Acting · Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland · Born March 15, 1904
George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. Brent was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway in 1904 to John J. and Mary (née McGuinness) Nolan. His mother was a native of Clonfad, Moore, County Roscommon. Brent made his first film, Under Suspicion, in 1930. Over the next two years, he appeared in a number of minor films produced by Universal Studios and Fox, before being signed to contract by Warner Bros. in 1932. He remained at Warner Bros. for the next 20 years, carving out a successful career as a top-flight leading man during the late 1930s and 1940s. Highly regarded by Bette Davis, he became her most frequent male co-star, appearing with her in 13 films, including Front Page Woman (1935), Special Agent (1935), The Golden Arrow (1936), Jezebel (1938), The Old Maid (1939), Dark Victory (1939), and The Great Lie (1941). Brent also played opposite Ruby Keeler in 42nd Street (1933), Greta Garbo in The Painted Veil (1934), Ginger Rogers in In Person (1935), Madeleine Carroll in The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936), Jean Arthur in More Than a Secretary (1936), Myrna Loy in Stamboul Quest (1934) and The Rains Came (1939), Merle Oberon in 'Til We Meet Again (1940), Ann Sheridan in Honeymoon for Three (1941), Joan Fontaine in The Affairs of Susan (1945), Barbara Stanwyck in So Big! (1932), The Purchase Price (1932), Baby Face (1933), The Gay Sisters (1942), and My Reputation (1946), Claudette Colbert in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946), Dorothy McGuire in The Spiral Staircase (1946), Lucille Ball in Lover Come Back (1946), and Yvonne De Carlo in Slave Girl (1947). Brent drifted into "B" pictures from the late 1940s and retired from film in 1953. He continued to appear on television until 1960, having appeared on the religion anthology series Crossroads. He was cast in the lead in the 1956 television series Wire Service. In 1978, he made one last film, the made-for-television production Born Again. In 1960, Brent was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars. He received a motion-pictures star located at 1709 Vine Street, and a second star located at 1612 Vine Street for his work in television. Brent was married five times: Helen Louise Campbell (1925–1927), Ruth Chatterton (1932–1934), Constance Worth (1937), Ann Sheridan (1942–1943), and Janet Michaels (1947–1974). His final marriage to Janet Michaels, a former model and dress designer, lasted 27 years until her death in 1974. They had a son and a daughter. Brent also carried on a lengthy relationship with his frequent Warner Bros. co-star, actress Bette Davis, who described her last meeting with Brent after many years of estrangement. He was suffering from advanced emphysema, and she expressed great sadness at his ill health and deterioration. George Brent died in 1979 in Solana Beach, California.
MovieJezebel: Legend of the South
2006
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBiography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
1994
as Self (archive footage)
TVThe World of Hammer
1994
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieBorn Again
1978
as Judge Gerhard Gesell
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960
as Fred Girard
TVRawhide
1959
as Jefferson Devereaux
MovieDeath of a Scoundrel
1956
as Man with Balloon at Party
TVWire Service
1956
as Dean Evans
TVClimax!
1954
MovieMexican Manhunt
1953
as David L. 'Dave' Brady
MovieTangier Incident
1953
as Steve Gordon
MovieMontana Belle
1952
as Tom Bradfield
MovieThe Last Page
1952
as John Harman
MovieFBI Girl
1951
as Jeff Donley
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Sam Bentley
MovieBride for Sale
1949
as Paul Martin
MovieThe Kid from Cleveland
1949
as Mike Jackson
MovieIllegal Entry
1949
as Chief Agent Dan Collins
MovieRed Canyon
1949
as Matthew Bostel
MovieLuxury Liner
1948
as Captain Jeremy Bradford
MovieAngel on the Amazon
1948
as Jim Warburton
MovieChristmas Eve
1947
as Michael Brooks
MovieSlave Girl
1947
as Matt Claibourne
MovieThe Corpse Came C.O.D.
