# Wilda Bennett > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wilda_Bennett > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wilda_Bennett.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilda_Bennett > Source revision: 1354689728 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American actress (1894–1967)}} {{Infobox person | name = Wilda Bennett | image = WILDA BENNETT From Who's Who on the Screen.jpg | image_size = 220px | alt = | caption = Portrait of Bennett in ''Who's Who
on the Screen'', 1920 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1894|12|19}} | birth_place = [Asbury Park, New Jersey](/source/Asbury_Park%2C_New_Jersey) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|12|20|1894|12|19}} | death_place = [Winnemucca, Nevada](/source/Winnemucca%2C_Nevada) | other_names = | occupation = Actress | years_active = | spouse = {{plainlist| * [Robert Schable](/source/Robert_Schable)
Abraham de Albrew
Anthony J. Wettach * Munro Whitmore }} | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''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](/source/Asbury_Park%2C_New_Jersey).Burns Mantle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_nzNAAAAMAAJ&dq=Wilda+Bennett&pg=PA988 "What's What in the Theater"] ''Green Book Magazine'' (December 1917): 988.{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Arrives |work=The New York Times |date=October 17, 1917 |page=28 |id={{ProQuest|98080087}}}} Bennett's father was John H. Bennett, a city building inspector.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18540729/wilda_bennett_1914/ "Praise Wilda Bennett"] ''Asbury Park Press'' (October 17, 1914): 2. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) {{open access}} ==Career== Bennett's Broadway credits included ''Everywoman'' (1911–1912), ''A Good Little Devil'' (1913), ''[The Only Girl](/source/The_Only_Girl_(musical))'' (1914–1915), ''[The Riviera Girl](/source/Die_Cs%C3%A1rd%C3%A1sf%C3%BCrstin)'' (1917), ''[The Girl Behind the Gun](/source/Kissing_Time)'' (1918–1919), ''[Apple Blossoms](/source/Apple_Blossoms)'' (1919–1920), ''[Music Box Revue](/source/Music_Box_Revue)'' (1921–1922), ''The Lady in Ermine'' (1922–1923),[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18540848/wilda_bennett_1922/ "Lovely Little Runaway Scores Her Greatest Operatic Success"] ''Asbury Park Press'' (November 7, 1922): 5. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com){{open access}} 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),{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett in Lovely Lady |work=The New York Times |date=February 22, 1928 |page=24 |id={{ProQuest|104647712}}}} and ''[Merrily We Roll Along](/source/Merrily_We_Roll_Along_(play))'' (1934).{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett in New Play |work=The New York Times |date=September 13, 1934 |page=26 |id={{ProQuest|101195201}}}} She reprised her title role in ''The Only Girl'' for a radio production in 1927.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18540126/wilda_bennett_1927/ "Victor Herbert's 'The Only Girl' On Air Next Saturday"] ''The Morning Call'' (October 9, 1927): 34. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com){{open access}} Films featuring Wilda Bennett included ''[A Good Little Devil](/source/A_Good_Little_Devil)'' (1914, lost), ''[Love, Honor and Obey](/source/Love%2C_Honor_and_Obey)'' (1920), ''[Bullets or Ballots](/source/Bullets_or_Ballots)'' (1936), ''[Dark Victory](/source/Dark_Victory)'' (1939), ''[The Women](/source/The_Women_(1939_film))'' (1939), ''[What a Life](/source/What_a_Life_(film))'' (1939), ''[Ninotchka](/source/Ninotchka)'' (1939), ''[Those Were the Days!](/source/Those_Were_the_Days!_(1940_film))'' (1940), and ''[The Lady Eve](/source/The_Lady_Eve)'' (1941). ==Personal life== Bennett's personal life involved multiple legal troubles that brought additional, ongoing, national press attention.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18539831/wilda_bennett_1925/ "Wilda Bennett's Hard Luck – Isn't it the Limit?"] ''Courier-Journal'' (October 11, 1925): 99. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com){{open access}} 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.{{cite news |title=Frey Verdict Due Today: Decision Against Wilda Bennett Seen In Jurymen's Greeting |work=The New York Times |date=October 26, 1925 |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|103487017}}}} 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.{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett's Auto Kills Girl in Crash: Driver a Party in $100,000 Alienation Suit |work=The New York Times |date=July 31, 1925 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|103514546}}}} In 1927, she was sued for the care expenses of a horse she once owned.{{cite news |title=$5 for Horse's Tooth: Hostlers File $1,279 Against Wilda Bennett for Care of Mount |work=The New York Times |date=October 27, 1927 |page=38 |id={{ProQuest|104072479}}}} 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.{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Case Opens: Mrs. C.K. Palmer Testifies Actress Damaged Her Apartment |work=The New York Times |date=June 19, 1928 |page=18 |id={{ProQuest|104543206}}}} In 1930, Bennett sued Anthony J. Wettach after another car accident; she ended up marrying him instead.{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Weds Defendant in her Suit: A.J. Wettach Was Named by Actress in $20,000 Action for Auto Injuries |work=The New York Times |date=December 17, 1930 |page=30 |id={{ProQuest|98726998}}}} In 1932, she was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18541336/wilda_bennett_1932/ "Wilda Bennett Under Arrest"] ''Central New Jersey Home News'' (August 16, 1932): 1. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com){{open access}} Bennett was married four times. Her husbands were, in order, actor-producer [Robert Schable](/source/%3Afr%3ARobert_Schable) (divorced in 1920), Argentine dancer Abraham "Peppy" de Albrew (married 1926, separated in 1927),{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Wed to Cabaret Dancer: Married Peppy DeAlbro Two Weeks Ago – Actress Lost in Alienation Suit Last Fall |work=The New York Times |date=April 24, 1926 |page=20 |id={{ProQuest|103806126}}}}{{cite news |title=Actress and Dancer Part: Wilda Bennett May Seek Legal Release From de Albro |work=The New York Times |date=December 9, 1927 |page=29 |id={{ProQuest|104004472}}}} Anthony J. Wettach (married 1930, divorced 1933),{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Divorced: A.J. Wettach Gets Decree From Actress in Trenton, N.J. |work=The New York Times |date=July 28, 1933 |page=18 |id={{ProQuest|100894348}}}} and mining engineer Munro Whitmore (died 1960). Bennett died on December 20, 1967, in [Winnemucca, Nevada](/source/Winnemucca%2C_Nevada).{{cite news |title=Wilda Bennett Dead at 73; Starred in Musicals Here |work=The New York Times |date=December 23, 1967 |page=23 |id={{ProQuest|117507941}}}}[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18541090/wilda_bennett_1967/ "Wilda Bennett, 73; Left City for Stage Success"] ''Asbury Park Press'' (December 24, 1967): 2. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) {{open access}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category|Wilda Bennett}} * {{IMDb name|0072118}} * [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/wilda-bennett-31738 Wilda Bennett's listing at IBDB] * [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wilda-bennett-mn0001010440 Wilda Bennett's listing at AllMusic] * [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-0037-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 An undated photograph of Wilda Bennett] in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections * [http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/ref/collection/sayre/id/5459 A 1926 photograph of Wilda Bennett] in the J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, Digital Collections {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Wilda}} Category:1894 births Category:1967 deaths Category:American stage actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American silent film actresses Category:People from Asbury Park, New Jersey Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Monmouth County, New Jersey --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wilda Bennett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilda_Bennett) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilda_Bennett?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.