Wilda Bennett (December 19, 1894 – December 20, 1967) was an American actress in musical comedies and in film. Her tumultuous personal life also kept her in the headlines.
Early life Bennett was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey.Burns Mantle, "What's What in the Theater" Green Book Magazine (December 1917): 988. Bennett's father was John H. Bennett, a city building inspector."Praise Wilda Bennett" Asbury Park Press (October 17, 1914): 2. via Newspapers.com
Career Bennett's Broadway credits included Everywoman (1911–1912), A Good Little Devil (1913), The Only Girl (1914–1915), The Riviera Girl (1917), The Girl Behind the Gun (1918–1919), Apple Blossoms (1919–1920), Music Box Revue (1921–1922), The Lady in Ermine (1922–1923),"Lovely Little Runaway Scores Her Greatest Operatic Success" Asbury Park Press (November 7, 1922): 5. via Newspapers.com and the title role in Madame Pompadour (1924–1925). She had a "sweet" soprano voice. Bennett's later stage appearances were in Lovely Lady (1928), and Merrily We Roll Along (1934). She reprised her title role in The Only Girl for a radio production in 1927."Victor Herbert's 'The Only Girl' On Air Next Saturday" The Morning Call (October 9, 1927): 34. via Newspapers.com
Films featuring Wilda Bennett included A Good Little Devil (1914, lost), Love, Honor and Obey (1920), Bullets or Ballots (1936), Dark Victory (1939), The Women (1939), What a Life (1939), Ninotchka (1939), Those Were the Days! (1940), and The Lady Eve (1941).
Personal life Bennett's personal life involved multiple legal troubles that brought additional, ongoing, national press attention."Wilda Bennett's Hard Luck – Isn't it the Limit?" Courier-Journal (October 11, 1925): 99. via Newspapers.com In 1925, she was sued for $100,000 by a woman named Katherine Frey, who believed that Bennett had been her husband Charles Frey's lover. Katherine Frey won a judgment of $25,000 in the case. While the lawsuit was still pending, Charles Frey was driving Bennett's car when it struck a young woman, who was killed. Bennett was a passenger in the car. In 1927, she was sued for the care expenses of a horse she once owned. In 1928, she was sued for damages by a landlord who said Bennett destroyed furniture and removed other items from a rented apartment. Bennett lost that case, too, and had to pay $400 to the landlord. In 1930, Bennett sued Anthony J. Wettach after another car accident; she ended up marrying him instead. In 1932, she was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly."Wilda Bennett Under Arrest" Central New Jersey Home News (August 16, 1932): 1. via Newspapers.com
Bennett was married four times. Her husbands were, in order, actor-producer Robert Schable (divorced in 1920), Argentine dancer Abraham "Peppy" de Albrew (married 1926, separated in 1927), Anthony J. Wettach (married 1930, divorced 1933), and mining engineer Munro Whitmore (died 1960).
Bennett died on December 20, 1967, in Winnemucca, Nevada."Wilda Bennett, 73; Left City for Stage Success" Asbury Park Press (December 24, 1967): 2. via Newspapers.com
References
External links
Wilda Bennett's listing at IBDB Wilda Bennett's listing at AllMusic An undated photograph of Wilda Bennett in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections A 1926 photograph of Wilda Bennett in the J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, Digital Collections