Wendy Barrie

Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress.

Early life

Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC (1883 – 1936), was an employee of Great Western (according to the 1901 census), who then joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1902. Her mother was Ellen McDonagh. Hollywood gave her a more exotic parentage with her father being a King's Counsel and her mother a Russian-Jewish actress who had performed in the world's first professional Yiddish-language theater troupe. She received her education at a convent school in England and a finishing school in Switzerland.

Film

In 1932, Barrie made her screen debut in the film ''Threads'', which was based upon a play. She went on to make a number of motion pictures for London Films under the Korda brothers, Alexander and Zoltan, the best known of which is 1933's ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'', in which she portrayed Jane Seymour.

In 1934, she appeared in ''Freedom of the Seas'' and was contracted by Fox Film Corporation for a film directed by Scott Darling that was made in Britain. The following year, she moved to the United States and made her first Hollywood film for Fox opposite Spencer Tracy in the romantic comedy ''It's a Small World'', followed by ''Under Your Spell'' with Lawrence Tibbett. Loaned to MGM, Barrie starred opposite James Stewart in the 1936 film ''Speed''. In 1939 she starred with Richard Greene and Basil Rathbone in the 20th Century Fox version of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', and with Lucille Ball in RKO's ''Five Came Back''. During 1939 and the early 1940s, Barrie made several of ''The Saint'' and '' The Falcon'' mystery films with George Sanders. She made her final motion picture in 1954.

Radio

Barrie was a member of the cast of ''The Jack Haley Show'' on NBC (1937-1938) and CBS (1938-1939). She was an assistant on the ''Star for a Night'' program on the Blue Network (1943-1944), and she was one of the quizmasters on ''Detect and Collect'' on CBS (1945) and ABC (1945-1946).Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . Pp. 198, 364, 634. In 1956, she had a disc jockey program, the ''Wendy Barrie Show'', on WMGM in New York City.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 55. She also hosted a widely syndicated radio interview show into the mid-1960s.

Television

With the dawn of television, in the late 1940s, Barrie turned to roles in that medium. From November 17, 1948, to February 9, 1949, Barrie hosted '' Picture This'' on NBC.Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present''. Ballantine Books. . Pp. 495-496. During 1948 and 1949, she hosted a DuMont Television Network comedy for children featuring a cowboy puppet called ''The Adventures of Oky Doky''.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 15.

However, she is best remembered by U.S. audiences as host of one of the first television talk shows. ''The Wendy Barrie Show'' debuted in November 1948 on ABC, then ran on DuMont and NBC, ending its run in September 1950. (Another source says the program debuted on DuMont March 14, 1949. Yet another source says that it debuted November 10, 1948, on NBC.) That program was replaced by ''Through Wendy's Window'' in August 1950. The 15-minute NBC program had Barrie interviewing celebrities and talking about fashions.

Barrie was hostess of the short-lived ''Stars in Khaki and Blue'', a "prime-time talent show for members of the Armed Forces," which debuted on NBC September 13, 1952, and ended September 27, 1952.McNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television''. Penguin Books USA, Inc. . P. 788. She continued to appear on network television on panel shows and as a guest star in the early 1950s, and also as a spokesperson for commercial products, including a stint as the original Revlon saleswoman on ''The $64,000 Question'' during its first months on air. Her pitching of Living Lipstick saw that product being sold out across the country. Barrie continued on local TV in New York City.

In 1953, three television stations owned by Taft Broadcasting Company and Cox Communications formed the short-lived "Tri-State Network" to compete with entertainment programming produced by Crosley Broadcasting Corporation on Crosley television stations in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio broadcast markets. On January 11, 1954, a new ''The Wendy Barrie Show'' premiered from the studios of WHIO-TV in Dayton, simulcast on Taft Broadcasting's WKRC-TV in Cincinnati and WTVN-TV (now WSYX) in Columbus. Wendy Barrie's contract was terminated in October 1954.

Recognition

After appearances in more than 15 films in Britain and more than 30 in Hollywood, Barrie's contribution to the industry was recognized with a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1708 Vine Street, near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Her star was dedicated February 8, 1960.

Personal life and death

Barrie became a naturalized American citizen in 1942. She was reportedly engaged to and had a daughter named Carolyn with the infamous gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, and at one time was married to textile manufacturer David L. Meyer.

She died in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1978, aged 65, following a stroke that had left her debilitated for several years. She was buried in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Filmography

References

External links

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Photographs and literature
* with guest Jack Shaindlin
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrie, Wendy
1912 births
1978 deaths
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
English film actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
British emigrants to the United States
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Burials at Kensico Cemetery
20th-century English actresses
20th-century American actresses