Bernice Claire
Encyclopedia
Bernice Claire was an American
singer and actress. She appeared in 13 films between 1930
and 1938
.
. Possessed of a clear and pure coloratura voice, she took to the stage performing light opera and had no difficulty singing demanding roles. She met then-leading singer Alexander Gray and they appeared in three films together in 1930 for Warner Bros.
Gray and Claire became film's first operetta team, predating MacDonald
& Eddy
.
Her first screen appearance was in the original film version of No, No, Nanette
in the title role. (A post-Code
version was made in 1940). The other two films she made with Gray were Spring is Here and Song of the Flame
. Operettas began losing popularity with audiences so Warners tried Claire in dramatic parts without much success. Claire made a number of musical shorts up through the late thirties (some again with Gray), later becoming a radio and orchestra singer. In 1934, she appeared on Broadway in a short-lived musical, The Chocolate Soldier
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and actress. She appeared in 13 films between 1930
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
and 1938
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
.
Career
She was born Bernice Jahnigan in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Possessed of a clear and pure coloratura voice, she took to the stage performing light opera and had no difficulty singing demanding roles. She met then-leading singer Alexander Gray and they appeared in three films together in 1930 for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Gray and Claire became film's first operetta team, predating MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
& Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
.
Her first screen appearance was in the original film version of No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends...
in the title role. (A post-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
version was made in 1940). The other two films she made with Gray were Spring is Here and Song of the Flame
Song of the Flame (film)
Song of the Flame is a musical operetta film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was the first color film to feature a widescreen sequence using a process called Vitascope, the trademark name for Warner Bros.' widescreen process...
. Operettas began losing popularity with audiences so Warners tried Claire in dramatic parts without much success. Claire made a number of musical shorts up through the late thirties (some again with Gray), later becoming a radio and orchestra singer. In 1934, she appeared on Broadway in a short-lived musical, The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
.
Later life
Her career petered out. She married twice and involved herself in charity work. Her second husband, Douglas Morris, was a wealthy businessman. Neither marriage apparently produced any children.Filmography
- Kiss Me AgainKiss Me Again (1931 film)Kiss Me Again is a musical operetta film filmed entirely in Technicolor. It was originally released in the United States as Toast of the Legion late in 1930, but was quickly withdrawn when Warner Bros. realized that the public had grown weary of musicals. The Warner Bros...
(1931) - Two Hearts in HarmonyTwo Hearts in HarmonyTwo Hearts in Harmony is a 1935 British comedy drama film directed by William Beaudine and starring Bernice Claire, George Curzon and Enid Stamp-Taylor...
(1935)