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Helen Menken (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Meinken; December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American stage actress.


Early years

Menken was born in New York City to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden. Her parents were deaf, and her early communication came via
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
. She did not begin talking until age 4. Her sister, Grace Menken, was also an actress. At age 12, she was sent to a school in
Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Ag ...
.


Stage

Before she turned 14, Menken performed in vaudeville for a season, primarily playing character parts with her brother-in-law. A dispute when the troupe was in Dallas led to her walking out and joining a Shakespearean company that was also in Dallas. Billed as Helen Meinken, Menken acted in 1915 in Brooklyn and in 1916 with the Orpheum Players in Reading, Pennsylvania. She made her
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
debut as a teenage actress in ''Parlor, Bedroom and Bath'' (1917). Her greatest stage triumphs were ''Seventh Heaven'' in 1922–1924 (
Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...
played her role of Diane in the 1927 film version); '' Mary of Scotland'' in 1933–1934 as
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
opposite
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
in the title role (
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
played Mary in the 1936 film version); and '' The Old Maid'', the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning play that starred Menken and
Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...
in 1935.
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
would play Menken's role as the spinster with a secret in the 1939 film version. Menken's final Broadway appearance was in an unsuccessful play named ''The Laughing Woman'', which ran for less than a month in 1937. Menken appeared as the leading lady for the summer stock cast at the
Elitch Theatre The Historic Elitch Theatre is located at the original Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1890, it was centerpiece of the park that was the first zoo west of Chicago. The theatre was Denver's first professional theatre ...
, in Denver, Colorado, in 1922 and 1924. For the 1924 summer season she appeared in the role of Cassie Cook, a role she originated on Broadway, in the play ''Drifting.'' After having appeared in Denver during the summer of 1922, the theatre critic from ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' stated: "We who have watched her for a summer at the Gardens have thought we knew all about her acting, but Sunday night she turned loose things that are beyond anything she ever showed before and much that was superior to her best work in the plays two years ago." Her performance as Irene De Montcel in the first English-language production of ''The Captive,'' Edouard Bourdet's lesbian-themed drama, led to her arrest (along with the rest of the cast) on February 9, 1927. This arrest, reflecting 1920s attitudes about homosexuality, contributed to her lack of a film career and possibly to her divorce from Bogart. Menken was a major presence behind the scenes in the theater world, especially at the
American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
. She served as its chairman during World War II and began serving as president of the group in 1957.


Radio

Menken was active on radio in the 1940s (starring as Brenda Cummings in ''
Second Husband ''Second Husband'' is a radio soap opera in the United States.Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950''. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. P. 209. The program told " e dramatic story of Brenda Cummings and the probl ...
''Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 299. and notably recreating her performance opposite Judith Anderson in a 1946 radio adaption of ''The Old Maid'').


Film

Menken made a short film in New York City in 1925 for
Lee DeForest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element " Audion" triode v ...
, filmed in the short-lived DeForest
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...
sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...
process. The film is preserved in the Maurice Zouary collection at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
.


Recognition

Menken received a
Special Tony Award The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award and the Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive honorary awards, and the titles have changed over the years. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre ...
posthumously in 1966 "for a lifetime of devotion and dedicated service to the Broadway theatre."


Personal life

The first of her husbands was actor
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
. She was Bogart's first wife. They were married at the
Gramercy Park Hotel Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. __FORCETOC__ History Gramercy Park Hote ...
in New York City on May 20, 1926, and she divorced him November 18, 1927. She married Dr. Henry T. Smith on July 12, 1932, and divorced him in 1947, then in October 1948 married George N. Richard who survived her. She had no children from these marriages.


Death

Menken died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at a party at
The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...
on March 27, 1966, at the age of 64.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menken, Helen 1901 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from New York City American people of German descent American people of French descent American people of Irish descent Special Tony Award recipients Vaudeville performers