Claire Trevor

Claire Trevor (née Wemlinger; March 8, 1910; ; Clara Wenlinger [sic], daughter of Noel and Benjamina, age 2 mos, is in the April 1910 Census of Brooklyn Ward 30, District 1054. This places her birth unambiguously in 1910.; ;April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Key Largo (1948), and received nominations for her roles in The High and the Mighty (1954) and Dead End (1937). Trevor received top billing, ahead of John Wayne, for Stagecoach (1939).

Early life Trevor was born on March 8, 1910, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, the only child of Noel Wemlinger, a Fifth Avenue merchant tailor (of French birth but German ancestry), and his wife, Benjamina ("Betty"), who was of Irish birth. For many years, her year of birth was misreported as 1909, which is why her age at the time of her death was initially given as 91, not 90.

She was raised in New York City, and from 1923 on, in Larchmont, New York. She attended Mamaroneck High School, where she acted in school plays and won a school public speaking contest. She graduated in 1928.

Career

After completing high school, Trevor began her career with six months of art classes at Columbia University and six months at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her stage debut in the summer of 1929 with a repertory company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She subsequently returned to New York, where she appeared in a number of Brooklyn-filmed Vitaphone short films and performed in summer stock theatre. In 1932, she starred on Broadway as the female lead in Whistling in the Dark.

Trevor made her film debut in Jimmy and Sally (1933), a film originally written for the popular screen duo of James Dunn and Sally Eilers. When Eilers declined the role, Trevor was cast in her place. From 1933 to 1938, Trevor starred in 29 films, often having either the lead role or the role of heroine. In 1937, she was the second lead actress (after top-billed Sylvia Sidney) in Dead End, with Humphrey Bogart, which led to her nomination for Best Supporting Actress. From 1937 to 1940, she appeared with Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio series Big Town, while continuing to make movies. In the early 1940s, she also was a regular on The Old Gold Don Ameche Show on the NBC Red Radio Network, starring with Ameche in presentations of plays by Mark Hellinger. In 1939, she was well established as a solid leading lady. One of her more memorable performances during this period includes the Western Stagecoach (1939).

Two of Trevor's most memorable roles were opposite Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944) and with Lawrence Tierney in Born to Kill (1947). In Key Largo (1948), Trevor played Gaye Dawn, a washed-up, alcoholic nightclub singer and gangster's moll. For that role, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her third and final Oscar nomination was for her performance in The High and the Mighty (1954). In 1957, she won an Emmy for her role in the Producers' Showcase episode titled "Dodsworth". Trevor moved into supporting roles in the 1950s, with her appearances becoming very rare after the mid-1960s. She played Charlotte, the mother of Kay (Sally Field) in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). Her final television role was for the 1987 television film, Norman Rockwell's Breaking Home Ties. Trevor made a guest appearance at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

Personal life and death Trevor married Clark Andrews, director of her radio show, in 1938; they divorced four years later. She married Navy Lieutenant Cylos William Dunsmore in 1943. Their son was her only child. The couple divorced in 1947. The next year, Trevor married Milton Bren, a film producer with two sons from a previous marriage, and moved to Newport Beach, California.

In 1978, Trevor's son died in the crash of PSA Flight 182, and this was followed by the death of her husband Milton from a brain tumor in 1979. Devastated by these losses, she returned to Manhattan for some years, living in a Fifth Avenue apartment and taking a few acting roles amid a busy social life. She eventually returned to California, where she remained for the rest of her life, becoming a generous supporter of the arts.

Trevor supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election.

On April 8, 2000, Trevor died at a hospital in Newport Beach, California, at age 90. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard.

Legacy The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, was named in Trevor's honor. Her Oscar and Emmy statuettes are on display in the Arts Plaza, next to the Claire Trevor Theatre.

According to her biography on the website of Claire Trevor School of the Arts, "Trevor's acting career spanned more than seven decades and included successes in stage, radio, television, and film...[She] often played the hard-boiled blonde, and every conceivable type of 'bad girl' role."

