Barton Hepburn (February 28, 1906 – October 9, 1955) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

who specialized in

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

Early life

Hepburn was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and was heir to a New York banking fortune. He was a son of Charles Fisher Hepburn (1878–1923), and Alice (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Smith) Hepburn (1881–1914), a daughter of Horatio Alden Smith. His paternal grandfather, Alonzo Barton Hepburn, was a founder of

Chase National Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fi ...

and

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national ...

under Presidents

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

and

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

Career

He was spotted as a stage actor in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

by the screen director Cecil B. DeMille. He starred in a 1929 production, '' Painted Faces'', an early film with sound. This didn't result in huge success for Hepburn and he returned to the theatre, with a number of appearances on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, until the 1940s when he appeared in a number of films, such as '' Hi Diddle Diddle'' (1943), ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The B ...

'' (1944), and ''

A Song for Miss Julie ''A Song for Miss Julie'' is a 1945 American film directed by William Rowland. Plot summary Cast * Shirley Ross as Valerie Kimbro * Barton Hepburn as George Kimbro *Jane Farrar as Julie Charteris * Roger Clark as Stephen Mont *Cheryl Wa ...

'' (1945).

Personal life

Hepburn, who never married, died at his home 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. ...

on October 9, 1955. In his will, he left most of his estate to charities catering to "sick or disabled" children. He bequeathed $100,000 to his sister, Jane Hepburn; and $25,000 each to a nephew and niece, James Foster Clark, Jr., and Alice Hepburn Clark, and $10,000 to Father Flanagan's Boys Town in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

Selected filmography

* '' Painted Faces'' (1929)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hepburn, Barton 1906 births 1955 deaths Male actors from Minneapolis American male stage actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors