Fay Helm (April 9, 1909 – September 27, 2003) was an American film actress. Born in Bakersfield, California, she appeared in about 65 films between 1936 and 1946. She is perhaps better known for films like A Child is Born (1939),

Phantom Lady Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first such characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book com ...

(1944),

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fictional fashion magazine ...

(1944) and

Sister Kenny ''Sister Kenny'' is a 1946 American biographical film about Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian bush nurse, who fought to help people who suffered from polio, despite opposition from the medical establishment. The film stars Rosalind Russell, ...

(1946).

Early years

Helm was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Helm of Bakersfield, California. Her father was "a widely known oil operator" in Bakersfield. She participated in drama as a student at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

and acted in productions at the Portland Civic Theater. She also acted in the Bakersfield Community Theatre. Helm came to Hollywood in 1936 at the age of 22.

Personal life

Helm married attorney Jack Hardy February 15, 1941. Before that, she was married to assistant district attorney Norman Main. She and Main divorced in 1940. She died on September 27, 2003, and was buried October 15, 2003 in the Holy Cross Cemetery Culver City Los Angeles County, California, Section Y, Tier 12, Grave 54.

Film credits

* '' Fury'' (1936) - Townswoman (uncredited) * ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

'' (1936) - Earthquake Survivor (uncredited) * ''

Under Cover of Night ''Under Cover of Night'' is a 1937 American action film directed by George B. Seitz, written by Bertram Millhauser, and starring Edmund Lowe, Florence Rice, Nat Pendleton, Henry Daniell, Sara Haden and Dean Jagger. It was released on January 8, ...

'' (1937) - Maggie - Janet's Maid (uncredited) * '' Song of the City'' (1937) - Marge * ''

A Girl with Ideas ''A Girl With Ideas'' is a 1937 American comedy-drama film, directed by S. Sylvan Simon for Universal Pictures. It stars Wendy Barrie, Walter Pidgeon, and Kent Taylor. Cast * Wendy Barrie - Mary Morton * Walter Pidgeon - Mickey McGuire * Kent Ta ...

'' (1937) - Genevieve (uncredited) * ''

Merry-Go-Round of 1938 ''Merry-Go-Round of 1938'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Irving Cummings and written by Monte Brice and A. Dorian Otvos. The film stars Bert Lahr, Jimmy Savo, Billy House, Alice Brady, Mischa Auer, Joy Hodges, Louise Fazenda, John 'Du ...

'' (1937) - Dainty Doris * ''

Midnight Intruder ''Midnight Intruder'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Louis Hayward, Eric Linden, J.C. Nugent and Barbara Read. Plot After losing all his money gambling on horses, former newspaper reporter Barry Gilbert and "Doc ...

'' (1938) - Marion Loring (uncredited) * ''

Racket Busters ''Racket Busters'' is a 1938 film about crime in the trucking industry starring Humphrey Bogart and George Brent. The film was directed by Lloyd Bacon. Plot summary Attorney Hugh Allison (Walter Abel) is appointed Special Prosecutor to invest ...

'' (1938) - Mrs. Smith * '' I Am the Law'' (1938) - Mrs. Butler * '' Blondie'' (1938) - Mrs. Fuddle (uncredited) * ''

Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus ''Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline, based on the book of the same name by George W. Peck, one of his stories of Peck's Bad Boy. Plot summary Bill Peck receives ten dollars from his ...

'' (1938) - Mrs. De Cava * ''

Sergeant Madden ''Sergeant Madden'' is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime drama, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Tom Brown, Lara ...

'' (1939) - Nurse (uncredited) * ''

Dark Victory ''Dark Victory'' is a 1939 American melodrama film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, and featuring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, and Cora Witherspoon. The screenplay by Ca ...

'' (1939) - Miss Dodd * ''

They All Come Out ''They All Come Out'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by Jacques Tourneur, written by John C. Higgins, and starring Rita Johnson, Tom Neal, Bernard Nedell, Edward Gargan, John Gallaudet and Addison Richards. It was released on August 4, ...

'' (1939) - Mamie Jacklin (uncredited) * '' Our Leading Citizen'' (1939) - Tonia * ''

Hollywood Cavalcade ''Hollywood Cavalcade'' is a 1939 American film featuring Alice Faye as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound. Production In the wake of Alic ...

