Wilda Bennett (December 19, 1894 – December 20, 1967) was an American actress in musical comedies and in film. Her tumultuous personal life also kept her in the headlines.
Wilda Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Bennett in Who's Who on the Screen, 1920 | |
| Born | December 19, 1894 |
| Died | December 20, 1967 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouses |
|
Early life
Bennett was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[1][2] Bennett's father was John H. Bennett, a city building inspector.[3]
Career
Bennett's Broadway credits included Everywoman (1911-1912), A Good Little Devil (1913), The Only Girl (1914-1915), The Riviera Girl (1917), The Girl Behind the Gun (1918-1919), Apple Blossoms (1919-1920), Music Box Revue (1921-1922), The Lady in Ermine (1922-1923),[4] and the title role in Madame Pompadour (1924-1925). She had a "sweet" soprano voice.[3]Bennett's later stage appearances were in Lovely Lady (1928),[5] and Merrily We Roll Along (1934).[6] She reprised her title role in The Only Girl for a radio production in 1927.[7]
Films featuring Wilda Bennett included A Good Little Devil (1914, lost), Love, Honor and Obey (1920), Bullets or Ballots (1936), Dark Victory (1939), The Women (1939), What a Life (1939), Ninotchka (1939), Those Were the Days! (1940), and The Lady Eve (1941).
Personal life
Bennett's personal life involved multiple legal troubles that brought additional, ongoing, national press attention.[8] In 1925, she was sued for $100,000 by a woman named Katherine Frey, who believed that Bennett had been her husband Charles Frey's lover. Katherine Frey won a judgment of $25,000 in the case.[9] While the lawsuit was still pending, Charles Frey was driving Bennett's car when it struck a young woman, who was killed. Bennett was a passenger in the car.[10] In 1927, she was sued for the care expenses of a horse she once owned.[11] In 1928, she was sued for damages by a landlord who said Bennett destroyed furniture and removed other items from a rented apartment. Bennett lost that case, too, and had to pay $400 to the landlord.[12] In 1930, Bennett sued Anthony J. Wettach after another car accident; she ended up marrying him instead.[13] In 1932, she was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly.[14]
Bennett was married four times. Her husbands were, in order, actor-producer Robert Schable (divorced in 1920), Argentine dancer Abraham "Peppy" de Albrew (married 1926, separated in 1927),[15][16] Anthony J. Wettach (married 1930, divorced 1933),[17] and mining engineer Munro Whitmore (died 1960).
Bennett died on December 20, 1967, in Winnemucca, Nevada.[18][19]
References
External links
- Wilda Bennett at IMDb
- Wilda Bennett's listing at IBDB
- Wilda Bennett's listing at AllMusic
- An undated photograph of Wilda Bennett in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections
- A 1926 photograph of Wilda Bennett in the J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, Digital Collections