George Brent
Biography
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
Pat Denning
42nd Street
Self (archive footage)
Jezebel: Legend of the South
Buck Cantrell
Jezebel
Dr. Huntington Bailey
Experiment Perilous
Professor Warren
The Spiral Staircase
Steve Mitchell
You Can't Escape Forever
Courtland Trenholm
Baby Face
Dr. Frederick Steele
Dark Victory
Craig Fleming
In This Our Life
Chief Agent Dan Collins
Illegal Entry
Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
The Great Lie
Colin Trent
The Right to Live
Douglas Beall
Stamboul Quest
Nigel Armine
Temptation
Lawrence Hamilton
Tomorrow Is Forever
Clem Spender
The Old Maid
Alan Scott
The Lightning Warrior
John Harman
The Last Page
Jack Townsend
The Painted Veil
Bill Bradford
Special Agent
Wild Bill Donovan
The Fighting 69th
Jim Thorne
Female
Jim Gilson
The Purchase Price
Charles Barclay
The Gay Sisters
Denny Jordan
Racket Busters
Michael Brooks
Christmas Eve
Bob Chandler
Lilly Turner
Dr. Tony Travers
They Call It Sin
Captain Jeremy Bradford
Luxury Liner
Tom Bradfield
Montana Belle
Adult Roelf Pool
So Big!
Jimmy
Homicide Squad
Major Scott Landis
My Reputation
Julian Tierney
The Rich Are Always with Us
Kenneth Bixby
Honeymoon for Three
Cass Harrington
Wings of the Navy
James Kincaid
Silver Queen
Jeff Donley
FBI Girl
Jared Whitney (archive footage)
Out Where the Stars Begin
Steve Russett
God's Country and the Woman
Dr. Karl Bernhard
Luxury Liner
Stephen Forbes
The Man Who Talked Too Much
Tom Ransome
The Rains Came
Peter Acton
Week-End Marriage
Dan Hardesty
'Til We Meet Again
McAllister
Desirable
Paul Cameron
Mountain Justice
Bob McNear
The Goose and the Gander
Capt. Stephen Dennett
Adventure in Diamonds
Matthew Bostel
Red Canyon
Himself (uncredited)
Swingtime in the Movies
Joe Medford
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
Curt Devlin
Front Page Woman
Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
Submarine D-1
Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
They Dare Not Love
Richard 'Dick' Orr
Secrets of an Actress
Roger Berton
The Affairs of Susan
Emory Muir
In Person
Mack Hale
Stranded
Geoffrey Gault
The Crash
William H. Reynolds
Housewife
Police Inspector Patten
Miss Pinkerton
James 'Jim' Baker
Give Me Your Heart
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Fred Gilbert
More Than a Secretary
Matt Logan
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
Lt. Jim Stevens
From Headquarters
Johnny Jones
The Golden Arrow
Neil Davis
The Keyhole
Matt Claibourne
Slave Girl
Terry Parker
Living on Velvet
Jared Whitney
Gold Is Where You Find It
Alan Tanner
Snowed Under
Bill Austin
The Go-Getter
Bill Williams
Lover Come Back
John Gamble
South of Suez
Jim Warburton
Angel on the Amazon
Judge Gerhard Gesell
Born Again
Paul Martin
Bride for Sale
Donald Swift
Ex-Bad Boy
Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
Land of Liberty
James Brent
Once a Sinner
Mike Jackson
The Kid from Cleveland
Arthur Earthleigh
Out of the Blue
David L. 'Dave' Brady
Mexican Manhunt
Self
Breakdowns of 1936
Tim Hanley
International Lady
Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
Mike Abbott
Twin Beds
Capt. Ronald Keane
Charlie Chan Carries On
Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1938
Self
Things You Never See on the Screen
Himself (uncredited)
A Dream Comes True
Self
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
Breakdowns of 1940
Self
Breakdowns of 1944
Les Haines
Fair Warning
Man with Balloon at Party
Death of a Scoundrel
Steve Gordon
Tangier Incident
Inspector Turner
Under Suspicion
Self
Breakdowns of 1942
Worker (uncredited)
The Iron Horse
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
102
Gender
Male
Birthday
1904-03-15
Place of Birth
Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland
Also Known As
George Brendan Nolan