- Helen Menken
Infobox actor
name = Helen Menken
imagesize = 150px
caption = from the film "Stage Door Canteen " (1943).
birthdate = birth date|1901|12|12|mf=y
birthplace =New York, New York ,United States
deathdate = death date and age|1966|3|27|1901|12|12|mf=y
deathplace =New York, New York ,United States
spouse =Humphrey Bogart
(1926 – 1928)
Henry T. Smith
(1932 – 1947)
George N. Richard
(1948 – 1966)Helen Menken (
December 12 ,1901 –March 27 ,1966 ) was an American actress, born Helen Meinken to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden.Born in
New York City , Menken was originally a teenage actress who made herBroadway theatre debut in "Parlor, Bedroom and Bath" in 1917. Her greatest stage triumphs were "Seventh Heaven" in 1922 – 1924 (Janet Gaynor played her role of Diane in the 1927 classic film); "Mary of Scotland " in 1933 – 1934 asElizabeth I oppositeHelen Hayes in the title role (Katharine Hepburn played Mary in the 1936 film version); and "The Old Maid", thePulitzer Prize -winning play that starred Menken andJudith Anderson in 1935.Bette Davis would recreate Menken's role as the spinster with a secret in the 1939 film version.Menken's final Broadway appearance was in an unsuccessful play named "The Laughing Woman", which ran for less than a month in 1937. She was active on radio in the 1940s (notably recreating her performance opposite Judith Anderson in a 1946 radio adaption of "The Old Maid") and a major presence behind the scenes in the theater world, especially at the
American Theatre Wing . She received a specialTony Award posthumously in 1966 for her work.The first of her three husbands was actor
Humphrey Bogart . She was Bogart's first wife. They were married at theGramercy Park Hotel inNew York City onMay 20 ,1926 , they divorcedNovember 18 ,1927 . She married Dr. Henry T. Smith onJuly 12 ,1932 and they divorced in 1947, then married George N. Richard in October, 1948 who survived her. Helen Menken died from a heart attack at a party atThe Lambs onMarch 27 ,1966 at the age of 64.Menken made a
short film inNew York City in 1925 forLee DeForest , filmed in the short-lived DeForestPhonofilm sound-on-film process. The film is preserved in the Maurice Zouary collection at theLibrary of Congress .External links
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=22221 Helen Menken at the Internet Broadway Database]
*
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