Before he made 11 films with Bette Davis, a young 25-year-old George Brent appeared in the 1929 summer stock cast at the Historic Elitch Theatre. After his summer at the theatre, he moved to Hollywood, and in 1930, he began a career and would become one of the biggest stars of the age.
From Jack Gurtler’s book:
One day when my dad was in New York interviewing people for the next season’s cast, a young fellow named George Brent was among those he talked to. Brent said, “Mr. Gurtler, this is a tremendous honor and I do want to be a member of your company very much, because I understand that you pay your bills on time, and that you pay your cast.”
Sometimes, back East, people would open up a stock company in an old barn somewhere in New England, recruit the cast, and then go broke after a few performances, leaving the actors stranded without any pay, so it was a great plus for people to work in the Elitch Theatre because they knew they would be paid.
Well, George Brent had a friend he wanted Dad to see. The fellow didn’t have an appointment, and he’d done almost nothing on Broadway, a requirement the Elitch Company had for its cast members, but George Brent pleaded so eloquently for this fellow that Dad agreed to see him for a few minutes. I’ve got my father’s old casting notes — as well as my own and my brother’s —and on that day my Dad wrote: “I saw Clark Gable today. A very fine young man, but he ought to get his ears fixed.”
He also told George Brent after that first season that he had an awful hook in his nose, and recommended that he get it fixed before he went out to Hollywood. If you look at pictures of George Brent when he played at the Gardens and then at later pictures, you’ll notice he took Dad’s advice.
[Gurtler, J., Hunt, C., & Seiden, O. J. (1982). The Elitch Gardens Story: Memories of Jack Gurtler. Rocky Mountain Writers Guild.]
Seasons at the Theatre
Productions/Roles:
Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:
- Brent made eleven films with Bette Davis!
Elitch Theatre Connections:
- Brent played the leading man to Elitch alumna, Myrna Loy in Stamboul Quest (1934).
- Brent did The Affairs of Susan (1945) with Elitch alumna, Joan Fontaine.
- On television, Brent guest starring in Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson.
- Brent made In Person (1935) with alumna Ginger Rogers.
Wikipedia Link:
