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George Brent
Acting
Biography
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 freq…
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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.
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
George Brent's Filmography
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Jezebel: Legend of the South
as Self (archive footage)
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Born Again
as Judge Gerhard Gesell
Death of a Scoundrel
as Man with Balloon at Party
Mexican Manhunt
as David L. 'Dave' Brady
Tangier Incident
as Steve Gordon
Montana Belle
as Tom Bradfield
Man Bait
as John Harman
FBI Girl
as Jeff Donley
Bride for Sale
as Paul Martin
The Kid from Cleveland
as Mike Jackson
Illegal Entry
as Chief Agent Dan Collins
Red Canyon
as Matthew Bostel
Luxury Liner
as Captain Jeremy Bradford
Angel on the Amazon
as Jim Warburton
Christmas Eve
as Michael Brooks
Slave Girl
as Matt Claibourne
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
as Joe Medford
Out of the Blue
as Arthur Earthleigh
Temptation
as Nigel Armine
Lover Come Back
as Bill Williams
Tomorrow Is Forever
as Lawrence Hamilton
The Spiral Staircase
as Professor Warren
My Reputation
as Major Scott Landis
The Affairs of Susan
as Roger Berton
Breakdowns of 1944
as Self
Experiment Perilous
as Dr. Huntington Bailey
Breakdowns of 1942
as Self
Silver Queen
as James Kincaid
You Can't Escape Forever
as Steve Mitchell
The Gay Sisters
as Charles Barclay
In This Our Life
as Craig Fleming
Twin Beds
as Mike Abbott
International Lady
as Tim Hanley
They Dare Not Love
as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
The Great Lie
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
Honeymoon for Three
as Kenneth Bixby
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self
South of Suez
as John Gamble
The Man Who Talked Too Much
as Stephen Forbes
'Til We Meet Again
as Dan Hardesty
Adventure in Diamonds
as Capt. Stephen Dennett
The Fighting 69th
as Wild Bill Donovan
The Rains Came
as Tom Ransome
The Old Maid
as Clem Spender
Land of Liberty
as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
Dark Victory
as Dr. Frederick Steele
Wings of the Navy
as Cass Harrington
Breakdowns of 1938
as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
Swingtime in the Movies
as Himself (uncredited)
Secrets of an Actress
as Richard 'Dick' Orr
Racket Busters
as Denny Jordan
Out Where the Stars Begin
as Jared Whitney (archive footage)
Jezebel
as Buck Cantrell
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Jared Whitney
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
Submarine D-1
as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
The Go-Getter
as Bill Austin
Mountain Justice
as Paul Cameron
God's Country and the Woman
as Steve Russett
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
More Than a Secretary
as Fred Gilbert
Give Me Your Heart
as James 'Jim' Baker
The Golden Arrow
as Johnny Jones
The Case Against Mrs. Ames
as Matt Logan
Snowed Under
as Alan Tanner
A Dream Comes True
as Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
In Person
as Emory Muir
The Goose and the Gander
as Bob McNear
Special Agent
as Bill Bradford
Front Page Woman
as Curt Devlin
Stranded
as Mack Hale
Living on Velvet
as Terry Parker
The Right to Live
as Colin Trent
The Painted Veil
as Jack Townsend
Desirable
as McAllister
Housewife
as William H. Reynolds
Stamboul Quest
as Douglas Beall
From Headquarters
as Lt. Jim Stevens
Female
as Jim Thorne
Baby Face
as Courtland Trenholm
Lilly Turner
as Bob Chandler
The Keyhole
as Neil Davis
42nd Street
as Pat Denning
Luxury Liner
as Dr. Karl Bernhard
They Call It Sin
as Dr. Tony Travers
The Crash
as Geoffrey Gault
The Purchase Price
as Jim Gilson
Week-End Marriage
as Peter Acton
Miss Pinkerton
as Police Inspector Patten
The Rich Are Always with Us
as Julian Tierney
So Big!
as Adult Roelf Pool
The Lightning Warrior
as Alan Scott
Homicide Squad
as Jimmy
Ex-Bad Boy
as Donald Swift
Charlie Chan Carries On
as Capt. Ronald Keane
Fair Warning
as Les Haines
Once a Sinner
as James Brent
Under Suspicion
as Inspector Turner
The Iron Horse
as Worker (uncredited)