Bertee Beaumont (1970 - 1934)

Entertainer.  Born in Memphis,  Tennessee,  she was discovered at a local music hall by veteran performer  Otis Harlan,  who invited her to join his vaudeville act.  She later formed a popular song-and-dance duet with her husband,  Jack Arnold.  An excellent dancer and skilled comedienne,  the sleek,  sultry Beaumont went on to play vamps and sophisticated […]

Jeanette Beaudine (1920 - 2003)

Actress. Beaudine was a long-time stand-in for actress Helen Hayes and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Before turning to acting, she owned a celebrity-populated vacation resort, bar and restaturant on Harsen’s Island, Michigan. In 1957 on the advice of friend and producer, Jack Rose, her and husband Al moved to Los Angeles, California, […]

Ethel Beard (1918 - 2003)

Actress. Beard appeared on radio in the 1940s with the likes of Hume Cronyn, Jonathan Winters, and Sid Caesar, as part of the Experimental Radio Theater, also known as, Experimental Playhouse of the Air. From 1960 to 1962, Beard was a hostess on Merv Griffin’s television game show, “Play Your Hunch.”  Family links:  Spouse:  William […]

Mary Bear (1910 - 1972)

Actress. Born Mary Baer in Los Angeles, California, she was regular performer in films of the 1940s to 1950s. Her credits included “The Lady In Ermine” (1948), “Johnny Allegro” (1949), “The Life of Riley” (1949), “Stella” (1950), “Mother Didn’t Tell Me” (1950), “Singing Guns” (1950) and I‘ll Cry Tomorrow” (1955). (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)

Mary Egan Beal (1970 - 1929)

Early silent screen actress. Married to actor Frank Beal. (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Spouse:  Frank Beal (1862 – 1934)Cause of death: Pneumonia

Brigid Bazlen (1944 - 1989)

Actress. She was discovered at the age of seven when an NBC executive saw her waiting for a school bus in front of her home. For two years she played the role of the daughter on an early television soap opera called Hawkins Falls which was produced in Chicago. In 1958, she played the self […]

Beverly Bayne (1893 - 1982)

Motion picture and stage Actress. Born Pearl Von Name, she appeared in silent Hollywood romances such as: “White Roses” “The Old Wedding Dress,” “Romeo and Juliet”  and “One Wonderful Night.” In 1918 she secretly married Francis X. Bushman, but eventually the two were publicly divorced a few years later. As a result her career as […]

Paule Bayard (1931 - 1975)

Actress. Bayard appeared in the films, “Bingo” (1974), and “Tiens-Toi Bien Apres Les Oreilles A Papa” (1971). She also appeared on the television shows, “Pepinot Et Capucine” from 1952 to 1954, and “Le Courrier Du Roy” from 1958 to 1961. Also a talented voice actress she did the voice of the puppet character, ‘Bobinette’ on […]

Frances Bay (1919 - 2011)

Actress.  Petite, soft spoken, and kindly elderly character actress.  Best remembered for her role as Adam Sandler’s grandmother in the 1996 film “Happy Gilmore,” and for her guest appearance as ‘Mabel Choate’ the woman  from whom Jerry Seinfeld stole a loaf of marble rye bread on “Seinfeld.”  Born in Canada, she acted locally for many […]

May Baxter (1970 - 1934)

Actress. She appeared in the films, “Penrod” (1922), and “The Sins Of St. Anthony” (1920).  Family links:  Spouse:  Leeds Lincoln Baxter (1883 – 1933)* *Calculated relationship

Barbara Angie Rose Baxley (1923 - 1990)

Actress. Born in Porterville, California, she had many television and film roles, being best remembered for portraying Sally Field’s mother in “Norma Rae” (1979). She began her career on Broadway in 1948 and made her film debut in “East of Eden” (1955). Her other films included “The Savage Eye” (1959), “Nashville” (1975), “All That Glitters” […]

Frances Elizabeth Bavier (1902 - 1989)

Actress, most noted for her performance as “Aunt Bee” on the Andy Griffith Show TV series. She appeared in 10 films and 4 television series. Born in New York City, she began her acting career in April 1925, on Broadway, in the play “The Poor Nut.” During World War II, she travelled with the USO […]

Jeannette Batti (1921 - 2011)

Actress. She was seen in numerous French film and television features over a long career. Born Henriette Eugenie Genot, she made her silver screen bow as Lulu in 1945’s “The King of the Free Riders”. Jeannette eventually had roughly three dozen movie roles including Mona in the 1946 “Macadam”, Claudia in “Paris is Always Paris” […]

Arletty-Leonie Bathiat (1898 - 1992)

Noted French Actress on Stage and Screen. She is best remembered for her films: “Les Perles de la Couronne” (1937), “Hôtel du Nord” (1938), “Le Jour se Lève” (1939), “Madame Sans-Gêne” (1941), “Les Enfants du Paradis” (1945), “Le Grand Jeu” (1954), “Huis Clos” (1954) and “Les Petits Matins” (1962). She was cremated. (bio by: José […]

Jeanne Bates (1918 - 2007)

