Barbara Kent
Barbara Cloutman Kent | |
|---|---|
 Barbara Kent in the 1933 film Oliver Twist | |
| Born | Barbara Cloutman December 16, 1906 |
| Occupation | Silent Film Actress |
| Years active | 1925-1935 |
| Spouse | Harry E. Edington (1932-1949) |
Barbara Kent (born December 16, 1906) is a former Canadian actress who was popular in silent movies. Following the death of Miriam Seegar, she is considered to be the only remaining American actor to have achieved substantial fame during the silent era as an adult.
Born Barbara Cloutman[1] in Gadsby, Alberta, to Jullion Curtis and Lily Louise (Kent) Cloutman, she won the 21-year-old Miss Hollywood Pageant in 1925. She began her Hollywood career in 1925 in a small role for Universal Studios. A brunette who stood less than five feet tall, Kent became popular as a comedienne opposite such stars as Reginald Denny, and also made a strong impression as the heroine pitted against Greta Garbo's femme fatale in Flesh and the Devil (1926).
She attracted attention in the 1927 film No Man's Law by swimming nude; she wore a flesh colored bathing suit in scenes that were considered very daring at the time. The popularity of this film led to her selection as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars for 1927. She made a smooth transition into talking pictures opposite Harold Lloyd in the comedy Welcome Danger (1929). Over the next few years she remained popular and received critical praise for her role in the 1933 film version of Oliver Twist.
Her marriage in 1934 to the agent and producer Harry E. Edington interrupted her career. During a one-year hiatus, Edington groomed Kent for what he intended to be a high-profile career; however by the time she returned to films, her popularity had waned and she was unable to establish herself again. She made her final film in 1935.
Following the death of her husband in 1949, Kent retreated from public life and eventually settled in Sun Valley, Idaho and Palm Desert, California. She has since refused to acknowledge her film career or grant interviews. [2]
Filmography
- Flesh and the Devil (1926)
- Prowlers of the Night (1926)
- The Lone Eagle (1927)
- No Man's Law (1927)
- The Small Bachelor (1927)
- The Drop Kick (1927)
- Modern Mothers (1928)
- Stop That Man (1928)
- That's My Daddy (1928)
- Lonesome (1928)
- Welcome Danger (1929)
- The Shakedown (1929)
- Night Ride (1930)
- Dumbbells in Ermine (1930)
- Feet First (1930)
- What Men Want (1930)
- Freighters of Destiny (1931)
- Chinatown After Dark (1931)
- Grief Street (1931)
- Indiscreet (1931)
- Self Defense (1932)
- Pride of the Legion (1932)
- No Living Witness (1932)
- Beauty Parlor (1932)
- Vanity Fair (1932)
- Marriage on Approval (1933)
- Her Forgotten Past (1933)
- Oliver Twist (1933)
- Reckless Decision (1933)
- Swellhead (1935)
- Guard That Girl (1935)
References
External links
