Helen Gilbert (actress)
Helen Gilbert | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1939-1958 |
Spouse(s) | Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1936-1939, divorce) Seymour J. Chotiner (1942-1945, divorce) Victor Makzoumet (194?-1948, his death) Johnny Stompanato (1949-1949, divorce) James E. Durant (1950-1952) M.O. Bryant (? - ?) Bill Marshall (? - ?)[1] |
Helen Amelia Gilbert (July 4, 1915 – October 23, 1995)[2] was an American film actress and musician.
Early years
Gilbert was born in Pennsylvania and was raised in Warren, Ohio.[2] By the time she was 10, she and her family lived in Superior, Wisconsin, where her father ran a music store. Her father gave her a cello when she was 10, and "By the time she was 15, she was known in the northwest as a cello prodigy."[3] Her talent with that instrument earned her a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music and an opportunity to play at the Hollywood Bowl.[4]
Film
Gilbert was described in a May 22, 1939, syndicated newspaper column as "The only studio musician who ever became an actress."[5] Writer Paul Harrison explained that Gilbert had been playing cello in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer orchestra for two years when test director Fred M. Wilcox saw her "and asked why she was behind the camera instead of in front of it."[5] (Two other newspaper articles, published August 6, 1939, and April 21, 1939, contained similar anecdotes, but in them W. S. Van Dyke was the director who noticed Gilbert playing cello.[6][3] A fourth article, published February 18, 1940, says that film executive Winfield Sheehan "was impressed by her beauty, gave her a screen test and started her on her way to pictures.")[4]
Gilbert's film debut came in Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939) when she played Andy Hardy's dramatics teacher.[6] That same year, she was featured as a patient who had trouble with her vision in The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939).[7]
Gilbert's romantic proclivities may have cost her a role in
Personal life
Gilbert's first husband was orchestra leader
On February 19, 1949, she married Johnny Stompanato.[12] They divorced five months later in July 1949.[13] She was also married to actor Bill Marshall and to M.O. Bryant, although the dates are unknown.[14]
Her sixth (and penultimate) husband was
All of the unions were childless.
Death
Gilbert died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles on October 23, 1995, at age 80. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea.[2]
References
- ^ "Helen Gilbert - the Private Life and Times of Helen Gilbert. Helen Gilbert Pictures".
- ^ ISBN 9780786479924. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^
- ^ a b Tildesley, Alice L. (February 18, 1940). "What Makes a Movie Star?". The Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska, Lincoln. p. 39.
- ^
- ^
- ISBN 9780786420179. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ David J. Hogan, The Wizard of Oz FAQ. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2014
- ^ "Marriages". Billboard. February 26, 1949. p. 56. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marriages". Broadcasting. October 22, 1949. p. 28. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.