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Helen Menken
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Helen Menken | |
 from the film Stage Door Canteen (1943). |
|
| Birth name | Helen Meinken |
| Born | December 12, 1901 New York, New York, USA |
| Died | March 27, 1966 New York, New York, USA |
Helen Menken (born Helen Meinken) (December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American actress.
Born in New York City, Menken was originally a teenaged actress who made her Broadway 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 as Elizabeth Tudor opposite Helen Hayes in the title role, and The Old Maid. the Pulitzer Prize winning play that starred Menken and Judith Anderson in 1935. Bette Davis would recreate Menken's role as the spinster with a secret in the 1939 classic film.
Menken's final Broadway appearance was in an unsuccessful play "The Laughing Woman" which ran for less than a month in 1937. She was active on radio in the 1940's (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 special Tony Award posthumously in 1966 for her work.
She was the first wife of actor Humphrey Bogart, the first of her three husbands, from 1926 to 1928.
Helen Menken died from a heart attack in 1966 at the age of 65.
- Helen Menken at the IMDb