George Brent

Biography

The favorite leading man of star actress Bette Davis, was born George Brendan Nolan, near Dublin, and became an orphan at the tender age of eleven. For a while, he stayed with an aunt in New York, but returned to Ireland to study at the University of Dublin. After leaving university in 1919, George became a courier for Sinn Fein leader Michael Collins, hunted by the Black and Tan, with a price on his head. By that time, he had developed an interest in acting and joined the Abbey Theatre Players. In 1925, he returned to New York, touring with 'Abie's Irish Rose', then working with stock companies in Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts. He appeared in the ensemble cast of 'The Nightingale' on Broadway (1927), and, three years later, co-starred with Alice Brady and Clark Gable in the short-lived play 'Love, Honor and Betray'. He worked in Hollywood from 1930, initially cast as farmers, doctors and partner of Rin Tin Tin, before Warner Brothers recognised his potential as a strong leading man for some of their more temperamental female stars. One of those was Ruth Chatterton, who picked him to play opposite her in The Rich Are Always with Us (1932). This was the first of four films he made with the actress, whom he married - and divorced after two years. A specialist in dapper, sophisticated gentlemen, George gave reliable support to stars like Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, Barbara Stanwyck and (eleven times) Bette Davis, though he could rarely be described as dynamic. His most memorable performances were opposite Davis in Front Page Woman (1935), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), and, co-starring Myrna Loy, The Rains Came (1939). When his looks dissipated and leading man roles became scarce, George gave arguably his best performance (against type) as the maniacal murderer in the Robert Siodmak-directed thriller The Spiral Staircase (1946). Following that, there were several B-movies on both sides of the Atlantic, after which he effectively retired to breed race horses.