From Wikipedia Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American actress. She started off with a spell in a convent but decided to go into the family business. Independent, cultured, ironic and outspoken, Constance, the first Bennett sister to enter motion pictures, appeared in New York-produced silent movies before a meeting with Samuel Goldwyn led to her Hollywood debut in Cytherea (1924). She abandoned a burgeoning career in silents for marriage to Philip Plant in 1925; She resumed her film career after their divorce, with the advent of talking pictures (1929), and with her delicate blonde features and glamorous fashion style, she quickly became a popular film star. In 1931, a short-lived contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer earned her $300,000 for two movies which included The Easiest Way and made her one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. Warner Brothers paid her the all-time high salary of $30,000 a week for "Bought!" in 1931. Richard Bennett, her father, was also cast in this film. 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 one of her finest performances. Bennett next showed her versatility in the likes of Our Betters (1933), Bed of Roses (1933) with Pert Kelton, After Tonight (1933) (co-starring with future husband Gilbert Roland), The Affairs of Cellini (1934), After Office Hours (1935) with Clark Gable, the original Topper (1937, in a career standout as Marian Kerby opposite Cary Grant, a role she repeated in the 1939 sequel, Topper Takes a Trip), the ultimate madcap family comedy Merrily We Live (1938) and Two-Faced Woman (1941, supporting Greta Garbo). By the 1940s, Bennett was working less frequently in film but was in demand in both radio and theatre. Shrewd investments had made her a wealthy woman, and she founded a cosmetics and clothing company. She had a major supporting role in Warner Bros.'s The Unsuspected (1947) opposite Claude Rains, in which she played the program director who helps prove that Rains is guilty of murder. She made no films from the early 1950s until 1965 when she made a comeback in the film Madame X (released posthumously in 1966) playing Lana Turner's mother-in-law. Shortly after filming was completed, Bennett collapsed and died from a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 60. In recognition of her military contributions, and as the wife of Theron John Coulter, who had achieved the rank of brigadier general, she was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Coulter died in 1995 and was buried with her. 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.
Movie | Hollywood, la vie rêvée de Lana Turner | Self (archive footage) | 2019-05-22 |
Movie | Becoming Cary Grant | Self (archive footage) | 2017-05-23 |
Movie | Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood | Valerie West (archive footage) | 2008-03-03 |
Movie | Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) | 1984-01-01 |
Movie | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
Movie | That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
Movie | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
Movie | Madame X | Estelle Anderson | 1966-03-03 |
Series | The Ann Sothern Show | Unknown | 1958-10-06 |
Movie | It Should Happen to You | Guest Panelist | 1954-01-15 |
Movie | As Young as You Feel | Lucille McKinley | 1951-06-15 |
Series | Robert Montgomery Presents | Unknown | 1950-01-30 |
Series | Your Show of Shows | Unknown | 1950-02-25 |
Series | Suspense | Unknown | 1949-01-06 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Unknown | 1948-06-20 |
Movie | Smart Woman | Paula Rogers | 1948-04-30 |
Movie | Angel on the Amazon | Dr. Karen Lawrence | 1948-11-01 |
Movie | The Unsuspected | Jane Moynihan | 1947-10-11 |
Movie | Centennial Summer | Zenia Lascalles | 1946-07-10 |
Movie | Paris Underground | Kitty de Mornay | 1945-10-18 |
Movie | Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Belle Andrews | 1942-01-31 |
Movie | Sin Town | Kye Allen | 1942-09-25 |
Movie | Madame Spy | Joan Bannister | 1942-12-11 |
Movie | Law of the Tropics | Joan Madison aka Miss Moore and Laura | 1941-10-04 |
Movie | Two-Faced Woman | Griselda Vaughn | 1941-12-31 |
Movie | Escape to Glory | Christine Blaine | 1940-05-20 |
Movie | Tail Spin | Gerry Lester | 1939-02-19 |
Movie | Merrily We Live | Jerry Kilbourne | 1938-03-04 |
Movie | Service de Luxe | Helen Murphy | 1938-10-12 |
Movie | Topper Takes a Trip | Marion Kerby | 1938-12-29 |
Movie | Daily Beauty Rituals | Herself | 1937-01-23 |
Movie | Topper | Marion Kerby | 1937-07-16 |
Movie | Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12 | Self (uncredited) | 1937-08-13 |
Movie | Everything Is Thunder | Anna von Stucknadel | 1936-09-30 |
Movie | Ladies In Love | Yoli Haydn | 1936-10-09 |
Movie | Starlit Days at the Lido | Self | 1935-09-28 |
Movie | After Office Hours | Sharon Norwood | 1935-02-22 |
Movie | The Affairs of Cellini | Duchess of Florence | 1934-08-24 |
Movie | Moulin Rouge | Helen Hall / Raquel | 1934-01-10 |
Movie | Outcast Lady | Iris | 1934-09-28 |
Movie | Our Betters | Lady Pearl Grayston | 1933-03-17 |
Movie | Bed of Roses | Lorry Evans | 1933-06-29 |
Movie | After Tonight | Carla Vanirska | 1933-11-10 |
Movie | Lady with a Past | Venice Muir | 1932-02-19 |
Movie | What Price Hollywood? | Mary Evans | 1932-06-24 |
Movie | Rockabye | Judy Carroll | 1932-11-25 |
Movie | Two Against the World | Adele Hamilton | 1932-09-03 |
Movie | The Easiest Way | Laura Murdock | 1931-02-07 |
Movie | Born to Love | Doris Kendall | 1931-04-17 |
Movie | The Common Law | Valerie West | 1931-07-17 |
Movie | Bought! | Stephanie Dale | 1931-08-22 |
Movie | Son of the Gods | Allana Wagner | 1930-03-09 |
Movie | Three Faces East | Frances Hawtree / Z-1 | 1930-07-18 |
Movie | Sin Takes a Holiday | Sylvia Brenner | 1930-11-10 |
Movie | Common Clay | Ellen Neal | 1930-08-01 |
Movie | This Thing Called Love | Ann Marvin | 1929-12-13 |
Movie | Married? | Marcia Livingston | 1926-02-17 |
Movie | The Goose Woman | Hazel Woods | 1925-08-02 |
Movie | Code of the West | Georgie May | 1925-04-06 |
Movie | My Son | Betty Smith | 1925-04-19 |
Movie | Sally, Irene and Mary | Sally Fitzgerald | 1925-12-27 |
Movie | The Pinch Hitter | Abby Nettleton | 1925-12-13 |
Movie | Cytherea | Annette Sherman | 1924-05-04 |
Movie | Into the Net | Madge Clayton, his sister | 1924-08-03 |
Movie | Reckless Youth | Chorus Girl | 1922-03-30 |
Movie | Evidence | Edith | 1922-05-05 |
Movie | What's Wrong with the Women? | Elise Bascom | 1922-09-12 |
Movie | The Valley of Decision | Unborn soul | 1916-12-04 |