Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 - July 24, 1965) was a US actress known as much for her elegant persona as for her acting career. Largely underrated today, Bennett was one of Hollywood's most luminous stars, delivering amusing, madcap, and occasionally arch performances that belie her ornamental reputation. October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... New York, NY redirects here. ... NY redirects here. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Fort Dix is a census-designated place located in Burlington County, New Jersey. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... Henri le Bailly, the Marquis de La Coudraye de La Falaise (or Henry de la Falaise for short) (1898 - 1972) was a French nobleman and film director. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... See also: 1903 in film 1904 1905 in film years in film film Events The Great Train Robbery, by Siegmund Lubin (a remake of the 1903 classic. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... // Events Top grossing films North America Mary Poppins The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews Goldfinger My Fair Lady Whats New Pussycat? Shenandoah The Sandpiper Father Goose Academy Awards Best Picture: The Sound of Music - Argyle, Twentieth Century-Fox Best Actor: Lee Marvin - Cat Ballou Best Actress: Julie Christie... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor or actress is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ...

Early life

Born in New York City, she was the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison whose African descendant father was the stage actor Morris W. Morris, and the eldest sister of actresses Barbara Bennett and Joan Bennett. New York, NY redirects here. ... Morris W. Morris as Mephistopheles in Faust Morris W. Morris stage name Lewis Morrison (1845) Jamaica West Indies 20 August 1906 Long Island, New York was a stage actor best known for his longtime performance in the role of Mephistopheles in Faust. ... Joan Bennett on the December, 1945 issue of Movie Story Magazine Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American film actress who also achieved success later in life as a television actress. ...

Career

Independent, cultured, ironic and outspoken, Constance, first Bennett sister to enter films, appeared in New York-produced silents before a chance meeting with Samuel Goldwyn led to her Hollywood debut in Cytherea (1924). NY redirects here. ... // Samuel Goldwyn (July, 1879, Warsaw, Poland – January 31, 1974, Los Angeles, California, United States) was a widely known motion picture producer and founding contributor of several motion picture studios. ... ...

She abandoned a burgeoning career in silents for marriage to Philip Plant in 1925; She resumed her film career after divorce, with the advent of talking pictures (1929), and with her delicate blonde features and glamorous fashion style, quickly became a popular film star. 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A 1931 contract with Warner Brothers Studios earned her $300,000 for two movies and made her one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. The next year she moved to RKO, where she acted in What Price Hollywood? (1932), directed by George Cukor, an ironic and at the same time tragic behind-the-scenes looks at the old Hollywood studio system, in which she gave her finest performance. In this movie she is a star-struck waitress, named Mary Evans, who manages to make a good impression on a prominent film director (played by Lowell Sherman); with his patronage she became a movie star. While the director has some serious alcoholic problems, she marries a wealthy playboy (played by Neil Hamilton), who genuinely loves his wife but is jealous of the demands made on her by her career. He leaves her, but not before Mary has been impregnated. She begins to turn her attentions to her mentor, but it is too late: he kills himself in her bedroom. Hoping to heal her emotional wounds, Mary flees to Paris with her child, where she is reunited with her contrite husband. 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... The WB Shield, used from 2001 to late 2003. ... ... RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 RKO film drama starring Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman. ... George Dewey Cukor (July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director. ... ... The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s. ... Lowell Sherman (October 11, 1885 San Francisco - December 28, 1934 Hollywood, California) was an American actor and director. ... Neil Hamilton (9 September 1899–24 September 1984) was an American actor famous for his role as Commissioner Gordon on the Batman TV series of the 1960s. ...

Bennett next showed her versatility in the likes of Our Betters (1933), Bed of Roses (1933) with Pert Kelton, The Affairs of Cellini (1934), After Office Hours (1935) with Clark Gable, Topper (1937, in a career standout as ghostess-with-the-mostest Marian Kerby opposite Cary Grant, a role she repeated in the 1939 sequel, Topper Takes a Trip), Merrily We Live (1938) and Two-Faced Woman (1941, in a hilarious performance supporting Greta Garbo). Bed of Roses (1933) is an extremely bawdy pre-Hayes Code comedy featuring Constance Bennett and Pert Kelton (the original Alice in Jackie Gleasons The Honeymooners) as a pair of rollickingly bawdy prostitutes who occasionally get hapless male admirers drunk before robbing them, at least until the girls are... Pert Kelton (1907-1968) was an American vaudeville, movie, and television actress. ... The Affairs of Cellini is a 1934 comedy film which tells the story of the amorous Benvenuto Cellini and his various love affairs. ... After Office Hours is a 1935 film starring Clark Gable and Constance Bennett and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Topper is a 1937 comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. ... Archibald Alec Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his screen name, Cary Grant, was a British-born film actor. ... Topper is a 1937 comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. ... Merrily We Live is a 1938 film with Billie Burke. ... Two-Faced Woman is a 1941 romantic comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt from a screenplay by S. N. Behrman, Salka Viertel and George Oppenheimer, based on a play by Ludwig Fulda. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

