Jezebel: Legend of the South
2006 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
George Brent
1904-03-15
•
Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland
George Brent (born 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.
Filmography
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
The World of Hammer
1994 · TV Show
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983 · Movie
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Born Again
1978 · Movie
as Judge Gerhard Gesell
No image
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960 · TV Show
as Fred Girard
Rawhide
1959 · TV Show
as Jefferson Devereaux
Death of a Scoundrel
1956 · Movie
as Man with Balloon at Party
Wire Service
1956 · TV Show
as Dean Evans
Climax!
1954 · TV Show
Mexican Manhunt
1953 · Movie
as David L. 'Dave' Brady
Tangier Incident
1953 · Movie
as Steve Gordon
The Last Page
1952 · Movie
as John Harman
Montana Belle
1952 · Movie
as Tom Bradfield
FBI Girl
1951 · Movie
as Jeff Donley
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · TV Show
as Sam Bentley
Illegal Entry
1949 · Movie
as Chief Agent Dan Collins
Red Canyon
1949 · Movie
as Matthew Bostel
Bride for Sale
1949 · Movie
as Paul Martin
The Kid from Cleveland
1949 · Movie
as Mike Jackson
Luxury Liner
1948 · Movie
as Captain Jeremy Bradford
Angel on the Amazon
1948 · Movie
as Jim Warburton
Christmas Eve
1947 · Movie
as Michael Brooks
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
1947 · Movie
as Joe Medford
Slave Girl
1947 · Movie
as Matt Claibourne
Out of the Blue
1947 · Movie
as Arthur Earthleigh
The Spiral Staircase
1946 · Movie
as Professor Warren
Temptation
1946 · Movie
as Nigel Armine
Tomorrow Is Forever
1946 · Movie
as Lawrence Hamilton
My Reputation
1946 · Movie
as Major Scott Landis
Lover Come Back
1946 · Movie
as Bill Williams
The Affairs of Susan
1945 · Movie
as Roger Berton
Experiment Perilous
1944 · Movie
as Dr. Huntington Bailey
Breakdowns of 1944
1944 · Movie
as Self
You Can't Escape Forever
1942 · Movie
as Steve Mitchell
In This Our Life
1942 · Movie
as Craig Fleming
The Gay Sisters
1942 · Movie
as Charles Barclay
Silver Queen
1942 · Movie
as James Kincaid
Twin Beds
1942 · Movie
as Mike Abbott
Breakdowns of 1942
1942 · Movie
as Self
The Great Lie
1941 · Movie
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
Honeymoon for Three
1941 · Movie
as Kenneth Bixby
They Dare Not Love
1941 · Movie
as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
International Lady
1941 · Movie
as Tim Hanley
The Fighting 69th
1940 · Movie
as Wild Bill Donovan
The Man Who Talked Too Much
1940 · Movie
as Stephen Forbes
'Til We Meet Again
1940 · Movie
as Dan Hardesty
Adventure in Diamonds
1940 · Movie
as Capt. Stephen Dennett
South of Suez
1940 · Movie
as John Gamble
Breakdowns of 1940
1940 · Movie
as Self
Dark Victory
1939 · Movie
as Dr. Frederick Steele
The Old Maid
1939 · Movie
as Clem Spender
Wings of the Navy
1939 · Movie
as Cass Harrington
The Rains Came
1939 · Movie
as Tom Ransome
Land of Liberty
1939 · Movie
as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
Jezebel
1938 · Movie
as Buck Cantrell
Racket Busters
1938 · Movie
as Denny Jordan
Out Where the Stars Begin
1938 · Movie
as Jared Whitney (archive footage)
Swingtime in the Movies
1938 · Movie
as Himself (uncredited)
Secrets of an Actress
1938 · Movie
as Richard 'Dick' Orr
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938 · Movie
as Jared Whitney
Breakdowns of 1938
1938 · Movie
as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
God's Country and the Woman
1937 · Movie
as Steve Russett
Mountain Justice
1937 · Movie
as Paul Cameron
Submarine D-1
1937 · Movie
as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
The Go-Getter
1937 · Movie
as Bill Austin
Breakdowns of 1937
1937 · Movie
as Self
Give Me Your Heart
1936 · Movie
as James 'Jim' Baker
More Than a Secretary
1936 · Movie
as Fred Gilbert
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
1936 · Movie
as Matt Logan
The Golden Arrow
1936 · Movie
as Johnny Jones
Snowed Under
1936 · Movie
as Alan Tanner
Breakdowns of 1936
1936 · Movie
as Self
The Right to Live
1935 · Movie
as Colin Trent
Special Agent
1935 · Movie
as Bill Bradford
The Goose and the Gander
1935 · Movie
as Bob McNear
Front Page Woman
1935 · Movie
as Curt Devlin
In Person
1935 · Movie
as Emory Muir
Stranded
1935 · Movie
as Mack Hale
Living on Velvet
1935 · Movie
as Terry Parker
Things You Never See on the Screen
1935 · Movie
as Self
A Dream Comes True
1935 · Movie
as Himself (uncredited)
Stamboul Quest
1934 · Movie
as Douglas Beall
The Painted Veil
1934 · Movie
as Jack Townsend
Desirable
1934 · Movie
as McAllister
Housewife
1934 · Movie
as William H. Reynolds
42nd Street
1933 · Movie
as Pat Denning
Baby Face
1933 · Movie
as Courtland Trenholm
Female
1933 · Movie
as Jim Thorne
Lilly Turner
1933 · Movie
as Bob Chandler
Luxury Liner
1933 · Movie
as Dr. Karl Bernhard
From Headquarters
1933 · Movie
as Lt. Jim Stevens
The Keyhole
1933 · Movie
as Neil Davis
The Purchase Price
1932 · Movie
as Jim Gilson
They Call It Sin
1932 · Movie
as Dr. Tony Travers
So Big!
1932 · Movie
as Adult Roelf Pool
The Rich Are Always with Us
1932 · Movie
as Julian Tierney
Week-End Marriage
1932 · Movie
as Peter Acton
The Crash
1932 · Movie
as Geoffrey Gault
Miss Pinkerton
1932 · Movie
as Police Inspector Patten
The Lightning Warrior
1931 · Movie
as Alan Scott
Homicide Squad
1931 · Movie
as Jimmy
Ex-Bad Boy
1931 · Movie
as Donald Swift
Once a Sinner
1931 · Movie
as James Brent
Charlie Chan Carries On
1931 · Movie
as Capt. Ronald Keane
Fair Warning
1931 · Movie
as Les Haines
Under Suspicion
1930 · Movie
as Inspector Turner
The Iron Horse
1925 · Movie
as Worker (uncredited)
