CINEFILER

George Brent

Born
March 15, 1904
Died
May 26, 1979
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
Baby Face
(1933)
Courtland Trenholm
Jezebel
(1938)
Buck Cantrell
42nd Street
(1933)
Pat Denning
Montana Belle
(1952)
Tom Bradfield
The Spiral Staircase
(1946)
Professor Warren
In This Our Life
(1942)
Craig Fleming
Dark Victory
(1939)
Dr. Frederick Steele
Christmas Eve
(1947)
Michael Brooks
Full Filmography
Acting
Under Suspicion
(1930)
Inspector Turner
Homicide Squad
(1931)
Jimmy
Fair Warning
(1931)
Les Haines
Ex-Bad Boy
(1931)
Donald Swift
Once a Sinner
(1931)
James Brent
The Lightning Warrior
(1931)
Alan Scott
Charlie Chan Carries On
(1931)
Capt. Ronald Keane
The Crash
(1932)
Geoffrey Gault
So Big!
(1932)
Adult Roelf Pool
The Purchase Price
(1932)
Jim Gilson
They Call It Sin
(1932)
Dr. Tony Travers
Miss Pinkerton
(1932)
Police Inspector Patten
The Rich Are Always with Us
(1932)
Julian Tierney
Week-End Marriage
(1932)
Peter Acton
The Keyhole
(1933)
Neil Davis
Luxury Liner
(1933)
Dr. Karl Bernhard
Lilly Turner
(1933)
Bob Chandler
42nd Street
(1933)
Pat Denning
Baby Face
(1933)
Courtland Trenholm
Female
(1933)
Jim Thorne
From Headquarters
(1933)
Lt. Jim Stevens
Stamboul Quest
(1934)
Douglas Beall
Housewife
(1934)
William H. Reynolds
The Painted Veil
(1934)
Jack Townsend
Desirable
(1934)
McAllister
Special Agent
(1935)
Bill Bradford
Living on Velvet
(1935)
Terry Parker
The Right to Live
(1935)
Colin Trent
In Person
(1935)
Emory Muir
Things You Never See on the Screen
(1935)
Self
A Dream Comes True
(1935)
Himself (uncredited)
Front Page Woman
(1935)
Curt Devlin
The Goose and the Gander
(1935)
Bob McNear
Stranded
(1935)
Mack Hale
Give Me Your Heart
(1936)
James 'Jim' Baker
Breakdowns of 1936
(1936)
Self
The Golden Arrow
(1936)
Johnny Jones
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
(1936)
Matt Logan
Snowed Under
(1936)
Alan Tanner
More Than a Secretary
(1936)
Fred Gilbert
God's Country and the Woman
(1937)
Steve Russett
Mountain Justice
(1937)
Paul Cameron
Breakdowns of 1937
(1937)
Self
The Go-Getter
(1937)
Bill Austin
Submarine D-1
(1937)
Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
Out Where the Stars Begin
(1938)
Jared Whitney (archive footage)
Racket Busters
(1938)
Denny Jordan
Breakdowns of 1938
(1938)
Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Swingtime in the Movies
(1938)
Himself (uncredited)
Secrets of an Actress
(1938)
Richard 'Dick' Orr
Gold Is Where You Find It
(1938)
Jared Whitney
Jezebel
(1938)
Buck Cantrell
Wings of the Navy
(1939)
Cass Harrington
Land of Liberty
(1939)
Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
The Old Maid
(1939)
Clem Spender
Dark Victory
(1939)
Dr. Frederick Steele
The Rains Came
(1939)
Tom Ransome
'Til We Meet Again
(1940)
Dan Hardesty
The Fighting 69th
(1940)
Wild Bill Donovan
South of Suez
(1940)
John Gamble
Breakdowns of 1940
(1940)
Self
The Man Who Talked Too Much
(1940)
Stephen Forbes
Adventure in Diamonds
(1940)
Capt. Stephen Dennett
Honeymoon for Three
(1941)
Kenneth Bixby
The Great Lie
(1941)
Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
They Dare Not Love
(1941)
Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
International Lady
(1941)
Tim Hanley
Twin Beds
(1942)
Mike Abbott
Silver Queen
(1942)
James Kincaid
Breakdowns of 1942
(1942)
Self
The Gay Sisters
(1942)
Charles Barclay
You Can't Escape Forever
(1942)
Steve Mitchell
In This Our Life
(1942)
Craig Fleming
Experiment Perilous
(1944)
Dr. Huntington Bailey
Breakdowns of 1944
(1944)
Self
The Affairs of Susan
(1945)
Roger Berton
My Reputation
(1946)
Major Scott Landis
Tomorrow Is Forever
(1946)
Lawrence Hamilton
Temptation
(1946)
Nigel Armine
The Spiral Staircase
(1946)
Professor Warren
Lover Come Back
(1946)
Bill Williams
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
(1947)
Joe Medford
Slave Girl
(1947)
Matt Claibourne
Christmas Eve
(1947)
Michael Brooks
Out of the Blue
(1947)
Arthur Earthleigh
Luxury Liner
(1948)
Captain Jeremy Bradford
Angel on the Amazon
(1948)
Jim Warburton
Red Canyon
(1949)
Matthew Bostel
Illegal Entry
(1949)
Chief Agent Dan Collins
The Kid from Cleveland
(1949)
Mike Jackson
Bride for Sale
(1949)
Paul Martin
FBI Girl
(1951)
Jeff Donley
Montana Belle
(1952)
Tom Bradfield
The Last Page
(1952)
John Harman
Mexican Manhunt
(1953)
David L. 'Dave' Brady
Tangier Incident
(1953)
Steve Gordon
Death of a Scoundrel
(1956)
Man with Balloon at Party
Born Again
(1978)
Judge Gerhard Gesell
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
(1983)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jezebel: Legend of the South
(2006)
Self (archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB