George Brent

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia George Brent born George Patrick or George Brendan Nolan 15 March 1904 26 May 1979 was an IrishAmerican 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 topflight leading man during the late 1930s and 1940s Highly regarded by Bette Davis he became her most frequent male costar 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 madefortelevision production Born Again In 1960 Brent was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars He received a motionpictures 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 19251927 Ruth Chatterton 19321934 Constance Worth 1937 Ann Sheridan 19421943 and Janet Michaels 19471974 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 costar 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