
George Brent
Born March 15, 1904 · 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.
Notable Appearances
More Movies

In This Our Life

Wings of the Navy

Jezebel

Death of a Scoundrel

Gold Is Where You Find It

Housewife

The Affairs of Susan

A Dream Comes True

'Til We Meet Again

My Reputation

The Go-Getter

Swingtime in the Movies

The Fighting 69th

The Spiral Staircase

The Gay Sisters

Special Agent

Red Canyon

The Great Lie

Tomorrow Is Forever

They Dare Not Love

Out of the Blue

You Can't Escape Forever

Slave Girl

Front Page Woman

The Rains Came

The Goose and the Gander

Montana Belle

The Rich Are Always with Us

Things You Never See on the Screen

The Iron Horse

Luxury Liner

Female

Charlie Chan Carries On

Jezebel: Legend of the South

The Painted Veil

They Call It Sin

Angel on the Amazon

Secrets of an Actress

The Man Who Talked Too Much

The Old Maid

Experiment Perilous

The Corpse Came C.O.D.

Breakdowns of 1938

Give Me Your Heart

In Person

Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill

Out Where the Stars Begin

The Right to Live

Under Suspicion

International Lady

God's Country and the Woman

Breakdowns of 1942

Racket Busters

The Kid from Cleveland

The Keyhole

Breakdowns of 1937

More Than a Secretary

The Purchase Price

Christmas Eve

Ex-Bad Boy

So Big!

Desirable

Land of Liberty

Submarine D-1

Twin Beds

FBI Girl

Bride for Sale

Mountain Justice

Miss Pinkerton

Stamboul Quest

Breakdowns of 1944

Silver Queen

Luxury Liner

Lilly Turner

The Golden Arrow

South of Suez

Breakdowns of 1936

Once a Sinner

Illegal Entry

Breakdowns of 1940

Lover Come Back

The Last Page

Adventure in Diamonds

Stranded

Born Again

Temptation

From Headquarters

Honeymoon for Three

Homicide Squad

The Crash

The Lightning Warrior

Snowed Under

Week-End Marriage

Living on Velvet

Tangier Incident

Fair Warning












