Wilda Bennett (December 19, 1894 – December 20, 1967) was an American actress in musical comedies and in film. Her tumultuous personal life also kept her in the headlines.
Wilda Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Bennett in Who's Who on the Screen, 1920 | |
| Born | December 19, 1894 |
| Died | December 20, 1967 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouses |
|
Early life
editBennett was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[1][2] Bennett's father was John H. Bennett, a city building inspector.[3]
Career
editBennett's Broadway credits included Everywoman (1911-1912), A Good Little Devil (1913), The Only Girl (1914-1915), The Riviera Girl (1917), The Girl Behind the Gun (1918-1919), Apple Blossoms (1919-1920), Music Box Revue (1921-1922), The Lady in Ermine (1922-1923),[4] and the title role in Madame Pompadour (1924-1925). She had a "sweet" soprano voice.[3] Bennett's later stage appearances were in Lovely Lady (1928),[5] and Merrily We Roll Along (1934).[6] She reprised her title role in The Only Girl for a radio production in 1927.[7]
Films featuring Wilda Bennett included A Good Little Devil (1914, lost), Love, Honor and Obey (1920), Bullets or Ballots (1936), Dark Victory (1939), The Women (1939), What a Life (1939), Ninotchka (1939), Those Were the Days! (1940), and The Lady Eve (1941).
Personal life
editBennett's personal life involved multiple legal troubles that brought additional, ongoing, national press attention.[8] In 1925, she was sued for $100,000 by a woman named Katherine Frey, who believed that Bennett had been her husband Charles Frey's lover. Katherine Frey won a judgment of $25,000 in the case.[9] While the lawsuit was still pending, Charles Frey was driving Bennett's car when it struck a young woman, who was killed. Bennett was a passenger in the car.[10] In 1927, she was sued for the care expenses of a horse she once owned.[11] In 1928, she was sued for damages by a landlord who said Bennett destroyed furniture and removed other items from a rented apartment. Bennett lost that case, too, and had to pay $400 to the landlord.[12] In 1930, Bennett sued Anthony J. Wettach after another car accident; she ended up marrying him instead.[13] In 1932, she was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly.[14]
Bennett was married four times. Her husbands were, in order, actor-producer Robert Schable (divorced in 1920), Argentine dancer Abraham "Peppy" de Albrew (married 1926, separated in 1927),[15][16] Anthony J. Wettach (married 1930, divorced 1933),[17] and mining engineer Munro Whitmore (died 1960).
Bennett died on December 20, 1967, in Winnemucca, Nevada.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ Burns Mantle, "What's What in the Theater" Green Book Magazine (December 1917): 988.
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Arrives" New York Times (October 17, 1917): 28. via ProQuest
- ^ a b "Praise Wilda Bennett" Asbury Park Press (October 17, 1914): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Lovely Little Runaway Scores Her Greatest Operatic Success" Asbury Park Press (November 7, 1922): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Wilda Bennett in 'Lovely Lady'" New York Times (February 22, 1928): 24. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett in New Play" New York Times (September 13, 1934): 26. via ProQuest
- ^ "Victor Herbert's 'The Only Girl' On Air Next Saturday" The Morning Call (October 9, 1927): 34. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Wilda Bennett's Hard Luck--Isn't it the Limit?" Courier-Journal (October 11, 1925): 99. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Frey Verdict Due Today" New York Times (October 26, 1925): 3. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett's Auto Kills Girl in Crash" New York Times (July 31, 1925): 1. via ProQuest
- ^ "$5 for Horse's Tooth" New York Times (October 27, 1927): 38. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Case Opens" New York Times (June 19, 1928): 18. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Weds Defendant in her Suit" New York Times (December 17, 1930): 30. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Under Arrest" Central New Jersey Home News (August 16, 1932): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Wed to Cabaret Dancer" New York Times (April 24, 1926): 20. via ProQuest
- ^ "Actress and Dancer Part" New York Times (December 9, 1927): 29. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Divorced" New York Times (July 28, 1933): 18. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett Dead at 73; Starred in Musicals Here" New York Times (December 23, 1967): 23. via ProQuest
- ^ "Wilda Bennett, 73; Left City for Stage Success" Asbury Park Press (December 24, 1967): 2. via Newspapers.com
External links
edit
- Wilda Bennett at IMDb
- Wilda Bennett's listing at IBDB
- Wilda Bennett's listing at AllMusic
- An undated photograph of Wilda Bennett in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections
- A 1926 photograph of Wilda Bennett in the J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, Digital Collections