image of Claire Trevor
Birthday: Mar 08, 1910
Place of Birth: Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Claire Trevor

Claire Trevor (née Wemlinger; March 8, 1910 – April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Key Largo (1948), and received nominations for her roles in The High and the Mighty (1954) and Dead End (1937). Trevor received top billing, ahead of John Wayne, for Stagecoach (1939). Trevor's acting career spanned more than seven decades and included successes in stage, radio, television, and film. She often played the hard-boiled blonde, and every conceivable type of 'bad girl' role. She made her stage debut in the summer of 1929 with a repertory company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She subsequently returned to New York, where she appeared in a number of Brooklyn-filmed Vitaphone short films and performed in summer stock theatre. In 1932, she starred on Broadway as the female lead in Whistling in the Dark. Trevor made her film debut in Jimmy and Sally (1933). From 1933 to 1938, Trevor starred in 29 films, often having either the lead role or the role of heroine. In 1937, she was the second lead actress (after top-billed Sylvia Sidney) in Dead End, with Humphrey Bogart, which led to her nomination for Best Supporting Actress. From 1937 to 1940, she appeared with Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio series Big Town, while continuing to make movies. In the early 1940s, she also was a regular on The Old Gold Don Ameche Show on the NBC Red Radio Network, starring with Ameche in presentations of plays by Mark Hellinger. In 1939, she was well established as a solid leading lady. One of her more memorable performances during this period includes the Western Stagecoach (1939). Two of Trevor's most memorable roles were opposite Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944) and with Lawrence Tierney in Born to Kill (1947). In Key Largo (1948), Trevor played Gaye Dawn, a washed-up, alcoholic nightclub singer and gangster's moll. For that role, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her third and final Oscar nomination was for her performance in The High and the Mighty (1954). In 1957, she won an Emmy for her role in the Producers' Showcase episode entitled "Dodsworth". Trevor moved into supporting roles in the 1950s, with her appearances becoming very rare after the mid-1960s. She played Charlotte, the mother of Kay (Sally Field) in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). Her final television role was for the 1987 television film, Norman Rockwell's Breaking Home Ties. Trevor made a guest appearance at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]

Filmography
Movie Cast Year
Stagecoach Dallas 1939
Murder, My Sweet Helen Grayle 1944
Key Largo Gaye Dawn 1948
Baby Take a Bow Kay Ellison 1934
Hoodlum Empire Connie Williams 1952
How to Murder Your Wife Edna 1965
Marjorie Morningstar Rose Morgenstern 1958
Crack-Up Terry Cordell 1946
Raw Deal Pat Cameron 1948
Born to Kill Helen Brent 1947
Wild Gold Jerry Jordan 1934
Dead End Francey 1937
Dark Command Miss Mary McCloud 1940
The Velvet Touch Marian Webster 1948
Johnny Angel Lilah 'Lily' Gustafson 1945
Street of Chance Ruth Dillon 1942
Crossroads Michelle Allaine 1942
Man Without a Star Idonee 1955
The Stranger Wore a Gun Josie Sullivan 1953
The Cape Town Affair Sam Williams 1967
The Babe Ruth Story Claire Hodgson Ruth 1948
Allegheny Uprising Janie MacDougall 1939
Two Weeks in Another Town Clara Kruger 1962
I Stole a Million Laura Benson 1939
Borderline Madeleine Haley 1950
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse Jo Keller 1938
The High and the Mighty May Holst 1954
Kiss Me Goodbye Charlotte 1982
Hard, Fast and Beautiful Millie Farley 1951
Texas Michael 'Mike' King 1941
The Mountain Marie 1956
Stop, You're Killing Me Nora Marko 1952
The Desperadoes Countess Maletta 1943
Honky Tonk "Gold Dust" Nelson 1941
Best of the Badmen Lily 1951
Career Woman Carroll Aiken 1936
Lucy Gallant Lady MacBeth 1955
Good Luck, Mr. Yates Ruth Jones 1943
The Lucky Stiff Marguerite Seaton 1949
Dante's Inferno Elizabeth "Betty" McWade Carter 1935
Black Sheep Janette Foster 1935
One Mile from Heaven Lucy 'Tex' Warren 1937
15 Maiden Lane Jane Martin 1936
Second Honeymoon Marcia 1937
The Stripper Helen Baird 1963
Valley of the Giants Lee Roberts 1938
Spring Tonic Betty Ingals 1935
Five of a Kind Christine Nelson 1938
The Bachelor's Daughters Cynthia Davis 1946
The Woman of the Town Dora Hand 1943
The Mad Game Jane Lee 1933
Going Hollywood: The '30s (archive footage) 1984
My Man and I Mrs. Elena Ames 1952
Human Cargo Bonnie Brewster 1936
To Mary - with Love Kitty Brant 1936
Life in the Raw Judy Halloway 1933
The Adventures of Martin Eden Connie Dawson 1942
Song and Dance Man Julia Carroll 1936
Navy Wife Vicky Blake 1935
Time Out for Romance Barbara Blanchard 1937
Big Town Girl Fay Loring 1937
Hold That Girl Tonie Bellamy 1934
King of Gamblers Dixie Moore 1937
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story Self 2008
The Last Trail Patricia Carter 1933
Star for a Night Nina Lind 1936
Jimmy and Sally Sally Johnson 1933
Elinor Norton Elinor Norton 1934
My Marriage Carol Barton 1936
Walking Down Broadway Joan Bradley 1938
A Star Is Born World Premiere Self 1954
Breaking Home Ties Grace Porter 1987
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs 1936
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year Self (archive footage) 2009
Series Cast Year
General Electric Theater Cora Leslie 1953
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mary Prescott 1955
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse 1958
Lux Video Theatre Ellen Creed 1950
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Mary Hunter 1951
Climax! Phyllis Talbot 1954
Dr. Kildare Nurse Veronica Johnson 1961
The Oscars Self 1953
Wagon Train C.L. Harding 1957
Lux Video Theatre Mary Scott 1950
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mrs. Meade 1955
Murder, She Wrote Judith Harlan 1984
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Self 1962
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