George Brent
Biography
George Brent (born 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
Climax!
1954
Rawhide
1959
Baby Face
1933
The World of Hammer
1994
Crossroads
1955
Wire Service
1956
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Jezebel
1938
In This Our Life
1942
42nd Street
1933
Filmography
Climax!
· 1954
Rawhide
as Jefferson Devereaux · 1959
Baby Face
as Courtland Trenholm · 1933
The World of Hammer
as Self (archive footage) · 1994
Crossroads
as Father Raymond · 1955
Wire Service
as Dean Evans · 1956
The Chevy Mystery Show
as Fred Girard · 1960
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Sam Bentley · 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
· 1951
Jezebel
as Buck Cantrell · 1938
In This Our Life
as Craig Fleming · 1942
42nd Street
as Pat Denning · 1933
Dark Victory
as Dr. Frederick Steele · 1939
Angel on the Amazon
as Jim Warburton · 1948
The Iron Horse
as Worker (uncredited) · 1925
Death of a Scoundrel
as Man with Balloon at Party · 1956
The Spiral Staircase
as Professor Warren · 1946
The Painted Veil
as Jack Townsend · 1934
The Rains Came
as Tom Ransome · 1939
Tomorrow Is Forever
as Lawrence Hamilton · 1946
A Dream Comes True
as Himself (uncredited) · 1935
Slave Girl
as Matt Claibourne · 1947
The Great Lie
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen · 1941
Housewife
as William H. Reynolds · 1934
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Jared Whitney · 1938
Breakdowns of 1942
as Self · 1942
Wings of the Navy
as Cass Harrington · 1939
Give Me Your Heart
as James 'Jim' Baker · 1936
The Old Maid
as Clem Spender · 1939
The Affairs of Susan
as Roger Berton · 1945
Montana Belle
as Tom Bradfield · 1952
The Go-Getter
as Bill Austin · 1937
Charlie Chan Carries On
as Capt. Ronald Keane · 1931
Special Agent
as Bill Bradford · 1935
International Lady
as Tim Hanley · 1941
Swingtime in the Movies
as Himself (uncredited) · 1938
Experiment Perilous
as Dr. Huntington Bailey · 1944
'Til We Meet Again
as Dan Hardesty · 1940
My Reputation
as Major Scott Landis · 1946
They Dare Not Love
as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg · 1941
Front Page Woman
as Curt Devlin · 1935
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1983
Secrets of an Actress
as Richard 'Dick' Orr · 1938
Out of the Blue
as Arthur Earthleigh · 1947
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
as Matt Logan · 1936
Twin Beds
as Mike Abbott · 1942
Luxury Liner
as Dr. Karl Bernhard · 1933
Out Where the Stars Begin
as Jared Whitney (archive footage) · 1938
Stamboul Quest
as Douglas Beall · 1934
The Rich Are Always with Us
as Julian Tierney · 1932
Land of Liberty
as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel') · 1939
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
as Joe Medford · 1947
Under Suspicion
as Inspector Turner · 1930
More Than a Secretary
as Fred Gilbert · 1936
Red Canyon
as Matthew Bostel · 1949
You Can't Escape Forever
as Steve Mitchell · 1942
Breakdowns of 1938
as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1938
The Purchase Price
as Jim Gilson · 1932
God's Country and the Woman
as Steve Russett · 1937
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
as Self (archive footage) · 1994
The Fighting 69th
as Wild Bill Donovan · 1940
Lilly Turner
as Bob Chandler · 1933
Submarine D-1
as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews · 1937
The Goose and the Gander
as Bob McNear · 1935
Breakdowns of 1944
as Self · 1944
The Right to Live
as Colin Trent · 1935
The Gay Sisters
as Charles Barclay · 1942
The Man Who Talked Too Much
as Stephen Forbes · 1940
Born Again
as Judge Gerhard Gesell · 1978
Jezebel: Legend of the South
as Self (archive footage) · 2006
Christmas Eve
as Michael Brooks · 1947
The Golden Arrow
as Johnny Jones · 1936
Temptation
as Nigel Armine · 1946
They Call It Sin
as Dr. Tony Travers · 1932
Desirable
as McAllister · 1934
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self · 1935
So Big!
as Adult Roelf Pool · 1932
Female
as Jim Thorne · 1933
Illegal Entry
as Chief Agent Dan Collins · 1949
In Person
as Emory Muir · 1935
Bride for Sale
as Paul Martin · 1949
Miss Pinkerton
as Police Inspector Patten · 1932
Honeymoon for Three
as Kenneth Bixby · 1941
The Crash
as Geoffrey Gault · 1932
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self · 1936
Luxury Liner
as Captain Jeremy Bradford · 1948
The Kid from Cleveland
as Mike Jackson · 1949
From Headquarters
as Lt. Jim Stevens · 1933
Ex-Bad Boy
as Donald Swift · 1931
Man Bait
as John Harman · 1952
Lover Come Back
as Bill Williams · 1946
Silver Queen
as James Kincaid · 1942
Mountain Justice
as Paul Cameron · 1937
Snowed Under
as Alan Tanner · 1936
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self · 1937
The Keyhole
as Neil Davis · 1933
Once a Sinner
as James Brent · 1931
Week-End Marriage
as Peter Acton · 1932
Stranded
as Mack Hale · 1935
Racket Busters
as Denny Jordan · 1938
FBI Girl
as Jeff Donley · 1951
Living on Velvet
as Terry Parker · 1935
South of Suez
as John Gamble · 1940
Tangier Incident
as Steve Gordon · 1953
Fair Warning
as Les Haines · 1931
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self · 1940
Adventure in Diamonds
as Capt. Stephen Dennett · 1940
The Lightning Warrior
as Alan Scott · 1931
Homicide Squad
as Jimmy · 1931
Mexican Manhunt
as David L. 'Dave' Brady · 1953