Helen Beverley (November 9, 1916 – July 15, 2011) was an American film and stage
actress, who began her career in
Yiddish theater and films.
She was sometimes credited as Helen Beverly.
Early life
Beverley was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Anna and Louis Smuckler, both of whom acted in stock theater in Boston. She supplemented the normal education for children by taking classes in drama and by studying dancing with
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Denis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and the teac ...
and the Denishawn dancers. She gained early acting experience with the semi-professional Ibsen Players in New York.
Career
Beverley began her career in
Yiddish theater and the
Yiddish-language films, including a starring role in
Peretz Hirshbein
Peretz Hirshbein ( yi, פרץ הירשביין;7 November 1880, Melnik, Kleszczele, Grodno Governorate – 16 August 1948, Los Angeles) was a Yiddish-language playwright, novelist, journalist, travel writer, and theater director. Becau ...
's ''
Green Fields
"Green Fields" is the third single by British alternative rock band the Good, the Bad & the Queen.Note that while frontman Damon Albarn has claimed that the band is officially unnamed, and that "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" was merely the name o ...
'' in 1937.
[ ]Screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
Hirshbein adapted the film from his 1916 play of the same name and cast Beverley in the lead role.[ The National Center of Jewish Cinema has praised ''Green Fields'', saying the film "heralded the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema."][
She next starred in ''The Light Ahead'', a 1939 film directed by ]Edgar G. Ulmer
Edgar Georg Ulmer (; September 17, 1904 – September 30, 1972) was a Jewish- Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC', ...
and filmed in New Jersey.[ She also appeared in the 1940 Yiddish film, ''Overture to Glory'' about a cantor.][
Beverley began appearing in mainstream English language Hollywood films during the 1940s.][ her credits from this period included '' Black Magic'' in 1944; '' The Master Race'', a 1944 film about the dangers of Nazi Germany;][ and ''Stairway for a Star'', a 1947 musical.][ She continued to appear in smaller film roles during the 1950s, including '' The Robe'' as Rebecca and '' The Shrike'' in 1955.][ She appeared in an episode of the television series, '' The Rifleman'', in 1960.][ Her last film appearance was in the 1961 film '' Ada''.][
]
Family
Beverley married actor Lee J. Cobb in 1940. They had two children, son Vincent and daughter, actress Julie Cobb, before their 1952 divorce.
Death
Beverley died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on July 15, 2011, aged 94.[ Her interment was at ]Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beverley, Helen
1916 births
2011 deaths
Yiddish theatre performers
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Jewish American actresses
Place of birth missing
Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women