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Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress, one of three acting sisters from a show-business family. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 films from the era of , well into the Sound film. She is best remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's films—including Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945)—and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (and ancestors Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, and Flora Collins in various timelines) in the Gothic fiction 1960s soap opera Dark Shadows, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming at the 20th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1968.
Bennett's career had three distinct phases: first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale (with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of Hedy Lamarr), and finally as a warmhearted wife-and-mother figure.
In 1951, Bennett's screen career was marred by scandal after her third husband, film producer Walter Wanger, shot and injured her agent Jennings Lang. Wanger suspected that she and Lang were having an affair,Erickson, Hal. Joan Bennett: Biography AllMovie. a charge which she adamantly denied. She married four times.
For her final film role, as Madame Blanc in Dario Argento's cult horror film Suspiria (1977), she was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 5th Saturn Awards.
Bennett first appeared in a silent movie as a child with her parents and sisters in her father's drama The Valley of Decision (1916), which he adapted for the screen. She attended Miss Hopkins School for Girls in Manhattan, then St. Margaret's, a boarding school in Waterbury, Connecticut, and L'Hermitage, a finishing school in Versailles, France.
On September 15, 1926, 16-year-old Bennett married John M. Fox in London. They divorced in Los Angeles on July 30, 1928, based on charges of his alcoholism. They had one child, Adrienne Ralston Fox (born February 20, 1928), for whom Bennett fought successfully in court to rename Diana Bennett Markey when the child was eight years old (she had married Gene Markey in 1932)."Wins Fight Over Daughter's Surname: Child Given New Name, Young Daughter Becomes Diana Markey Under Court Decision", Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1936, p. 3. the child's name changed to Diana Bennett Wanger in 1944 after her mother married Walter Wanger in 1940."Wanger Moves to Adopt Child of Joan Bennett", Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1944, p. 2.
She moved quickly from movie to movie throughout the 1930s. Bennett appeared as a blonde (her natural hair color) for several years. She starred in the role of Dolores Fenton in the United Artists musical Puttin' On The Ritz (1930) opposite Harry Richman and as Faith Mapple, Captain Ahab's beloved, opposite John Barrymore in an early sound version of Moby Dick (1930) at Warner Brothers.
Under contract to Fox Film Corporation, she appeared in several movies. She played the role of Jane Miller opposite Spencer Tracy in She Wanted a Millionaire (1932), receiving top billing. She was billed second, after Tracy, for her role as Helen Riley, a personable waitress who trades wisecracks, in Me and My Gal (1932).
On March 16, 1932, she married screenwriter/film producer Gene Markey in Los Angeles,"Bennett Sister Weds Here: Actress Becomes Scenarist's Bride", Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1932, p.A 2. but the couple divorced in Los Angeles on June 3, 1937."Actress' Marital Tie Cut: Joan Bennett Granted Divorce From Gene Markey, Writer", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1937, p.3. They had one child, Melinda Markey (born February 27, 1934, on Bennett's 24th birthday).
Bennett left Fox to play Amy March, a pert sister competing with Katharine Hepburn's Jo in Little Women (1933), which was directed by George Cukor for RKO Pictures. This movie brought Bennett to the attention of independent film producer Walter Wanger, who signed her to a contract and began managing her career. She played the role of Sally MacGregor, a psychiatrist's young wife slipping into insanity, in Private Worlds (1935) with Joel McCrea who played her husband Dr. Alex MacGregor. Bennett starred in the film Vogues of 1938 (1937), including the title sequence, in which she donned a diamond-and-platinum bracelet set with the Star of Burma ruby. Wanger and director Tay Garnett persuaded her to change her hair from blonde to brunette as part of the plot for her role as Kay Kerrigan in the scenic Trade Winds (1938) opposite Fredric March.
With her change in appearance, Bennett began an entirely new screen career as her persona evolved into that of a glamorous, seductive femme fatale. She played the role of Princess Maria Theresa in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) opposite Louis Hayward, and the role of the Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg in The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) opposite Hayward.
On January 12, 1940, Bennett and producer Walter Wanger were married in Phoenix, Arizona."Joan Bennett and Wanger Marry in Phoenix Elopement – Actress and Producer Make Trip by Auto; Announce They'll Return to Hollywood Today", Los Angeles Times, January 13, 1940, p.1. They were divorced in September 1965 in Mexico. "Joan Bennett Divorced". The New York Times, September 21, 1965, p. SU 3. The couple had two children together, Stephanie Wanger (born June 26, 1943) and Shelley Wanger (born July 4, 1948). The following year, on March 13, 1949, Bennett became a grandmother at age 39.
