Helen Flint Explained

Helen Flint
Birth Date:14 June 1898
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:Georgetown University Hospital Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation:Actress, artists' model
Years Active:1921–1944
Spouse:Harmon Spencer Auguste[1] (1938–1939, divorced)

Helen Flint (June 14, 1898[2] [3] – September 9, 1967) was an American actress.

Early life and career

Born in Chicago,[4] Flint was the daughter of Mary Eva Black and attorney Alexander Flint,[5] [6] [7] and the niece of popular stage actress Dorothy Dorr. It was Dorr's career that first inspired her niece to pursue acting and she later facilitated Flint's efforts to find work on Broadway.[4] [7]

Flint debuted as a member of the chorus in the Ziegfeld Follies when she was 17.[1] Her Broadway resume included more than 20 productions between 1921 and 1946.[8] She also worked as a model, posing for such artists as James Montgomery Flagg and Arthur William Brown.[7]

Flint appeared in more than 20 films from 1931 to 1944, often portraying seedy or sexually available women.[2] Her films included Ah, Wilderness! and Black Legion. She portrayed the fortune-hunting actress Minna Tipton in David O. Selznick's production of Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Flint's career ended with an acting appearance in the comedy The Dancer (1953) in New York.[9]

Personal life and death

Banker H. Spencer Auguste married Flint on January 27, 1938 in Palm Beach, Florida.[10] They were divorced in Reno, Nevada, on January 7, 1939.[11]

In 1954, en route from New York to Palm Springs, Florida and a planned new home purchase, Flint's plans were abruptly overhauled by what was meant to be a brief stopover in the Georgetown district of Washington, D.C. A Georgetown resident for the remainder of her life, Flint eventually purchased four residential buildings containing four units each, becoming what, by 1958, The Washington Sunday Star would dub a "unique landlady" and "house mother" to tenants whose apartments were characterized above all by "homeyness."[12]

On September 9, 1967, Flint died in Georgetown University Hospital after being hit by a motorist. She was sixty-nine.[13]

Filmography

Year[14] TitleRoleNotes
1931The Clyde Mystery Ann Clyde short
1934The Ninth Guest Sylvia Inglesby
1934Midnight Ethel Saxton
1934Manhattan Love Song Carol Stewart
1934Handy Andy Mrs. Beauregard
1934Broadway Bill Mrs. Henry Early uncredited
1935Devil Dogs of the Air Mrs. Brown scenes deleted
1935While the Patient Slept Isobel Federie
1935Doubting Thomas Nelly Fell
1935Ah, Wilderness! Belle
1936Riffraff Sadie
1936Little Lord Fauntleroy Minna
1936Early to Bed Mrs. Duvall
1936Fury Franchette
1936A Son Comes Home Belle uncredited
1936Give Me Your Heart Dr. Florence Cudahy
1937Black Legion Pearl Danvers
1937Sea Devils Sadie Bennett
1937Step Lively, Jeeves! Babe
1937Married Before Breakfast Miss Fleeter
1937Blonde Trouble Lucille Sears
1942Time to Kill Marge uncredited
1944Gaslight Franchette uncredited

Notes and References

  1. Book: Willis . John . Screen World 1968 . June 1983 . Biblo & Tannen Publishers . 978-0-8196-0309-8 . June 4, 2021 . en.
  2. Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 247.
  3. "Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7HD-7GD : Sat Jul 20 23:06:13 UTC 2024), Entry for Flint and Alexander Flint, 14 Jun 1898.
  4. https://www.newspapers.com/article/springfield-evening-union/156748216/ "Helen Flint Returns"
  5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/718891815/?clipping_id=156750162 "Actress Here Hunts Mother's Girlhood Home"
  6. "United States Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSQD-Q6D : Thu Apr 11 18:03:44 UTC 2024), Entry for Alexander Flint and Mary Eva Flint, 1900.
  7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/689226449/?clipping_id=156753386 "Helen Flint Is Intrepid; Has Wandered Afar; Finally Lands in Pictures"
  8. Web site: Helen Flint . Internet Broadway Database . The Broadway League . June 5, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210605001342/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/helen-flint-40718 . June 5, 2021.
  9. News: Helen Flint, Actress of '20s, Struck by Car, Badly Hurt . June 5, 2021 . The New York Times . Associated Press . September 9, 1967 . 32.
  10. News: H. Spencer Auguste weds . June 5, 2021 . The New York Times . January 28, 1938 . 18.
  11. News: Helen Flint, Actress, Divorces Broker Mate . June 5, 2021 . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . United Press . January 8, 1939 . 3. Newspapers.com.
  12. Hornig, Roberta (December 14, 1958). "Unique Landlady: 'Homeyness' Is Key to Her Apartments". The Washington Star. p. D-37. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  13. United Press International (September 10, 1967). "Ziegfeld Star Dead of Injuries". Albuquerque Journal. p. B-24. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  14. Web site: Helen Flint . AllMovie . 2019-03-30.