Evelyn Brent

Born to Arthur and Eleanor(Warner) Riggs On October 20, 1895 in Tampa Florida, Mary's mother died when she was 10. As a teenager, she moved to New York City and became a model. Although she studied to become a teacher, her modeling career led to the new motion picture industry and she became an actress, at first working as an extra for $3 a day in New Jersey. As an actress, Mary Elizabeth Riggs changed her name to "Evelyn Brent" and a career began. By 1919 Betty Riggs was listed in the Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual as "Evelyn Brent". Later that year she sailed for London and appeared in a few films in Europe. She also appeared on the London stage in a comedy by George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). She was back in New York to marry her first husband, movie executive Bernard Powell Fineman (1895-1971) in November 1922. The couple divorced in 1927. After marrying her second husband Harry John Edwards (1887-1952) in November 1928 at Tijuana, Mexico, she transitioned into the "talkies", though the parts she was given were increasingly secondary roles. She appeared in fewer films throughout the 1930s and 1940s. No longer in demand by the major studios, she continued to appear in lower budget films. Evelyn Brent's third marriage in 1948 was to vaudevillian Harry Fox (1882-1959) (real name - Harry Messman or Arthur Carringford), a comedian who was known as being the dancing inspiration for Harry Fox's Trot (foxtrot). Evelyn Brent made her last film in 1950. Throughout her 35 years in the industry she is credited with appearing in no less than 126 films. In her later years she worked for the Thelma White Talent Agency in Hollywood. She died 4 June 1975 aged 79 and is buried in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Evelyn's parents were Arthur and Eleanor (Warner) Riggs. When Evelyn was 10, her mother died and she was subsequently raised by her single father. Then, as a teenager, she moved to New York City and studied to be a teacher. But since she was so striking, she found jobs as a model. And after visiting a local film studio in New Jersey, Evelyn was offered a job as an extra. Extras were earning $3/day and dreams of teaching were soon left in the rear-view mirror. Evelyn's first big film was in 1915, the silent film "The Shooting of Dan McGrew". After shooting the film, she took a brief hiatus and visited London, unexpectedly remaining there for 4 years. In those years, she appeared on the London stage. Returning to the States, she picked up her silent film career, making more than 2 dozen more silent films. Although Evelyn made a successful transition to "talkies", her career waned as her looks did. She began touring with vaudeville shows and taking increasingly smaller roles in movies. By 1960, she moved on to television, appearing in an episode of the popular show "Wagon Train". Married 3 times (her 3rd husband died in 1959), Evelyn died of a heart attack in 1959 in Los Angeles.