Jill Dennett (May 26, 1913 – March 14, 1969) was a motion picture actress in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

movies for a decade, beginning in 1932. She appeared in more than twenty films, all of the appearances in uncredited roles. She was a talented dancer and singer. Born in New York and died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 56. under the name of Edythe Jill Barnes.

Career

Early years

Dennett was the daughter of comedy star Dave Kramer of the Kramer & Boyle act. She acted professionally at age 5 when she portrayed an Italian boy in a production of ''Magic Melody''. She studied at New York's professional children's school.

Stage to screen

Dennett began performing in vaudeville at age 14 and established herself as a favorite there before entering films. In 1931 her eyes were insured by

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

for $100,000. After a small part in ''Union Station'' (1932), Dennett appeared with her father on stage at the Hillstreet Theater in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1934, Dennett performed in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Minor film actress

After playing Daisy, the girl of the pavements in ''Union Depot'', she was given a contract for two additional films by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

She next depicted an

ingénue The ''ingénue'' (, , ) is a stock character in literature, film and a role type in the theater, generally a girl or a young woman, who is endearingly innocent. ''Ingénue'' may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in such roles ...

in ''The Tinsel Girl'' (1932), a film directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

. This was followed by her portrayal of ''Tart'' in ''Two Seconds'' (1932). This screen crime drama starred Edward G. Robinson and was directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

. From the mid-1930s Dennett acted small parts in ''The Merry Widow'' (1934), ''Men In White'' (1934), ''One More Spring'' (1935), ''The Devil Is A Woman'' (1935), ''Dramatic School'' (1938), ''Broadway Serenade'' (1939), ''Stardust'' (1940), ''Manhattan Heartbeat'' (1940), ''Street of Memories'' (1940), and ''The Cowboy and the Blonde'' (1941).

Variety show performer

In August 1934, Dennett was part of the musical-comedy stage production ''Peggy Ann'' at the

Million Dollar Theater The Million Dollar Theatre at 307 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in 1917 with the premiere of William S. Hart's '' The Silent Man''. It's the northernmost of the collect ...

. The other entertainment was provided by the screening of the

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

movie, ''Old-Fashioned Way'' (1934). Dennett shared the bill with thirty other players including Frank Gallagher, Bobby Dale, Helen Wright, and Dorothy Castleman. The presentation of ''Peggy-Ann'' was enlivened by dancing and singing choruses. Audiences were pleased and the show was repeated four times a day on some days. A production of ''Alt Heidelberg'' was presented at the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and ...

in October 1937. Engel portrayed ''Gretchen'' in the theatrical production. Others contributing to the musical version of the play were Henry Mowbray, Paul Keast, Milton Tilly, and Manilla Powers. Engel performed at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles the same week, in March 1937, that

Major Bowes Edward Bowes (June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known as Major Edward Bowes, was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s whose ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its 18 ...

headlined with his ''All-Girl

Revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

''.

Romance

Dennett was linked romantically with

Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Jesse Louis Lasky Jr. (September 19, 1910 – April 11, 1988) was an American screenwriter, novelist, playwright and poet. Early life He was the son of film producer Jesse Lasky Sr. and his wife, Bessie Ida Ginsberg. Lasky was born on Broadway ...

She became engaged to singer Geoffrey Gill in January 1933. She also was engaged to Phillip Christian St. Clair. In 1941, she was married to James L. Henderson Jr. She later married Evan Stephan Barnes in California. Stay married with until her death.

Philanthropist

She donated some twenty pounds of her own red hair during a war scare about a year before the outbreak of World War II. Munitions employed the use of some fine human hair. The hair was received by the

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Max Factor, Sr., Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billio ...

studios. It cost $17 an ounce in twenty-two inch lengths.

References

*''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', "Beauty Joins Father's Act", January 27, 1932, Page 7. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Jill Dennett Engaged", January 27, 1933, Page A7. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Million Dollar To Reopen With Musical Shows", July 31, 1934, Page 13. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Student Prince Cast To Include Popular Players", October 25, 1935, Page A17. *''Los Angeles Times'', "All Girl Review Features

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, Singing, And Dancing", March 25, 1937, Page 15. *''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', "Price of Hair Boosted by War Scare", October 3, 1938, Page X13.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennett, Jill American film actresses Western (genre) film actresses American women comedians Vaudeville performers American female dancers 20th-century American actresses 1913 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American dancers