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1933Life in the RawJudy Halloway Film debutJimmy and SallySally JohnsonThe Mad GameJane LeeThe Last TrailPatricia Carter1934Elinor NortonElinor NortonBaby Take a BowKay EllisonWild GoldJerry JordanHold That GirlTonie Bellamy1935Spring TonicBetty IngalsBlack SheepJeanette FosterMy MarriageCarol BartonNavy WifeVicky BlakeDante's InfernoBetty McWade1936Career WomanCarroll AikenStar for a NightNina LindTo Mary – with LoveKitty BrantHuman CargoBonnie BrewsterSong and Dance ManJulia Carroll15 Maiden LaneJane Martin1937Big Town GirlFay LoringSecond HoneymoonMarciaOne Mile from HeavenLucy 'Tex' WarrenKing of GamblersDixie MooreTime Out for RomanceBarbara Blanchard Dead EndFranceyNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress1938Five of a KindChristine NelsonValley of the GiantsLee RobertsWalking Down BroadwayJoan Bradley The Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseJo Keller1939StagecoachDallas I Stole a MillionLaura BensonAllegheny UprisingJanie MacDougall1940Dark CommandMiss Mary Cloud1941Texas'Mike' KingHonky Tonk'Gold Dust' Nelson 1942The Adventures of Martin EdenConnie Dawson CrossroadsMichelle AllaineStreet of ChanceRuth Dillon1943The Woman of the TownDora HandGood Luck, Mr. YatesRuth JonesThe DesperadoesCountess Maletta 1944Murder, My SweetMrs. Helen Grayle 1945Johnny AngelLilah 'Lily' Gustafson1946The Bachelor's DaughtersCynthia Crack-UpTerry Cordell1947Born to KillHelen Trent 1948Raw DealPat CameronThe Velvet TouchMarian Webster The Babe Ruth StoryClaire (Hodgson) RuthKey LargoGaye DawnAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress1949The Lucky StiffMarguerite Seaton 1950BorderlineMadeleine Haley, aka Gladys LaRue1951Best of the BadmenLilyHard, Fast and BeautifulMillie Farley1952Stop, You're Killing MeNora MarkoMy Man and IMrs. Ansel AmesHoodlum EmpireConnie Williams1953The Stranger Wore a GunJosie Sullivan1954The High and the MightyMay HolstNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress1955Man Without a StarIdoneeLucy GallantLady MacBeth 1956The MountainMarie1958Marjorie MorningstarRose Morgenstern 1962Two Weeks in Another TownClara Kruger 1963The StripperHelen Baird 1965How to Murder Your WifeEdna1967The Cape Town AffairSam Williams 1982Kiss Me GoodbyeCharlotte Banning Final film role Television Year Title Role Notes1953-1954The Ford Television Theatre Nora Hale/Felicia Crandell 2 episodes1954-1955Lux Video TheatreEllen Creed/Mary Scott2 episodesNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Single Performance1955General Electric TheaterCora LeslieSeason 2 Episode 15: Foggy Night1956Schlitz Playhouse of StarsMary HunterSeason 5 Episode 15: Fool ProofProducers' ShowcaseFran DodsworthSeason 2 Episode 10: DodsworthPrimetime Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actress1956-1961Alfred Hitchcock PresentsMary Prescott/Mrs. Meade2 episodes1957Playhouse 90Elizabeth OwenSeason 1 Episode 28: If You Knew Elizabeth1959Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseSavannah BrownSeason 1 Episode 11: Happy HillWagon TrainC.L. HardingSeason 3 Episode 3: The C.L. Harding StoryThe UntouchablesKate Clark 'Ma' Barker Season 1 Episode 2: Ma Barker and Her Boys1961The InvestigatorsKitty HarperSeason 1 Episode 3: New Sound for the Blues1962Dr. KildareVeronica Johnson, NurseSeason 2 Episode 12: The Bed I've Made1983The Love BoatNancy FairchildSeason 7 Episode 13: The Misunderstanding/Love Below Decks/The End is Near1987Murder, She WroteJudith Harlan Season 4 Episode 3: Witness for the DefenseBreaking Home TiesGrace Porter Television film

Radio appearances Year Program Episode/source 1946-1949 Suspense 2 episodes 1946 Reader's Digest – Radio Edition Two for a Penny 1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse Father's Day 1954 Lux Radio Theatre Mildred Pierce

References

Claire Trevor

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