Barbara Kent
Encyclopedia
Barbara Kent was a Canadian-born U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress. Following the death of Miriam Seegar
Miriam Seegar
Miriam Seegar Whelan , was an American silent film actress.-Early Life:Born in Greentown, Indiana, Her parents were teachers. She was one of four daughters. Her father later opened up a hardware store but died when Miriam was 14. The third of four talented sisters: Dr...
, she was the last North American actor still alive to have achieved substantial fame during the silent film era as an adult.
Career
Born as Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, AlbertaGadsby, Alberta
Gadsby is a small village in central Alberta, Canada, located east of Red Deer. Gadsby is officially the smallest village in Alberta. It was incorporated in 1909.-Name:...
, to Jullion Curtis and Lily Louise (née Kent) Cloutman, she won the 21-year-old Miss Hollywood Pageant in 1925, the same year she graduated from Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
.
She began her Hollywood career in 1925, aged 17, in a small role for Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, which signed her to a contract
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
that year. A brunette who stood less than five feet tall, Kent became popular as a comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
opposite such stars as Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny (actor)
Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
. She made a strong impression as the heroine pitted against Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
's femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
in Flesh and the Devil
Flesh and the Devil
Flesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann....
in 1926 after Universal had loaned Kent to MGM to make the film. She attracted attention in the 1927 film No Man's Law
No Man's Law
No Man's Law is a 1927 silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.-Cast:* Rex the Wonder Horse - Rex, a Wild Horse* Barbara Kent - Toby Belcher* James Finlayson - Jack Belcher * Theodore von Eltz - Spider O'Day...
by appearing to swim nude. She wore a flesh-coloured moleskin bathing suit in scenes that were considered very daring at the time. The popularity of this film led to her selection as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
for 1927. She made a smooth transition into talking pictures opposite Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
in the comedy Welcome Danger (1929). Kent was also featured with Lloyd in his iconic Feet First
Feet First
Feet First is a 1930 comedy film starring Harold Lloyd, a very popular daredevil comedian during the 1920s and early 1930s. It was Lloyd's second & most popular sound feature. It is also one of his 'thrill' comedies, involving him climbing up a tall building. Harold Lloyd was one of very few...
. Over the next few years, she remained popular and received critical praise for her role in the 1933
1933 in film
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
film version of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1933 film)
Oliver Twist is a 1933 American film directed by William J. Cowen. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's popular novel with the same name and was the first sound version of the classic. It stars Irving Pichel as Fagin, Dickie Moore as Oliver, Doris Lloyd as Nancy, and William "Stage" Boyd as...
.
Kent married talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
Harry Edington in Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
on her 25th birthday, December 16, 1932. During a one-year hiatus, Edington groomed Kent for what he intended to be a high-profile career, however by the time she returned to films, her popularity had waned and she was unable to establish herself again. She made her last appearance on screen with Columbia’s Under Age
Under Age (1941 film)
-Cast:* Nan Grey as Jane Baird* Alan Baxter as Tap Manson* Mary Anderson as Edie Baird* Tom Neal as Rocky Stone* Leona Maricle as Mrs. Burke aka The Widow* Don Beddoe as Albert Ward* Yolande Donlan as Lily Fletcher...
in 1941.
Later years and death
Following the death of her husband in 1949, Kent retreated from public life. She married Jack Monroe, an engineer, in 1954. They lived in Sun Valley, IdahoSun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
, later settling in Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
. She repeatedly refused to discuss her film career or grant interviews. Monroe died in 1998.
Kent died in Palm Desert on October 13, 2011 at the age of 103.
Filmography
- Flesh and the DevilFlesh and the DevilFlesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann....
(1926) - Prowlers of the Night (1926)
- The Lone Eagle (1927)
- No Man's LawNo Man's LawNo Man's Law is a 1927 silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.-Cast:* Rex the Wonder Horse - Rex, a Wild Horse* Barbara Kent - Toby Belcher* James Finlayson - Jack Belcher * Theodore von Eltz - Spider O'Day...
(1927) - The Small Bachelor (1927)
- The Drop Kick (1927)
- Modern Mothers (1928)
- Stop That Man (1928)
- That's My Daddy (1928)
- LonesomeLonesome"Lonesome" is a song by the San Diego-based rock band Unwritten Law, produced by Rick Parashar and released as the first single from the band's 1998 album Unwritten Law.-Track listing:-Band:*Scott Russo - vocals*Steve Morris - guitar...
(1928) - Welcome Danger (1929)
- The Shakedown (1929)
- Night Ride (1930)
- Dumbbells in Ermine (1930)
- Feet First (1930)
- What Men Want (1930)
- Freighters of Destiny (1931)
- Chinatown After DarkChinatown After Dark-Cast:*Carmel Myers as Madame Ying Su*Rex Lease as James 'Jim' Bonner*Barbara Kent as Lotus*Edmund Breese as Le Fong*Frank Mayo as Ralph Bonner*Billy Gilbert as Horatio Dooley*Michael Visaroff as Mr. Varonoff*Laska Winters as Ming Fu...
(1931) - Grief Street (1931)
- IndiscreetIndiscreet (1931 film)Indiscreet is an American comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Gloria Swanson and Ben Lyon. The screenplay by Buddy G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson, based on their story Obey That Impulse, originally was written as a full-fledged musical, but only two songs - "If You Haven't...
(1931) - Self Defense (1932)
- Pride of the Legion (1932)
- No Living Witness (1932)
- Beauty Parlor (1932)
- Vanity FairVanity Fair (1932 film)Vanity Fair is a modernized adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name that was directed by Chester M. Franklin and starred Myrna Loy. The story is reset in the twentieth century.-Other information:...
(1932) - Marriage on Approval (1933)
- Her Forgotten Past (1933)
- Oliver TwistOliver Twist (1933 film)Oliver Twist is a 1933 American film directed by William J. Cowen. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's popular novel with the same name and was the first sound version of the classic. It stars Irving Pichel as Fagin, Dickie Moore as Oliver, Doris Lloyd as Nancy, and William "Stage" Boyd as...
(1933) - Reckless Decision (1933)
- Swellhead (1935)
- Guard That Girl (1935)
External links
- http://www.archive.org/details/IndiscreetIndiscreet (1931) profile at Internet Archive; starred Gloria SwansonGloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Monroe OwsleyMonroe OwsleyMonroe Owsley was an American actor.Born in Atlanta, Georgia to aspiring actress Gertrude Owsley, he started taking acting classes when he was a teenager and made his Broadway debut in the 1920s. His film debut occurred in 1928 with The First Kiss, following with the character of young boy Ned in...
, and Kent]