Combined with her sultry eyes and husky voice, Bennett's new brunette look gave her an earthier, more arresting persona. She won praise for her performances as Brenda Bentley in The House Across the Bay (1940), also featuring George Raft, and as Carol Hoffman in the anti-Nazi Party drama The Man I Married, a film in which Francis Lederer also starred.
She then appeared in a sequence of highly regarded film noir thrillers directed by Fritz Lang, with whom she and Wanger formed their own production company. Bennett appeared in four movies under Lang's direction, including as Cockney Jerry Stokes in Man Hunt (1941) opposite Walter Pidgeon, as mysterious model Alice Reed in The Woman in the Window (1944) with Edward G. Robinson, and as vulgar blackmailer Katharine "Kitty" March in Scarlet Street (1945), another film with Robinson.
Bennett was the shrewish, cuckolding wife, Margaret Macomber, in Zoltan Korda's The Macomber Affair (1947) opposite Gregory Peck, as deceitful wife Peggy Butler, in Jean Renoir's The Woman on the Beach (also 1947) opposite Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford, and as tormented Lucia Harper in Max Ophüls' The Reckless Moment (1949) as the victim of Martin Donnelly, a blackmailer played by James Mason. Then, easily shifting images again, she changed her screen persona to that of an elegant, witty and nurturing wife and mother in two comedies directed by Vincente Minnelli. Playing the role of Ellie Banks, the wife of Stanley Banks (Spencer Tracy) and mother of Kay Banks (Elizabeth Taylor), Bennett appeared in both Father of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951).
Bennett made a number of radio appearances from the 1930s to the 1950s, performing on such programs as Edgar Bergen, Duffy's Tavern, The Jack Benny Program, Ford Theater, Suspense and the anthology series Lux Radio Theater and Screen Guild Theater.
With the increasing popularity of television, Bennett made five guest appearances in 1951, including an episode of Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's Your Show of Shows. A restored kinescope of her April 26, 1951 appearance on episode 4 of James Melton's Ford Festival TV show (alongside Victor Borge and Dorothy Warenskjold) is viewable online.
Bennett parked her Cadillac convertible in the lot at the back of the MCA offices, at Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive, across the street from the Beverly Hills Police Department, and she and Lang drove off in his car. Meanwhile, her husband Walter Wanger drove past about 2:30 p.m. and noticed his wife's car parked there. Half an hour later, he again saw her car there and stopped to wait. Bennett and Lang drove into the parking lot a few hours later and he walked her to her convertible. As she started the engine, turned on the headlights, and prepared to drive away, Lang leaned on the car, with both hands raised to his shoulders, and talked to her.
In a fit of jealousy, Wanger walked up and twice shot and wounded the unsuspecting agent. One bullet hit Jennings in the right thigh, near the hip, and the other penetrated his groin. Bennett said she did not see Wanger at first. She said she suddenly saw two vivid flashes, then Lang slumped to the ground. As soon as she recognized who had fired the shots, she told Wanger, "Get away and leave us alone." He tossed the pistol into his wife's car.
She and the parking lot's service station manager took Lang to the agent's doctor. He was then taken to a hospital, where he recovered. The police station was located across the lot, officers had heard the shots, and came to the scene and found the gun in Bennett's car when they took Wanger into custody. Wanger was booked and fingerprinted, and underwent lengthy questioning.
"I shot him because I thought he was breaking up my home," Wanger told Clinton Anderson, the police chief of Beverly Hills. He was booked on suspicion of assault with intent to commit murder. Bennett denied a romance. "But if Walter thinks the relationships between Mr. Lang and myself are romantic or anything but strictly business, he is wrong," she declared. She blamed the trouble on financial setbacks involving film productions Wanger was involved with, and said he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The following day Wanger, out on bond, returned to their Holmby Hills home, collected his belongings and moved out. Bennett, however, said there would not be a divorce."Detectives Shadowed Joan for Months, Says Wanger: Film Producer Tells Reasons for Jealousy; Divorce Discussed". Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1951, p. 1.
On December 14, Bennett issued a statement in which she said she hoped her husband "will not be blamed too much" for wounding her agent. She read the prepared statement in the bedroom of her home to a group of newspapermen while TV cameras recorded the scene."Joan Bennett Hopes Wanger 'Won't Be Blamed Too Much'; Statement Cites Film Producer's Money Worries". Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1951, p. A
Wanger's attorney Jerry Giesler mounted a "temporary insanity" defense. He then decided to waive his right to a jury, and threw himself on the mercy of the court."Wanger Fate Will Rest On Transcript: Producer to Escape Open Trial by Letting Judge Decide Case on Grand Jury Evidence". Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1952, p. 1. Wanger served a four-month sentence in the County Honor Farm at Castaic, California, 39 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, quickly returning to his career to make a series of successful films."Wanger to Be Released from County Jail Today". Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1952, p. A 1.
