George Brent
Acting • Born 1904-03-15 – Died 1979-05-26
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.
Filmography
109 credits
42nd Street
Movie • 1933
Pat Denning
Jezebel: Legend of the South
Movie • 2006
Self (archive footage)
Jezebel
Movie • 1938
Buck Cantrell
Experiment Perilous
Movie • 1944
Dr. Huntington Bailey
The Spiral Staircase
Movie • 1946
Professor Warren
You Can't Escape Forever
Movie • 1942
Steve Mitchell
Baby Face
Movie • 1933
Courtland Trenholm
Dark Victory
Movie • 1939
Dr. Frederick Steele
In This Our Life
Movie • 1942
Craig Fleming
Illegal Entry
Movie • 1949
Chief Agent Dan Collins
The Great Lie
Movie • 1941
Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
The Right to Live
Movie • 1935
Colin Trent
Stamboul Quest
Movie • 1934
Douglas Beall
Temptation
Movie • 1946
Nigel Armine
Tomorrow Is Forever
Movie • 1946
Lawrence Hamilton
The Old Maid
Movie • 1939
Clem Spender
The Lightning Warrior
Movie • 1931
Alan Scott
The Last Page
Movie • 1952
John Harman
The Painted Veil
Movie • 1934
Jack Townsend
Special Agent
Movie • 1935
Bill Bradford
The Fighting 69th
Movie • 1940
Wild Bill Donovan
Female
Movie • 1933
Jim Thorne
The Purchase Price
Movie • 1932
Jim Gilson
The Gay Sisters
Movie • 1942
Charles Barclay
Racket Busters
Movie • 1938
Denny Jordan
Christmas Eve
Movie • 1947
Michael Brooks
Lilly Turner
Movie • 1933
Bob Chandler
They Call It Sin
Movie • 1932
Dr. Tony Travers
Luxury Liner
Movie • 1948
Captain Jeremy Bradford
Montana Belle
Movie • 1952
Tom Bradfield
So Big!
Movie • 1932
Adult Roelf Pool
Homicide Squad
Movie • 1931
Jimmy
My Reputation
Movie • 1946
Major Scott Landis
The Rich Are Always with Us
Movie • 1932
Julian Tierney
Honeymoon for Three
Movie • 1941
Kenneth Bixby
Wings of the Navy
Movie • 1939
Cass Harrington
Silver Queen
Movie • 1942
James Kincaid
FBI Girl
Movie • 1951
Jeff Donley
Out Where the Stars Begin
Movie • 1938
Jared Whitney (archive footage)
God's Country and the Woman
Movie • 1937
Steve Russett
Luxury Liner
Movie • 1933
Dr. Karl Bernhard
The Man Who Talked Too Much
Movie • 1940
Stephen Forbes
The Rains Came
Movie • 1939
Tom Ransome
Week-End Marriage
Movie • 1932
Peter Acton
'Til We Meet Again
Movie • 1940
Dan Hardesty
Desirable
Movie • 1934
McAllister
Mountain Justice
Movie • 1937
Paul Cameron
The Goose and the Gander
Movie • 1935
Bob McNear
Adventure in Diamonds
Movie • 1940
Capt. Stephen Dennett
Red Canyon
Movie • 1949
Matthew Bostel
Swingtime in the Movies
Movie • 1938
Himself (uncredited)
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
Movie • 1947
Joe Medford
Front Page Woman
Movie • 1935
Curt Devlin
Submarine D-1
Movie • 1937
Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
They Dare Not Love
Movie • 1941
Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
Secrets of an Actress
Movie • 1938
Richard 'Dick' Orr
The Affairs of Susan
Movie • 1945
Roger Berton
In Person
Movie • 1935
Emory Muir
Stranded
Movie • 1935
Mack Hale
The Crash
Movie • 1932
Geoffrey Gault
Housewife
Movie • 1934
William H. Reynolds
Miss Pinkerton
Movie • 1932
Police Inspector Patten
Give Me Your Heart
Movie • 1936
James 'Jim' Baker
More Than a Secretary
Movie • 1936
Fred Gilbert
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie • 1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
Movie • 1936
Matt Logan
From Headquarters
Movie • 1933
Lt. Jim Stevens
The Golden Arrow
Movie • 1936
Johnny Jones
The Keyhole
Movie • 1933
Neil Davis
Slave Girl
Movie • 1947
Matt Claibourne
Living on Velvet
Movie • 1935
Terry Parker
Gold Is Where You Find It
Movie • 1938
Jared Whitney
Snowed Under
Movie • 1936
Alan Tanner
The Go-Getter
Movie • 1937
Bill Austin
Lover Come Back
Movie • 1946
Bill Williams
South of Suez
Movie • 1940
John Gamble
Angel on the Amazon
Movie • 1948
Jim Warburton
Born Again
Movie • 1978
Judge Gerhard Gesell
Bride for Sale
Movie • 1949
Paul Martin
Ex-Bad Boy
Movie • 1931
Donald Swift
Land of Liberty
Movie • 1939
Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
Once a Sinner
Movie • 1931
James Brent
The Kid from Cleveland
Movie • 1949
Mike Jackson
Out of the Blue
Movie • 1947
Arthur Earthleigh
Mexican Manhunt
Movie • 1953
David L. 'Dave' Brady
Breakdowns of 1936
Movie • 1936
Self
International Lady
Movie • 1941
Tim Hanley
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
Movie • 1994
Self (archive footage)
Twin Beds
Movie • 1942
Mike Abbott
Charlie Chan Carries On
Movie • 1931
Capt. Ronald Keane
Breakdowns of 1938
Movie • 1938
Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
Movie • 1935
Self
A Dream Comes True
Movie • 1935
Himself (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1937
Movie • 1937
Self
Breakdowns of 1940
Movie • 1940
Self
Breakdowns of 1944
Movie • 1944
Self
Fair Warning
Movie • 1931
Les Haines
Death of a Scoundrel
Movie • 1956
Man with Balloon at Party
Tangier Incident
Movie • 1953
Steve Gordon
Under Suspicion
Movie • 1930
Inspector Turner
Breakdowns of 1942
Movie • 1942
Self
The Iron Horse
Movie • 1925
Worker (uncredited)
Rawhide
TV • 1959
Jefferson Devereaux
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Sam Bentley
Climax!
TV • 1954
Wire Service
TV • 1956
Dean Evans
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
The Chevy Mystery Show
TV • 1960
Fred Girard
The World of Hammer
TV • 1994
Self (archive footage)