George Brent

Acting · 1.1 popularity

Age

122

Movies

102

Born: March 15, 1904 – May 26, 1979
From: Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland

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.

Works

102 films

Baby Face

19337.2

Under Suspicion

19308.0

Jezebel

19387.0

42nd Street

19336.9

Front Page Woman

19355.9

Death of a Scoundrel

19566.0

Dark Victory

19396.9

Special Agent

19356.2

Tomorrow Is Forever

19466.3

Housewife

19347.3

The Painted Veil

19346.4

In This Our Life

19426.9

My Reputation

19467.3

The Spiral Staircase

19467.0

The Keyhole

19335.0

The Rains Came

19396.1

Breakdowns of 1942

19426.0

The Fighting 69th

19405.8

The Great Lie

19417.0

In Person

19356.8

Breakdowns of 1938

19385.8

The Go-Getter

19376.2

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

Ex-Bad Boy

19318.0

Gold Is Where You Find It

19387.0

The Old Maid

19397.1

International Lady

19416.6

Once a Sinner

19318.0

Land of Liberty

19399.0

Breakdowns of 1944

19446.5

So Big!

19325.7

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

Luxury Liner

19337.2

Adventure in Diamonds

19406.0

The Iron Horse

19256.8

They Dare Not Love

19417.5

Things You Never See on the Screen

19355.3

Slave Girl

19477.5

Twin Beds

19423.8

Red Canyon

19495.8

Female

19336.3

You Can't Escape Forever

19426.0

The Gay Sisters

19426.6

Miss Pinkerton

19325.9

Montana Belle

19526.3

'Til We Meet Again

19406.4

Out of the Blue

19476.5

The Corpse Came C.O.D.

19476.5

Born Again

19789.0

Christmas Eve

19475.4

The Purchase Price

19326.5

A Dream Comes True

19356.3

The Goose and the Gander

19354.7

Bride for Sale

19497.0

Breakdowns of 1937

19376.0

Experiment Perilous

19445.8

Desirable

19347.2

Jezebel: Legend of the South

20067.0

The Man Who Talked Too Much

19406.4

Mountain Justice

19376.3

The Case Against Mrs. Ames

19365.0

The Crash

19325.5

The Affairs of Susan

19456.5

The Last Page

19525.9

Silver Queen

19426.0

South of Suez

19404.6

The Rich Are Always with Us

19325.3

FBI Girl

19516.2

More Than a Secretary

19366.5

Stamboul Quest

19345.2

Wings of the Navy

19396.2

The Golden Arrow

19366.3

Angel on the Amazon

19485.5

Luxury Liner

19485.8

Stranded

19356.0

Racket Busters

19385.5

Tangier Incident

19537.0

Living on Velvet

19355.9

Charlie Chan Carries On

19317.0

They Call It Sin

19326.0

Honeymoon for Three

19416.3

Mexican Manhunt

19536.2

God's Country and the Woman

19375.2

The Right to Live

19354.9

Lover Come Back

19467.1

Submarine D-1

19375.0

Lilly Turner

19335.3

Breakdowns of 1940

19404.0

Out Where the Stars Begin

19386.8

Swingtime in the Movies

19386.0

Temptation

19465.0

Illegal Entry

19495.8

The Lightning Warrior

19316.3

Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill

1994

The Kid from Cleveland

19496.5

Week-End Marriage

19325.5

Fair Warning

19319.0

From Headquarters

19336.1

Secrets of an Actress

19386.0

Homicide Squad

19318.0

Snowed Under

19367.4

Give Me Your Heart

19365.9