Helene Whitney
Helene Whitney | |
|---|---|
 Whitney (as Fortescue Reynolds) in Los Angeles, 1930s | |
| Born | Kenyon Fortescue July 4, 1914 |
| Died | March 28, 1990 (aged 75) Atlantis, Florida, U.S. |
| Other names | Helen Fortescue Joyce Gardner Helene Reynolds |
| Years active | 1939–1948 |
| Spouse | J. Louis Reynolds (1936–1939; divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Granville Roland Fortescue Grace Fortescue |
Helene Whitney (born Kenyon Fortescue, July 4, 1914 – March 28, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s. She was known as Helene Reynolds after her marriage.
Biography
[edit | edit source]Whitney was born Kenyon Fortescue in 1914, but was known as Helene.[1][2] Through her mother, Grace Fortescue, she was a grandniece (and cousin twice removed) of Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. Through her father Granville Roland Fortescue, she was a first cousin once removed of US President Theodore Roosevelt.
She grew up in Washington D.C. where she attended the National Cathedral School for Girls.[3] She married Julian Louis Reynolds,[2] son of Richard S. Reynolds, Sr.[4] and heir to the Reynolds aluminum and tobacco fortunes, on July 15, 1936, in Washington, becoming Helene Fortescue Reynolds.[5] After three years of marriage, they divorced in May 1939.[5][6][7]
She became an actress, using the stage names of Joyce Gardner, Helene Whitney and Helene Reynolds, appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s and later in stage productions.[3] After her acting career ended, she became a Manhattan art gallery proprietor and artist in the 1960s.[1] She died of pneumonia at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida aged 75 on March 28, 1990.[3]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]As Helene Whitney/Helen Whitney
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Fleur de Lys | NYT |
| 1940 | The Saint's Double Trouble | Anne Bitts | IMDb |
| 1940 | Millionaire Playboy aka Glamour Boy (UK) | uncredited | IMDb |
| 1940 | The Philadelphia Story | Main Line Society Woman | IMDb |
| 1941 | City of Missing Girls | Katherine Crawford | IMDb |
As Helene Reynolds
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Confirm or Deny | Dorothy | IMDb |
| 1941 | Blue, White and Perfect | Helen Shaw | NYT |
| 1942 | Girl Trouble | Helen Martin | IMDb |
| 1942 | Roxie Hart | Velma Wall | IMDb |
| 1942 | Tales of Manhattan | Actress | IMDb |
| 1942 | Moontide | Woman in boat | IMDb |
| 1942 | The Man Who Wouldn't Die | Anna Wolff | NYT |
| 1943 | Dixie Dugan | Jean Patterson | IMDb |
| 1943 | Heaven Can Wait | Peggy Nash | IMdb |
| 1943 | Wintertime | Marian Daly (uncredited) | NYT |
| 1943 | The Meanest Man in the World | Wife (Park Ave. Neighbor) | IMDb |
| 1944 | Bermuda Mystery | Angela | IMDb |
Television
[edit | edit source]As Helene Reynolds
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | The Front Page | Mollie Malloy | IMDb |
| 1948 | Mirage in Manhattan (Chevrolet Tele-Theatre) | IMDb |
Stage
[edit | edit source]- Oh, Captain! (February 4, 1958 – July 19, 1958)
- Happy Hunting (December 6, 1956 – November 30, 1957)
- Call Me Madam (October 12, 1950 – May 3, 1952)
- Miss Liberty (July 15, 1949 – April 8, 1950)
- High Button Shoes (October 9, 1947 – July 2, 1949)
- Yours Is My Heart (September 5, 1946 – October 5, 1946)
Family tree
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References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Ancestry.co Historical Person Overview: Kenyon "Helene" Fortescue, accessed May 2017.
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). "The papers crowed about the wedding, when Helen Fortescue and Julian Reynolds married on July 15, 1936, in Washington, DC, where Helene had grown up. They gloated over the divorce a few years later in story after sparing nary a detail.... The divorce was granted in May of 1939."
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). "Mrs. Helen E. Fortesque Reynolds arrived here today by plane from New York, prepared to take up residence to divorce Julian Louis Reynolds, tobacco heir."
External links
[edit | edit source]- Helene Whitney at IMDb
- Helene Whitney at the Internet Broadway DatabaseLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1914 births
- 1990 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- American film actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- American people of Dutch descent
- Deaths from pneumonia in Florida
- National Cathedral School alumni
- Roosevelt family
- Gardiner family
- Schuyler family