'' (1939) - Nurse (uncredited) * '' Blondie Brings Up Baby'' (1939) - Mrs. Fuddle * '' A Child Is Born'' (1939) - The Woman * ''

The Light That Failed ''The Light That Failed'' is the first novel by the Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling, first published in ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' in January 1891. Most of the novel is set in London, but many important events through ...

'' (1939) - Red-Haired Girl (uncredited) * '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940) - Mrs. Seth Gale (uncredited) * ''

Parole Fixer ''Parole Fixer'' is a 1940 American crime film directed by Robert Florey. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover is credited for the source material, the 1938 book called ''Persons in Hiding'', a purported expose of corruptio ...

'' (1940) - Rita Mattison * ''

Blondie on a Budget ''Blondie on a Budget'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake and Rita Hayworth. It is the fifth entry into the long-running Blondie series of films, which ran between 1938 and 1950 ...

'' (1940) - Mrs. Fuddle * '' Little Orvie'' (1940) - Mrs. Balliser * ''

Women Without Names ''Women Without Names'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Robert Florey. Plot Cast * Ellen Drew as Joyce King * Robert Paige as Fred MacNeil * Judith Barrett as Peggy Athens * John Miljan as District Attorney John Marlin * ...

'' (1940) - Millie * '' Dr. Kildare's Strange Case'' (1940) - Mrs. Henry Adams * '' Untamed'' (1940) - Miss Olcott * '' Blondie Has Servant Trouble'' (1940) - Mrs. Fuddle * ''

Dancing on a Dime Dancing on a Dime is a 1940 Paramount Pictures movie directed by Joseph Santley about five actors and dancers putting on a show while living in a theatre. It is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Dorothy Young, which itself is bas ...

'' (1940) - Miss Greenfield * ''

Life with Henry ''Life with Henry'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Theodore Reed and written by Clifford Goldsmith and Don Hartman. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Leila Ernst, Eddie Bracken, Fred Niblo, Hedda Hopper and Kay Stewart. The film was relea ...

'' (1940) - Office Secretary (uncredited) * '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940) - Prim Girl (uncredited) * ''

Ride, Kelly, Ride ''Ride, Kelly, Ride'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Norman Foster and written by William Conselman Jr. and Irving Cummings Jr.. The film stars Eugene Pallette, Marvin Stephens, Rita Quigley, Mary Healy, Richard Lane and Charles D. B ...

'' (1941) - Nurse (uncredited) * ''

The Wagons Roll at Night ''The Wagons Roll at Night'' is a 1941 circus film directed by Ray Enright and starring Humphrey Bogart as traveling carnival owner Nick Coster, Sylvia Sidney as his girlfriend, and Eddie Albert as a newcomer who falls in love with Nick's siste ...

'' (1941) - Wife (uncredited) * '' Million Dollar Baby'' (1941) - Mrs. Grayson * '' The Hard-Boiled Canary'' (1941) - Miss Wilson * ''

Blossoms in the Dust ''Blossoms in the Dust'' is a 1941 American biographical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the true story of Edna Gladney, who helped o ...

'' (1941) - Leta Eldredge (adopting Tony) (uncredited) * '' Two in a Taxi'' (1941) - Ethel * '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) - Jenny * ''

Wings for the Eagle ''Wings for the Eagle'' (aka ''Shadow of Their Wings'') is a 1942 American drama film starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and George Tobias, directed by Lloyd Bacon. It tells the story of workers at a Lockheed aircraft assembly p ...

'' (1942) - Miss Baxter * ''

Give Out, Sisters ''Give Out, Sisters'' is a 1942 American film starring The Andrews Sisters. The film co-stars Dan Dailey and the teenage couple of the time, Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Dailey and O'Connor went on to be in the 1954 film '' There's No Busin ...

'' (1942) - Susan Waverly * ''

Halfway to Shanghai ''Halfway to Shanghai'' is a 1942 American adventure film directed by John Rawlins and written by Stuart Palmer. The film stars Kent Taylor, Irene Hervey, Henry Stephenson, J. Edward Bromberg, George Zucco and Charles Wagenheim. The film was ...

'' (1942) - Marion Mills * ''

Night Monster ''Night Monster'' is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and was produced and direc ...

'' (1942) - Margaret Ingston * ''

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty ''Life Begins at Eight-Thirty'' is a 1942 comedy-drama romance film starring Monty Woolley as a washed-up, alcoholic actor, Ida Lupino as his daughter, and Cornel Wilde as her boyfriend. It is based on the West End play ''The Light of Heart'' by ...

