Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018) was an American film and television actress. She was notable for her roles in ''

The Youngest Profession ''The Youngest Profession'' is a 1943 film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Virginia Weidler, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Scotty Beckett, and Agnes Moorehead. Based on a short story series and book written by Lillian Day, it contai ...

'' (1943), ''

Bathing Beauty ''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 musical film starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Esther Williams, and directed by George Sidney. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be ...

'' (1944), ''

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' is a 1945 American black-and-white comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello alongside Frances Rafferty. Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was produced by Marti ...

'' (1945), '' Till the End of Time'' (1946), '' Cry Danger'' (1951), and '' The Left Hand of God'' (1955). Porter was married to

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywoo ...

, who was one of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

, the most prominent blacklisted group in the film industry during the

McCarthy era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

Early life

Porter was born in

Cisco, Texas Cisco is a city in Eastland County, Texas. The population was 3,899 at the time of the 2010 census. History Cisco, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and Interstate 20 in northwestern Eastland County, traces its history back to 1878 or ...

, to a

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

worker and a music teacher. As a baby, she was called the "Most Beautiful Baby" in

Eastland County Eastland County is a county located in central West Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,725. The county seat is Eastland. The county was founded in 1858 and later organized in 1873. It is named for William Mosby Eastland, ...

. At 10 years old, she hosted a half-hour radio show on Saturday mornings on the WRR station in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. She also spent a summer working for Ted Lewis's Vaudeville Band.

Career

At the age of 12, in 1935, Porter arrived in Hollywood and took dancing lessons at the Fanchon and Marco dancing school, where she was discovered by director Allan Dwan. Porter acted in Dwan's 1936 musical '' Song and Dance Man'', but did not appear in the credits. Jean Porter in Twice Blessed trailer

Beginning with a small roles in movies such as ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the no ...

'' (1938) and ''

One Million B.C. ''One Million B.C.'' is a 1940 American fantasy film produced by Hal Roach Studios and released by United Artists. It is also known by the titles ''Cave Man'', ''Man and His Mate'' and ''Tumak''. The film stars Victor Mature as protagonist ...

'' (1940), she eventually established herself as an actress for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

in 1941. While never a big star, she was active as a wholesome, mainly comedic, ingenue in B pictures throughout the 1940s, appearing in almost 30 motion pictures alongside MGM stars such as Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney,

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

and the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. In the 1950s, Porter appeared regularly on television in series such as ''

The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televi ...

'' and ''

The Abbott and Costello Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Her final TV roles were on ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...

'', and ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

''. She would again be directed by Dmytryk in 1955's '' The Left Hand of God'', before she retired from acting in 1961.

Personal life

Two years after he directed her as a loan replacement to

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

for Shirley Temple in '' Till the End of Time'', aged 25, she married film director and writer

on May 12, 1948, in Ellicott City, Maryland. It was his second marriage, her first. As Dmytryk was looking at a jail sentence for a contempt of Congress charge, fired from

and barred from working in the U.S., the couple moved to England, where she gave birth to the first of their three children. After they were forced to return to the U.S. in 1950 due to his expiring passport, Dmytryk was imprisoned for 6 months on the contempt charge. Porter now found herself in extreme difficulties as she had no career and no money to support her family. Dick Powell came to her aid by securing her a role in '' Cry Danger''. Porter was the author of the unpublished book ''The Cost of Living'', about her life with Dmytryk. She also wrote ''Chicago Jazz and Then Some'', about jazz pianist

Jess Stacy Jesse Alexandria Stacy (August 11, 1904 – January 1, 1995) was an American jazz pianist who gained prominence during the swing era. He is perhaps best known for his years with the Benny Goodman band during the late 1930s, particularly his pe ...

, and with her husband, ''On Screen Acting''.

Death

Porter died of natural causes in

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

, on January 13, 2018, aged 95. She was survived by two daughters and a stepson.

Filmography

Bibliography

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References

External links

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Jean Porter
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Jean 1922 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Texas American film actresses American television actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players 20th-century American actresses People from Cisco, Texas 21st-century American women