Actress. She began her career in radio soap operas and signed to Columbia Pictures in 1942. In 1943 she debuted in the Boston Blackie mystery “The Chance of a Lifetime”,  followed by starring as heroine in “The Phantom”. Her notable film credits include “Death of a Salesman” (1951), “Blood Arrow” (1958), “Eraserhead” (1977), “Die Hard […]

Alexandra Bastedo (1946 - 2014)

Actress. A glamorous blonde who earned numerous credits over a long career, she shall be remembered as Sharron Macready, a secret agent on the late 1960s science fiction series “The Champions”. Raised in Brighton, she wanted to be a veterinarian from the time she was three but while still in her teens was ‘discovered’ and […]

Betty Bascomb (1914 - 2003)

Actress. Born in London, England, she began performing in traveling shows and made her film debut in “Bad Bascomb” (1946). Her other movies included “It Always Rains On Sunday” (1948), “Tread Softly” (1952), “Father Brown” (1954), “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956), Your Money Or Your Wife” (1960) and “Dr. Crippen” (1962),. She also […]

Laurie Lee Bartram (1958 - 2007)

American Actress. She was an actress and ballet dancer who started in 1973. She is perhaps best known for her role as the camp counselor Brenda in the original film Friday the 13th, a performance where she was praised as one of the more “likeable” characters in the film. She also appeared in the soap […]

Lyle Barton (1889 - 1971)

Actress. Appeared in motion pictures from the 1920s to the 1940s. Also known as Lyle Tayo, she appeared in several “Our Gang” comedies in the early 1930s, usually playing a mother or aunt to one of the kids. She worked with comedy legends Laurel and Hardy in some of their films, as well. Her grave […]

Georgiana Emma Drew Barrymore (1854 - 1893)

Actress. She debutted in “The Ladies’ Battle” at the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia in 1872. She subsequently appeared in “As You Like It,” “Frou-Frou,” “The School for Scandal,” “The Senator”. She married actor Maurice Barrymore (Blythe) in 1876, and was the mother of stage and film stars Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore. She died […]

Viola Barry (1894 - 1964)

Actress. She was born Gladys Viola Wilson in Evanston, Illinois the daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson. She moved with her family to Berkeley, California. In 1910, Barry signed with the Belasco Theater Company to be their new ingénue. Prior to this, she had four years of stage experience, two of these with Benson’s Shakespearean Company […]

Bessie Barriscale (1884 - 1965)

Silent movie actress. Cousin of actresses Edith Taliaferro and Mabel Taliaferro, Barriscale was a major star for producer Thomas Ince in the 1910s. She co-starred with her actor/director husband Howard Hickman in several productions, and was still a star in the 1920s. In the 1930s she was usually playing somebody’s mother or maid. Mary Pickford […]

Wendy Barrie (1912 - 1978)

British Actress. Her godfather was the Scottish novelist-playwright J.M. Barrie, in whose “Peter Pan” there was a character called Wendy. Her films include “The Hound of the Baskervilles”  (1939) and  best remembered for her portrayal of Jane Seymour (Royal Wife No. 3) in  ‘The Private Life of Henry VIII’ (1933). She was the hostess of […]

Linda Barrett (1910 - 1986)

Actress. Appeared in the 1963 cult classic film “Shock Corridor.” Married to actor Victor Sutherland. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Victor Sutherland (1889 – 1968)* *Calculated relationship

Lita Baron (1923 - 2015)

Actress. Born Isabel Beth Castro, her family relocated to Michigan when she was five years old. Lita began her career in entertainment as a singer and dancer with bandleader Xavier Cugat. This led to her film debut in “That’s My Baby!” (1944) and she followed this with a string of pictures including “Pan-Americana” (1945), “The […]

Binnie Barnes (1903 - 1998)

Actress. Born in London, England, she was a versatile performer in comedies or dramas. She began appearing in short films in 1929 and made her first full length feature in “A Night in Montmartre” (1931). She remained active for over 40 years appearing in many films to include “The Private Life of Henry VIII” (1934), […]

Lynn Bari (1913 - 1989)

Actress. She is remembered for her portray of sultry, statuesque man-killers in over 100 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s. During World War II, she was a favorite American soldier’s pin-up girl with names like “The Woo Woo Girl” and “The Girl with the Million Dollar Figure.” Her film and […]

Clarice Roma Bard (1919 - 1947)

Stage and screen actress. Wife of actor Ben Bard until her death. She died following a long illness.  Family links:  Spouse:  Ben Bard (1893 – 1974)* *Calculated relationship

Joan Barclay (1914 - 2002)

Actress. Born Mary Elizabeth Greear, she made her screen debut in “The Gaucho,” which starred Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Later she co-starred in several B-Westerns including: “Six-Gun Rhythm” with Tex Fletcher; and “Riding the Wind.” Also she was the heroine in serials such as “The Shadow of Chinatown” and “Blake of Scotland Yard.”  (bio by: MC) […]

Madeleine Barbulée (1910 - 2001)

Actress. She was born in Nancy, France. In her long career that spanned more than fifty years, she appeared in over 125 films. She began her career on stage, become a leading lady in Comédie des Enfants in the 1940s. On cinema, she is best remembered in “Rome-Express” (1949), “The Diary of Major Thompson” (1955), […]