'' (1942) - Ruthie (uncredited) * '' The Crystal Ball'' (1943) - Brad Cavanaugh's Secretary (uncredited) * ''

Young and Willing ''Young and Willing'' is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Edward H. Griffith and starring William Holden, Eddie Bracken, Robert Benchley, and Susan Hayward. With a screenplay by Virginia Van Upp based on the play ''Out of the ...

'' (1943) - Miss Harris (uncredited) * ''

Captive Wild Woman ''Captive Wild Woman'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Evelyn Ankers, John Carradine, Milburn Stone, and features Acquanetta as Paula, the Ape Woman. The film involves a scientist, Dr. Sigmund Walters, w ...

'' (1943) - Nurse Strand * ''

Hers to Hold ''Hers to Hold'' (aka ''Three Smart Girls Join Up'') is a 1943 American romantic musical comedy film and is the third film in the unofficial '' Three Smart Girls'' trilogy. In ''Hers to Hold'', Deanna Durbin reprises her role as Penny Craig, wh ...

'' (1943) - Hannah Gordon * ''

Honeymoon Lodge ''Honeymoon Lodge'', also known as ''Second Honeymoon'', is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Edward C. Lilley for Universal Pictures and starring David Bruce, Harriet Hilliard, June Vincent, and Rod Cameron. Plot Cast * David ...

'' (1943) - Mrs. Mary Thomas (uncredited) * ''

Calling Dr. Death ''Calling Dr. Death'' is a 1943 Inner Sanctum mystery film. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series and all of the films star Lon Chaney, Jr. The movie stars Chaney, Jr. and Patricia Morison, and was directed by Reg ...

'' (1943) - Mrs. Duval * '' Moonlight in Vermont'' (1943) - Lucy Meadows * ''

'' (1944) - Ann Terry * ''

Ladies Courageous ''Ladies Courageous'' (also called ''Fury in the Sky'' in a 1950 Realart re-release) is a 1944 war film based on the novel ''Looking For Trouble'' (1941) by Virginia Spencer Cowles. Directed by John Rawlins, the film stars Loretta Young and Gera ...

'' (1944) - WAVE (uncredited) * ''

'' (1944) - Miss Bowers * '' Mademoiselle Fifi'' (1944) - The Manufacturer's Wife * ''

One Body Too Many ''One Body Too Many'' is a 1944 American comedy-mystery film directed by Frank McDonald, starring Bela Lugosi, Jack Haley and Lyle Talbot. Plot A timid insurance salesman Albert L. Tuttle (Jack Haley) visits eccentric millionaire Cyrus J. Ruth ...

'' (1944) - Estelle Hopkins * '' A Song to Remember'' (1945) - Madame Chopin (uncredited) * ''

Son of Lassie ''Son of Lassie'' (also known as ''Laddie, Son of Lassie'') is a 1945 American Technicolor feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Pal (credited as L ...

'' (1945) - Joanna * ''

The Falcon in San Francisco ''The Falcon in San Francisco'' is a 1945 American crime and mystery film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stars Tom Conway, Rita Corday and Edward Brophy, who played the recurring role of "Goldie" Locke. The film was the 11th in The Falcon serie ...

'' (1945) - Doreen Temple * '' Dangerous Intruder'' (1945) - Millicent * ''

'' (1946) - Mrs. McIntyre * ''

The Locket The Locket may refer to: *The Locket (1946 film), an American film directed by John Brahm * ''The Locket'' (1970 film), a Spanish film directed by Rafael Gil * ''The Locket'' (2002 film), an American television film directed by Karen Arthur * "The L ...

'' (1946)Turner Classic Movies - Mrs. Bonner * ''

That Brennan Girl ''That Brennan Girl'', also known as ''Tough Girl'', is a 1946 melodrama film produced and directed by Alfred Santell and starring James Dunn, Mona Freeman, William Marshall, and June Duprez. The story concerns a young woman raised in an unwhol ...

'' (1946) - Helen, Ziggy's Neighbor (final film role)

References

External links

*
Biographical page with photographs
, filmdope.com; accessed March 24, 2015.

Find A Grave

More biographical details {{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, Fay 1909 births 2003 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Bakersfield, California Place of death missing 20th-century American actresses Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City University of Oregon alumni 21st-century American women