Wendy Barrie

Wendy Barrie (April 18, 1912 ? February 2, 1978) was a Hong Kong-born actress who worked in British and Hollywood films.

Related Topics:
April 18 - 1912 - February 2 - 1978 - Hong Kong - British - Hollywood

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Her birth name was Marguerite Wendy Jenkins and she was born in Hong Kong to British parents. Her father was a successful attorney who could afford to educate her at quality schools in England and Switzerland. While still in her teens, she began pursuing a career as an actress. Adopting the stage name Wendy Barrie, she began her acting life in English theatre then in 1932 made her screen debut in the film "Threads" that was based on 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 which starred Charles Laughton and Robert Donat with Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn, Elsa Lanchester as Anne of Cleves and Barrie as Jane Seymour.

Related Topics:
Attorney - Switzerland - Stage name - Theatre - London Films - Alexander - Zoltan - The Private Life of Henry VIII - Charles Laughton - Robert Donat - Merle Oberon - Anne Boleyn - Elsa Lanchester - Anne of Cleves - Jane Seymour

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Contracted by Hollywood's Fox Film Corporation for a 1934 film directed by Scott Darling that was made in Britain, the following year Wendy Barrie 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. Loaned to MGM, Barried starred opposite James Stewart in the 1936 film, Speed. After several more films, in 1939 she starred with Richard Greene and Basil Rathbone in the 20th Century Fox version of The Hound of the Baskervilles and for RKO with Lucille Ball in dramatic roles in Five Came Back directed by John Farrow.

Related Topics:
Fox Film Corporation - Scott Darling - United States - Spencer Tracy - Romantic comedy - It's a Small World - MGM - James Stewart - Speed - Richard Greene - Basil Rathbone - 20th Century Fox - The Hound of the Baskervilles - RKO - Lucille Ball - Five Came Back - John Farrow

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During the early 1940s, Wendy Barrie made several of "The Saint" and "The Falcon" mystery films with George Sanders. She made her final motion picture in 1943 and with the dawn of television, near the end of the decade Barrie turned to roles in that medium. During 1948 and 1949 she hosted a DuMont Television Network comedy for children featuring a cowboy puppet called "The Adventures of Oky Doky." However, she is best remembered by national audiences as host of one of the first-ever television talk shows. "The Wendy Barrie Show" debuted in November of 1948 on ABC, then ran on Dumont Television and NBC, ending its run in September of 1950.

Related Topics:
The Saint - The Falcon - George Sanders - DuMont Television Network - ABC - NBC

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After more than fifteen films in Britain and more than thirty in Hollywood, Wendy Barrie's contribution to the industry was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1700 Vine Street. She died in Englewood, New Jersey in 1978 following a stroke that had left her debilitated for several years. She was buried in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

Related Topics:
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Englewood, New Jersey - Kensico Cemetery - Valhalla, New York

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