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
Bonnie Bannon, from the 1932 yearbook of Fresno High School
Born
Pauline Frances Bannon

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

Early life and education

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

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

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
  1. "Fresnans Get 240 Pounder". The Fresno Bee. 1939-07-03. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Mrs. E. G. Schofield". The Fresno Bee. 1969-01-20. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Bannons Are Wed 50 Years". The Fresno Bee. 1960-05-01. p. 62. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  4. "Mrs. Bannon, 79, Dies; Rites Set". The Fresno Bee. 1966-10-17. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – 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. 1932-04-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Brunettes Preferred Over Blond Sisters". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1935-05-06. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – 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. Webster, Diane B. (1960-05-08). "Favorite Role of Former Movie Actress is That of Mrs. Jones". The Fresno Bee. p. 52. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Othman, Frederick C. (1940-02-19). "Strait-Laced Young Ladies Complain". The Courier-Journal. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Hale, Wanda (1944-12-13). "Fun, Pathos in Film of Army Bride". Daily News. p. 650. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – 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. 1936-02-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Divorce Won by Actress; Film Executive's Choice of Gay Night Life Aired by Bonnie Bannon". The Los Angeles Times. 1936-02-19. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Brother of Alice Faye Marries". The Spokesman-Review. 1934-10-14. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Movie Romance Links Berkeley, Bonnie Bannon". The Fresno Bee. 1937-02-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Actress Tells Secret Wedding; Single Girl Role in Picture Brings About Disclosure". The Los Angeles Times. 1938-05-06. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Film Actress Gets Divorce". The Los Angeles Times. 1941-06-17. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – 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. (1946-12-18). "Director Mervyn Leroy Signs Long Term MGM Contract". The Modesto Bee. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – 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. 1951-02-11. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
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