as Police Inspector Patten
- 1932 · The Rich Are Always with Us as Julian Tierney
- 1932 · So Big! as Adult Roelf Pool
- 1931 · The Lightning Warrior as Alan Scott
- 1931 · Homicide Squad as Jimmy
- 1931 · Ex-Bad Boy as Donald Swift
- 1931 · Charlie Chan Carries On as Capt. Ronald Keane
- 1931 · Fair Warning as Les Haines
- 1931 · Once a Sinner as James Brent
- 1930 · Under Suspicion as Inspector Turner