Barbara Jane Bennett (August 13, 1906 – August 8, 1958) was an American stage and film actress and dancer.

Family

Born in

Palisades Park, New Jersey Palisades Park is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 20,292, an increase of 670 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 19,622,

, Barbara Bennett was the second of three daughters born to actor Richard Bennett and his wife, actress

Adrienne Morrison Mabel Adrienne Morrison (March 1, 1883 – November 20, 1940) was an American stage actress of the early 20th century. She married actor Richard Bennett, with whom she had three daughters who later would become actresses. Early years Adrienne ...

. Her maternal grandfather was the stage actor

Lewis Morrison Lewis Morrison (September 4, 1844 – August 18, 1906) was a Jamaican-born American stage actor and theatrical manager, born Moritz (or Morris) W. Morris. He was best known for his portrayal of Mephistopheles in his own production of ''Faust'', ...

. Her older sister

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

and her younger sister

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

had successful film careers. The girls attended the Chapin School with the actress

Jane Wyatt Jane Waddington Wyatt ( ; August 12, 1910 – October 20, 2006) was an American actress. She starred in a number of Hollywood films, such as Frank Capra's ''Lost Horizon'', but is likely best known for her role as the housewife and mother Marga ...

Personal life

Bennett married three times and had five children. On January 28, 1929, she married

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Morton Downey Sean Morton Downey (November 14, 1901 – October 25, 1985), also known as Morton Downey Sr., was an American singer and entertainer popular in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, enjoying his greatest success in the late 1 ...

. The couple had four biological children, including son

Morton Downey Jr. Sean Morton Downey Jr. (December 9, 1932 – March 12, 2001) was an American television talk show host and actor who pioneered the "trash TV" format in the late-1980s on his program ''The Morton Downey Jr. Show''. Early life Downey's parents we ...

, and adopted a fifth child, Michael. They divorced in June 1941. Bennett later married actor

Addison Randall Addison Byron Owen Randall (May 12, 1906 – July 16, 1945) was an American film actor, chiefly in Westerns. He often used a pseudonym for his film work, chiefly Jack Randall, though he played roles as Allen Byron and Byron Vance too. Ear ...

, a popular romantic star and singing cowboy at the time. On July 16, 1945, Randall died after suffering a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

and falling from a horse during the filming of ''

The Royal Mounted Rides Again ''The Royal Mounted Rides Again'' is a 1945 Universal film serial. Adventure serials of this type were popular in the early days of cinema. The serial, often called cliffhangers, would show one episode per week, with an ending that would hide t ...

''. Bennett married Laurent Suprenant in 1954. The couple moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1957 and remained together until her death the following year. Bennett later worked as a literary representative for producer

Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of '' Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Para ...

, who was married to her sister Joan. In that position, Bennett scouted best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for her sister Joan.

Death

On August 8, 1958, five days before her 52nd birthday, Bennett died after what the media described as an unidentified "long illness" in Montreal. Over the course of her life, Bennett attempted suicide four times. As the circumstances surrounding herself were vague and Bennett's sister Joan refused to discuss the details of her death, rumors arose that Bennett had finally succeeded in ending her life. In her 1982 memoirs ''Lulu In Hollywood'', longtime friend and actress

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

wrote of Bennett, "Barbara made a career of her emotions. Periods of work or marriage were terminated by her frightening, abandoned laughter of despair and failure. Only her death, in 1958, achieved in her fifth suicide attempt, could be termed a success." She was buried at Burtonville Union Cemetery in

Lacolle, Quebec Lacolle () is a municipality in southern Quebec, Canada, located in the administrative area of the Montérégie, on the Canada–United States border. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,680. The Lacolle River runs eastward throug ...

. A memorial service was later held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Broadway credits

Filmography

References

Sources

External links

* * *
Portrait of Bennett by

Nickolas Muray Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 15 February 1892 – 2 November 1965) was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic saber fencer. Early and personal life Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary, and was Jewish. His father Samu Mandl was ...

1906 births 1958 suicides 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New Jersey American expatriates in Canada American female dancers Dancers from New Jersey American people of English descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Spanish descent American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Burials in Quebec People from Palisades Park, New Jersey Suicides in Quebec Chapin School (Manhattan) alumni 20th-century American dancers 1958 deaths {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub