Wikipedia

Bonnie Bannon

Bonnie Bannon (June 23, 1913 – February 14, 1989), born Pauline Frances Bannon, was an American actress, dancer, and model in the 1930s and 1940s.

Bonnie Bannon
A young white woman with dark curly hair
Bannon in The Flying Deuces (1939)
Born
Pauline Frances Bannon

(1913-06-23)June 23, 1913
Tulare County, California, U.S.
DiedFebruary 14, 1989(1989-02-14) (aged 75)
Irvine, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, model
RelativesAlice Faye (sister-in-law)
Charles P. Converse (great-grandfather)

Early life and education

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Pauline Frances Bannon was born in Tulare County, California, the daughter of Walter Andrew Bannon[1] and Juanita Alma Strong Bannon.[2][3] Her father sold agricultural supplies.[4] She graduated from Fresno High School in 1932;[5] she was active in school theatrical productions.[6] Her great-grandfather Charles P. Converse was a noted lumberman in California.[4]

Career

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Bannon won a screen test and a contract with Warner Bros. after entering a local beauty contest in 1933. She appeared Gold Diggers of 1933 and Advice to the Lovelorn (1933) soon after, followed by Broadway Melody of 1936,[7] The Great Ziegfeld (1936), One in a Million (1936), and The Flying Deuces (1939).[8] She became a Goldwyn Girl, along with Lucille Ball.[9]

Bannon was mostly seen in small roles, often as chorus girls, in films in the 1940s, including Lillian Russell (1940),[10] Sis Hopkins (1941), The Great American Broadcast (1941), Dance Hall (1941), Week-End in Havana (1941), Tales of Manhattan (1942), The Black Swan (1942), Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943), Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), Pin Up Girl (1944), In the Meantime Darling (1944),[11][12] The Late George Apley (1947), Carnival in Costa Rica (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Adam's Rib (1949), and The Damned Don't Cry (1950). "Working in motion pictures is hard work and I loved having fun too much to struggle for stardom," she recalled in a 1960 interview.[9]

Personal life

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Bannon married four times. Her first husband was film director Charles Faye; they married in 1934 and divorced in 1936.[13] His sister was actress Alice Faye.[14][15] In 1937 she was rumored to be engaged to marry director Busby Berkeley.[16] Her second husband was band leader Orlando A. "Slim" Martin; they married in 1938,[17] and divorced in 1941.[18][19] In 1945, she was rumored to be engaged to marry war correspondent Philip Andrews.[20] Her third husband was club owner Samuel D. Miller; they divorced in 1949.[21][22] She married her fourth husband, lumberman William B. Jones, in 1951.[9][23] She had a son, Frederick Thomas Martin.[18] She died in 1989, at the age of 75, in Irvine, California.

References

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  1. ^ "Fresnans Get 240 Pounder". The Fresno Bee. July 3, 1939. p. 10. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Mrs. E. G. Schofield". The Fresno Bee. January 20, 1969. p. 26. Retrieved August 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Bannons Are Wed 50 Years". The Fresno Bee. May 1, 1960. p. 62. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Mrs. Bannon, 79, Dies; Rites Set". The Fresno Bee. October 17, 1966. p. 3. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Fresno High School, The Owl (1932 yearbook): 14; via e-Yearbook.
  6. ^ "Mission Story is Told in Play; Fresno High School Seniors Production Tells of State's Early Days". The Fresno Bee. April 9, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Brunettes Preferred Over Blond Sisters". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. May 6, 1935. p. 26. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Nollen, Scott Allen (1989). The boys : the cinematic world of Laurel and Hardy. Internet Archive. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-89950-383-7.
  9. ^ a b c Webster, Diane B. (May 8, 1960). "Favorite Role of Former Movie Actress is That of Mrs. Jones". The Fresno Bee. p. 52. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Othman, Frederick C. (February 19, 1940). "Strait-Laced Young Ladies Complain". The Courier-Journal. p. 7. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Hale, Wanda (December 13, 1944). "Fun, Pathos in Film of Army Bride". Daily News. p. 650. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Pratley, Gerald (1971). The cinema of Otto Preminger. Internet Archive. London, A. Zwemmer; New York, A. S. Barnes. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-498-07860-6.
  13. ^ "Bonnie Bannon, Beauty, Divorced". The San Francisco Examiner. February 19, 1936. p. 3. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Divorce Won by Actress; Film Executive's Choice of Gay Night Life Aired by Bonnie Bannon". The Los Angeles Times. February 19, 1936. p. 20. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Brother of Alice Faye Marries". The Spokesman-Review. October 14, 1934. p. 4. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Movie Romance Links Berkeley, Bonnie Bannon". The Fresno Bee. February 22, 1937. p. 9. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Actress Tells Secret Wedding; Single Girl Role in Picture Brings About Disclosure". The Los Angeles Times. May 6, 1938. p. 30. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b "Film Actress Gets Divorce". The Los Angeles Times. June 17, 1941. p. 19. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Grounds for Divorce". The Liguorian. 30 (5): 298. May 30, 1942 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Graham, Sheilah (May 28, 1945). "Glimpses of Hollywood". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 12.
  21. ^ Parsons, Louella O. (December 18, 1946). "Director Mervyn Leroy Signs Long Term MGM Contract". The Modesto Bee. p. 10. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Divorces Granted". The Los Angeles Times. December 13, 1949. p. 27. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Bonnie Bannon, Actress, Former Fresnan, Marries". The Fresno Bee. February 11, 1951. p. 5. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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