She was a close friend of Gloria Morgan-Vanderbilt, and despite the potential harm to her career, stood by Vanderbilt all through her notorious 1934 child custody trial. She married her third husband, the actor Gilbert Roland in 1941 and had three children with him, before they divorced in 1946. By this time she was working less frequently in film but was in demand in both radio and theatre. Her shrewd investments had made her a very wealthy woman, and she founded a cosmetics and clothing company that added to her wealth, but Bennett enjoyed being a celebrity and so continued to work. Gloria Laura Mercedes Morgan Vanderbilt (August 23, 1904–February 13, 1965) was a socialite best known as the mother of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt. ... Gilbert Roland (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994) was an American actor. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ...

Personal life

• Bennett married Philip Plant in 1925, they divorced in 1929.

• She captured numerous headlines in 1931, when she married one of Gloria Swanson's former husbands, Henri le Bailly, the Marquis de La Coudraye de La Falaise (1898-1972), a French nobleman and film director. Bennett and de la Falaise founded Bennett Pictures Corp. and co-produced two films which were the last filmed in Hollywood in the two-strip Technicolor process, Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1935) filmed in Bali, and Kilou the Killer Tiger (1936), filmed in Indochina. They were divorced in 1940.

• In June 1946 the 41-year-old actress married US Air Force Colonel John Theron Coulter, who was then 34. After her marriage, she concentrated her efforts on providing relief entertainment to US troops still stationed in Europe, winning military honors for her services.

Gloria Swanson (March 27, 1897 - April 4, 1983), an American Hollywood actress, was prolific during the silent film era, but saw her career go into decline with the advent of talkies. She is now best known for her comeback role in the film (1950), in which -- mirroring her own life... Henri le Bailly, the Marquis de La Coudraye de La Falaise (or Henry de la Falaise for short) (1898 - 1972) was a French nobleman and film director. ... Publicity poster for original release (note misspelled word) Legong: Dance of the Virgins was one of the last feature films shot using the two-color Technicolor process. ... Bali is an Indonesian island located at , the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...

After World War II

She made no films from the early 1950s until 1965 when she made a comeback in the film Madame X (released posthumously in 1966), still looking chic while playing Lana Turner's mother-in-law. Shortly after filming was completed, Bennett collapsed and died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 60. Madame X is the title of several movies, all with the same plot. ... Lana Turner (February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995) was an Academy award-nominated American film actress. ... A cerebral hemorrhage is a bleed into the substance of the cerebrum. ...

In recognition of her military contributions, and as the wife of Coulter, who had by then achieved the rank of Brigadier General, she was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Coulter died in 1995 and was buried with her. A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bennett has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Motion Pictures, at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard, a short distance from the star of her sister, Joan. A band plays on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ... Joan Bennett on the December, 1945 issue of Movie Story Magazine Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American film actress who also achieved success later in life as a television actress. ...

Filmography

1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Common Clay is a 1930 film by Victor Fleming. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 RKO film drama starring Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Bed of Roses (1933) is an extremely bawdy pre-Hayes Code comedy featuring Constance Bennett and Pert Kelton (the original Alice in Jackie Gleasons The Honeymooners) as a pair of rollickingly bawdy prostitutes who occasionally get hapless male admirers drunk before robbing them, at least until the girls are... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Affairs of Cellini is a 1934 comedy film which tells the story of the amorous Benvenuto Cellini and his various love affairs. ... After Office Hours is a 1935 film starring Clark Gable and Constance Bennett and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ladies in Love is a 1936 movie romantic comedy starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett, Loretta Young, Simone Simon, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas, and Tyrone Power. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Topper is a 1937 comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. ... Merrily We Live is a 1938 film with Billie Burke. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Two-Faced Woman is a 1941 romantic comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt from a screenplay by S. N. Behrman, Salka Viertel and George Oppenheimer, based on a play by Ludwig Fulda. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Unsuspected is a 1947 film starring Claude Rains. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... It Should Happen to You is a 1954 motion picture comedy starring Judy Holliday, notable as the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Madame X is the title of several movies, all with the same plot. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

External links

• Constance Bennett at the Internet Movie Database
• Constance Bennett at the TCM Movie Database
• Constance Bennett at the Internet Broadway Database
• Constance Bennett Photo Gallery