Irene Bentley

Irene Bentley (1869 or 1870[1] – June 3, 1940) was an American stage actress and vocalist.

Irene Bentley
1908
Born1869 or 1870
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJune 3, 1940
Allenhurst, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1895-1910
Spouse(s)James Thomas Sothoron Jr. (divorced 1906)
Harry B. Smith (m. 1906)

Biography

Bentley was born in Baltimore, Maryland, The daughter of William H. Bentley and Alexina Mabee Bentley.[1]

Bentley's stage debut came in April 1895 when she performed in Little Christopher in Palmer's Theatre in New York.[1] She went on to become "a major stage star in New York and London".[2]

She appeared in Sally in Our Alley with Marie Cahill and also in The Belle of Bohemia, The Belle of New York, The Strollers, It Happened in Nordland, and The Belle of Mayfair.[3]

Niece

A niece of her second husband, Harry B. Smith, used Irene Bentley's name to become a film actress. Hence there are two actresses named Irene Bentley when perusing film or stage biographies. The younger Irene Bentley was born in 1904 and died in 1965, and appeared in films such as My Weakness (1933), Smoky (1933), and Frontier Marshal (1934).

Personal life and death

Bentley first married J. T. Sothoron. She later married librettist Harry B. Smith. This was her second marriage.[4] She died at her home in Allenhurst, New Jersey, on June 3, 1940, aged 70.[1]

References
  1. "Irene Bentley, 70, Former Actress". The New York Times. June 4, 1940. p. 23. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  2. Mackin, Jim (November 24, 2020). Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan’s Upper West Side: Bloomingdale–Morningside Heights. Fordham University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-8232-8931-8. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. Who Was Who in The Theatre: 1912-1976 vol. 1 (A-C), p. 188 originally published annually by John Parker; this 1976 edition by Gale Research Company
  4. "Irene Bentley Weds: Actress and Harry B. Smith, the Librettist, Married in Boston", New York Times, November 26, 1906.
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