Meanwhile, Bennett went to Chicago to appear on the stage in the role as the young witch Gillian Holroyd in Bell, Book, and Candle, then went on national tour with the production."Joan Bennett to Play Witch if Wanger Trial Is on Time". Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1952, p. 4.
Bennett made only five movies in the decade that followed the 1951 shooting incident, and only two films in the 1970s, for the incident was a stain on her career and she became virtually blacklisted. Blaming the scandal that occurred for destroying her career in the motion picture industry, Bennett once said, "I might as well have pulled the trigger myself." Although Humphrey Bogart, a longtime friend, pleaded with Paramount Pictures on her behalf to keep her after her role as Amelie Ducotel in We're No Angels (1955), the studio refused.
As the movie offers dwindled after the scandal, Bennett continued touring in stage successes, such as Susan and God, Once More, with Feeling, The Pleasure of His Company and Never Too Late. Her next TV appearance was in the role of Bettina Blane in "You Are Only Young Once", an episode of General Electric Theater in 1954. Other roles included Honora in Climax! (1955) and Vickie Maxwell in Playhouse 90 (1957). In 1958, she appeared as Mary Blake, the mother to teenagers Pam (Brigid Bazlen) and Johnny (Martin Huston) in the short-lived television comedy/drama Too Young to Go Steady. She starred on Broadway in the comedy Love Me Little (1958), which ran for only eight performances.
Of the scandal, in a 1981 interview, Bennett contrasted the judgmental 1950s with the sensation-crazed 1970s and 1980s. "It would never happen that way today," she said, laughing. "If it happened today, I'd be a sensation. I'd be wanted by all studios for all pictures."
Bennett received star billing in the Gothic fiction soap opera Dark Shadows for its entire five-year run, 1966 to 1971, receiving an Emmy Awards nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming at the 20th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1968 for her performance as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, mistress of the haunted Collinwood Mansion. Her other roles in Dark Shadows were Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard PT (parallel time, as the show described its alternate reality), Flora Collins, and Flora Collins PT. In 1970, she appeared as Elizabeth in House of Dark Shadows, the feature film adaptation of the series. However, she declined to appear in the sequel Night of Dark Shadows, and her character Elizabeth was mentioned therein as being recently deceased.
Bennett's autobiography The Bennett Playbill, written with Lois Kibbee, was published in 1970. Her other TV guest appearances include Bennett's roles as Joan Darlene Delaney in 'Check the Check", an episode of The Governor & J.J. (1970) and as Edith in "Love and the Second Time", an episode of Love, American Style (1971). She starred in five made-for-TV movies between 1972 and 1982.
Bennett also appeared in one more feature film, as Madame Blanc in director Dario Argento's horror film Suspiria (1977), for which she received a 1978 Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Bennett and retired publisher/movie critic David Wilde were married on February 14, 1978, 13 days before her 68th birthday, in White Plains, New York. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1990.
Celebrated for not taking herself too seriously, Bennett said in a 1986 interview, "I don't think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much."
Bennett has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard, a short distance from the star of her sister Constance.
Early life
Joan Geraldine Bennett was born in the Palisade section of Fort Lee, New Jersey, on February 27, 1910, the youngest of three daughters of actor Richard Bennett and actress/literary agent Adrienne Morrison. Her elder sisters were actress Constance Bennett and actress/dancer Barbara Bennett, who was the first wife of singer Morton Downey and the mother of Morton Downey Jr. Part of a famous theatrical family, Bennett's maternal grandfather was Jamaica-born Shakespearean actor Lewis Morrison, who embarked on a stage career in the late 1860s. On the side of her maternal grandmother, actress Rose Wood, the profession dated back to traveling in 18th-century England.
Career
Bennett's stage debut was at age 18, acting with her father in Jarnegan (1928), which ran on Broadway theatre for 136 performances and for which she received good reviews. By the time she turned 20 she had become a movie star through such roles as Phyllis Benton in Bulldog Drummond starring Ronald Colman, which was her first important role, and Lady Clarissa Pevensey opposite George Arliss in Disraeli (both 1929).
Political views
She was a very active member of both the Hollywood Democratic Committee and The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry A. Wallace, Adlai Stevenson II, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter) during her lifetime.
Scandal
For 12 years, Bennett was represented by agent Jennings Lang, the onetime vice-president of the Sam Jaffe Agency, who then headed MCA's West Coast television operations. She and Lang met on the afternoon of December 13, 1951, to talk over an upcoming TV show.
