Barbara Bennett

Barbara Bennett

Barbara Jane Bennett (August 13, 1906 – August 8, 1958) was an American silent film actress.

Born into an acting family, she was the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison. Her sisters were actresses Constance and Joan Bennett.

Bennett married three times in her lifetime. Her first husband was tenor Morton Downey. They married on January 28, 1929, and had five children: adopted son Michael, daughter Lorelle, and sons Morton Downey Jr, who would go on to fame as a television personality, Anthony, and Kevin. They divorced in June 1941. Bennett later married actor Addison Randall, a popular romantic star and singing cowboy at the time. On July 16, 1945, Randall died after suffering a heart attack and falling from a horse during the filming of The Royal Mounted Rides Again. Bennett married Laurent Suprenant in 1954. They remained together until her death four years later.

Many people believe Bennett was portrayed in the 1981 film Mommie Dearest by actress Jocelyn Brando, older sister of actor Marlon Brando, but this is not the case. It is a coincidence that the Redbook writer in the movie has the same name. Bennett was never a magazine writer. She held sporadic jobs, once as a literary rep for producer Walter Wanger. Bennett scouted best-sellers and the like as potential movie properties, especially for Wanger's wife, her sister Joan.