1947
as Joe Medford
MovieOut of the Blue
1947
as Arthur Earthleigh
MovieTemptation
1946
as Nigel Armine
MovieLover Come Back
1946
as Bill Williams
MovieTomorrow Is Forever
1946
as Lawrence Hamilton
MovieThe Spiral Staircase
1946
as Professor Warren
MovieMy Reputation
1946
as Major Scott Landis
MovieThe Affairs of Susan
1945
as Roger Berton
MovieBreakdowns of 1944
1944
as Self
MovieExperiment Perilous
1944
as Dr. Huntington Bailey
MovieBreakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
MovieSilver Queen
1942
as James Kincaid
MovieYou Can't Escape Forever
1942
as Steve Mitchell
MovieThe Gay Sisters
1942
as Charles Barclay
MovieIn This Our Life
1942
as Craig Fleming
MovieTwin Beds
1942
as Mike Abbott
MovieInternational Lady
1941
as Tim Hanley
MovieThey Dare Not Love
1941
as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg
MovieThe Great Lie
1941
as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen
MovieHoneymoon for Three
1941
as Kenneth Bixby
MovieBreakdowns of 1940
1940
as Self
MovieSouth of Suez
1940
as John Gamble
MovieThe Man Who Talked Too Much
1940
as Stephen Forbes
Movie'Til We Meet Again
1940
as Dan Hardesty
MovieAdventure in Diamonds
1940
as Capt. Stephen Dennett
MovieThe Fighting 69th
1940
as Wild Bill Donovan
MovieThe Rains Came
1939
as Tom Ransome
MovieThe Old Maid
1939
as Clem Spender
MovieLand of Liberty
1939
as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel')
MovieDark Victory
1939
as Dr. Frederick Steele
MovieWings of the Navy
1939
as Cass Harrington
MovieBreakdowns of 1938
1938
as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieSwingtime in the Movies
1938
as Himself (uncredited)
MovieSecrets of an Actress
1938
as Richard 'Dick' Orr
MovieRacket Busters
1938
as Denny Jordan
MovieOut Where the Stars Begin
1938
as Jared Whitney (archive footage)
MovieJezebel
1938
as Buck Cantrell
MovieGold Is Where You Find It
1938
as Jared Whitney
MovieBreakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
MovieSubmarine D-1
1937
as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews
MovieThe Go-Getter
1937
as Bill Austin
MovieMountain Justice
1937
as Paul Cameron
MovieGod's Country and the Woman
1937
as Steve Russett
MovieBreakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
MovieMore Than a Secretary
1936
as Fred Gilbert
MovieGive Me Your Heart
1936
as James 'Jim' Baker
MovieThe Golden Arrow
1936
as Johnny Jones
MovieThe Case Against Mrs. Ames
1936
as Matt Logan
MovieSnowed Under
1936
as Alan Tanner
MovieA Dream Comes True
1935
as Himself (uncredited)
MovieThings You Never See on the Screen
1935
as Self
MovieIn Person
1935
as Emory Muir
MovieThe Goose and the Gander
1935
as Bob McNear
MovieSpecial Agent
1935
as Bill Bradford
MovieFront Page Woman
1935
as Curt Devlin
MovieStranded
1935
as Mack Hale
MovieLiving on Velvet
1935
as Terry Parker
MovieThe Right to Live
1935
as Colin Trent
MovieThe Painted Veil
1934
as Jack Townsend
MovieDesirable
1934
as McAllister
MovieHousewife
1934
as William H. Reynolds
MovieStamboul Quest
1934
as Douglas Beall
MovieFrom Headquarters
1933
as Lt. Jim Stevens
MovieFemale
1933
as Jim Thorne
MovieBaby Face
1933
as Courtland Trenholm
MovieLilly Turner
1933
as Bob Chandler
MovieThe Keyhole
1933
as Neil Davis
Movie42nd Street
1933
as Pat Denning
MovieLuxury Liner
1933
as Dr. Karl Bernhard
MovieThey Call It Sin
1932
as Dr. Tony Travers
MovieThe Crash
1932
as Geoffrey Gault
MovieThe Purchase Price
1932
as Jim Gilson
MovieWeek-End Marriage
1932
as Peter Acton
MovieMiss Pinkerton
1932
as Police Inspector Patten
MovieThe Rich Are Always with Us
1932
as Julian Tierney
MovieSo Big!
1932
as Adult Roelf Pool
MovieThe Lightning Warrior
1931
as Alan Scott
MovieHomicide Squad
1931
as Jimmy
MovieEx-Bad Boy
1931
as Donald Swift
MovieCharlie Chan Carries On
1931
as Capt. Ronald Keane
MovieFair Warning
1931
as Les Haines
MovieOnce a Sinner
1931
as James Brent
MovieUnder Suspicion
1930
as Inspector Turner
MovieThe Iron Horse
1925
as Worker (uncredited)