Later years
Despite the shooting scandal and the damage it caused Bennett's film career, she and Wanger remained married until 1965. She continued to work steadily on the stage and in television, including a guest role as Denise Mitchell in "Who Killed Mr. Colby in Ladies' Lingerie?", an episode of TV's Burke's Law (1965).
Death
Bennett died of heart failure on Friday evening, December 7, 1990, aged 80, at her home in Scarsdale, New York.
Filmography
Bennett appeared in many movies and television productions, listed below in their entirety.
Film
1916 unborn soul 1923 Page uncredited 1928 Power a dame 1929 extra uncredited 1929 Bulldog Drummond Phyllis Benton 1929 Three Live Ghosts Rose Gordon 1929 Disraeli Lady Clarissa Pevensey 1929 The Mississippi Gambler Lucy Blackburn 1930 Puttin' On the Ritz Delores Fenton 1930 Crazy That Way Ann Jordan 1930 Moby Dick Faith Mapple 1930 Maybe It's Love (a.k.a. Eleven Men and a Girl) Nan Sheffield 1930 Scotland Yard Lady Xandra Lasher 1931 Many a Slip Pat Coster 1931 Doctors' Wives Nina Wyndram 1931 Hush Money Joan Gordon 1932 She Wanted a Millionaire Jane Miller 1932 Careless Lady Sally Brown 1932 The Trial of Vivienne Ware Vivienne Ware 1932 Week Ends Only Venetia Carr 1932 Wild Girl Salomy Jane 1932 Me and My Gal Helen Riley 1933 Arizona to Broadway Lynn Martin 1933 Little Women Amy March 1934 The Pursuit of Happiness Prudence Kirkland 1934 The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Adele Verin 1935 Private Worlds Sally MacGregor 1935 Mississippi Lucy Rumford 1935 Two for Tonight Bobbie Lockwood 1935 She Couldn't Take It Carol Van Dyke 1935 The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo Helen Berkeley 1936 Big Brown Eyes Eve Fallon 1936 Thirteen Hours by Air Felice Rollins 1936 Two in a Crowd Julia Wayne 1936 Wedding Present Monica "Rusty" Fleming 1937 Vogues of 1938 Wendy Van Klettering 1938 I Met My Love Again Julie Weir Shaw 1938 Ivy Preston 1938 Artists and Models Abroad Patricia Harper 1938 Trade Winds Kay Kerrigan 1939 Princess Maria Theresa 1939 Hilda Kreemhild 1940 Green Hell Stephanie Richardson 1940 Brenda Bentley 1940 Carol Hoffman 1940 Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg 1941 She Knew All the Answers Gloria Winters 1941 Man Hunt Jerry Stokes 1941 Wild Geese Calling Sally Murdock 1941 Confirm or Deny Jennifer Carson 1942 Anita Woverman 1942 Twin Beds Julie Abbott 1942 Girl Trouble June Delaney 1943 Margin for Error Sophia Baumer 1944 Alice Reed 1945 Nob Hill Harriet Carruthers 1945 Scarlet Street Katharine "Kitty" March 1946 Colonel Effingham's Raid Ella Sue Dozier 1947 Margaret Macomber 1947 Peggy Butler 1947 Secret Beyond the Door... Celia Lamphere 1948 Hollow Triumph (aka The Scar) Evelyn Hahn 1949 Lucia Harper 1950 Father of the Bride Ellie Banks 1950 For Heaven's Sake Lydia Bolton 1951 Father's Little Dividend Ellie Banks 1951 Kathy Joplin 1954 Highway Dragnet Mrs. Cummings 1955 We're No Angels Amelie Ducotel 1956 There's Always Tomorrow Marion Groves 1956 Navy Wife Peg Blain 1960 Desire in the Dust Mrs. Marquand 1970 House of Dark Shadows Elizabeth Collins Stoddard 1977 Suspiria Madame Blanc
Television
Made-for-TV movies
As herself
Short subject
Radio appearances
Girl in the News Experiment Perilous "Overture in Two Keys"
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1910 Births, 1990 Deaths, American People Of English Descent, American People Of Jewish Descent, American People Of Spanish Descent, American Film Actresses, American Silent Film Actresses, American Stage Actresses, American Television Actresses, American Radio Personalities, 20th-century American Memoirists, American Women Memoirists, Actresses From Bergen County, New Jersey, Actors From Fort Lee, New Jersey, Actors From Scarsdale, New York, 20th-century American Actresses, 20th Century Studios Contract Players, Rko Pictures Contract Players, Actresses From Westchester County, New York
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