Fay Bainter

 ( 1893 Births ) 

Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress.Obituary Variety, April 24, 1968. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Early life Bainter was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell.

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Career Bainter made her first appearance on stage in 1908 in The County Chairman at Morosco's Theater in Burbank, California. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress. Her Broadway debut was in the role of Celine Marinter in The Rose of Panama (1912). P. G. Wodehouse, reviewing Turn to the Right in Vanity Fair in 1916, wrote, "Miss Bainter's advent from nowhere and her instant success form the season's biggest sensation." She appeared in a number of successful plays in New York, such as East Is West, The Willow Tree, and Dodsworth. In 1926, she appeared with Walter Abel in a Broadway production of Channing Pollock's The Enemy. MGM persuaded her to try films and her movie debut was in This Side of Heaven (February 1934). Also in 1934, she appeared in Dodsworth on Broadway and in the film It Happened One Day. Bainter quickly achieved success in the movies, and in 1939, she became the first performer to receive two Oscar nominations in the same year, contending for both Best Actress for White Banners (1938) and Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (1938), winning for the latter. In 1940, she played Mrs. Gibbs in the film production of the Thornton Wilder play Our Town. In 1945, she played Melissa Frake in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical State Fair. She was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Children's Hour (1961).Thomas, Bob (February 1, 1962). "Liz Isn't in the Race for '61 Academy Awards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

Bainter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

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Personal life Fay Bainter and Reginald Venable were married on June 8, 1921, in Riverside, California. Cmdr. Reginald Venable was a United States Navy officer who graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1913. He resigned from the Navy in 1925 as a lieutenant commander to manage his wife's business affairs. He had been a real-estate operator. The couple had one son, Reginald Venable Jr., who became an actor.

Bainter was the aunt of actress Dorothy Burgess.

Bainter and Venable are interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Filmography

+ Films
1934	This Side of Heaven	Francene Turner
1937	Quality Street	Susan Throssel
1937	The Soldier and the Lady	Strogoff's Mother
1937	Make Way for Tomorrow	Anita Cooper
1938	White Banners	Hannah Parmalee	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress
1938	Jezebel	Aunt Belle Massey	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1938	Mother Carey's Chickens	Mrs. Margaret Carey
1938	The Arkansas Traveler	Mrs. Martha Allen
1938		Hannah Linden
1939	Yes, My Darling Daughter	Ann "Annie" Murray
1939	The Lady and the Mob	Hattie Leonard
1939	Daughters Courageous	Nancy "Nan" Masters
1939	Our Neighbors – The Carters	Ellen Carter
1940	Young Tom Edison	Mrs. Samuel (Nancy) Edison
1940	Our Town	Mrs. Julia Hersey Gibbs
1940		Margaret "Meg" Fairfield
1940	Maryland	Charlotte Danfield
1941	Babes on Broadway	Miss "Jonesy" Jones
1942	Woman of the Year	Ellen Whitcomb
1942		Stella Hadley
1942	Journey for Margaret	Trudy Strauss
1942	Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch	Mrs. Elvira Wiggs
1943		Mrs. Macauley
1943	Presenting Lily Mars	Mrs. Thornway
1943	Salute to the Marines	Jennie Bailey
1943	Cry 'Havoc'	Captain Alice Marsh
1944		Margaret Sibyll
1944	Dark Waters	Aunt Emily
1944	Three Is a Family	Frances Whittaker
1945	State Fair	Melissa Frake
1946		Mrs. E. Winthrop LeMoyne
1946		Mrs. Taylor
1947	Deep Valley	Ellie Saul
1947		Mrs. Eunice Mitty
1948	Give My Regards to Broadway	Fay Norwick
1948	June Bride	Paula Winthrop
1951	Close to My Heart	Mrs. Morrow
1953		Mrs. Donaldson
1961		Mrs. Amelia Tilford	Laurel Award (2nd place) Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

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Radio appearances

1946	Suspense	180/"The Lucky Lady"
"The Search"

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See also

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars

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Further reading

• Rupert Alistair (2025). 9781720038375, Independently published. ISBN 9781720038375

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External links

• Fay Bainter and son Reggie Jr.
• Fay Bainter at Virtual History

Categories: 1893 Births, 1968 Deaths, 20th-century American Actresses, Actresses From Los Angeles, American Film Actresses, American Stage Actresses, Best Supporting Actress Academy Award Winners, Burials At Arlington National Cemetery, Deaths From Pneumonia In California, Metro-goldwyn-mayer Contract Players

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