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Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018), known professionally as Jean Porter, was an American film and television actress, noted for her roles in '' The Youngest Profession'' (1943), ''
Bathing Beauty ''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, and starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The f ...
'' (1944), '' Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (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 a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ...
, who was one of the
Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...
, the most prominent blacklisted group in the film industry during the
McCarthy era McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United S ...
.


Early life

Porter was born in Cisco, Texas, 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. However its lines never went we ...
worker and a music teacher. As a baby, she was called the "Most Beautiful Baby" in Eastland County. At 10 years old, she hosted a half-hour radio show on Saturday mornings on the WRR station in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. 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 Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...
. Porter acted in Dwan's 1936 musical '' Song and Dance Man'', but did not appear in the credits. Beginning with small roles in such movies as ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...
'' (1938) and '' The Under-Pup'' (1939), she was signed by producer
Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...
, who featured her in comedies. She also appeared in Roach's 1940 adventure '' One Million B.C.''. Porter was signed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
in 1941 on loan from Roach. While never a big star, Jean Porter 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 Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...
,
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
,
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 Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...
. In 1947 "I was under contract to M-G-M, and they loaned me to Columbia," she recalled, and "Columbia wanted me to do three more musicals. M-G-M was making cuts. They were even selling parts of the backlot, and they were letting some people go, just like that. They gave me a choice: I could stay on at the same salary, otherwise I was free to go... There was no telling what the studio was going to do, so I left M-G-M and went to Columbia."


Personal life

Two years after writer-director
Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ...
directed Porter as a replacement for
Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...
in '' Till the End of Time'', she married Dmytryk on May 12, 1948, in
Ellicott City, Maryland Ellicott City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its ...
. It was his second marriage, her first. During the McCarthy-era hearings, Dmytryk was facing a jail sentence for a contempt of Congress charge, fired from
RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...
, and barred from working in the United States. 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 six months on the contempt charge. Porter now found herself in extreme difficulties, as she had no career and no money to support her family. She shouldered the financial responsibility, signing with producer Robert L. Lippert and taking a nominal salary for two low-budget feature films, '' G.I. Jane'' and '' Kentucky Jubilee''.
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transform ...
came to her aid that same year, by securing her a role in '' Cry Danger''. 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 tele ...
'' and ''
The Abbott and Costello Show ''The Abbott and Costello Show'' is an American television sitcom starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The program premiered in syndication in the fall of 1952 and ran two seasons to the spring of 1954. Each season ran 26 e ...
''. She would again be directed by Dmytryk in 1955's '' The Left Hand of God'', before she retired from acting in 1961. 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 ...
'', and ''
77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television 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 epis ...
''. She 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 Jess Alexandria Stacy (born Jesse Alexander Stacy;B ...
, and with her husband, ''On Screen Acting''.


Death

Porter's health began failing while in her eighties, and she 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 Ranchos of California, rancho, and after the American victory it was converted ...
, on January 13, 2018, aged 95. She was survived by two daughters and a stepson.


Filmography


Bibliography

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References


External links

* * {{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