Helen Twelvetrees
| Helen Twelvetrees | |
|---|---|
Studio portrait, 1933
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|
| Born |
Helen Marie Jurgens December 25, 1908 Brooklyn, New York, US |
| Died | February 13, 1958 (aged 49) Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, US |
| Cause of death | Sedative overdose |
| Resting place | Middletown Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Public School #119 Brooklyn Heights Seminary |
| Alma mater | American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1927–1951 |
| Spouse(s) |
Clark Twelvetrees (m. 1927; div. 1931) Frank Woody (m. 1931; div. 1936) Conrad Payne (m. 1947–58) |
| Children | Jack Bryan Woody (b. 1932-d.2016) |
Helen Marie Twelvetrees (December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American film and theatre actress, who became a top female star through a series of "women's pictures" in the early 1930s.
She was born Helen Marie Jurgens in Brooklyn, where she attended Public School 119. Her family moved to Flatbush, where her younger brother was born. During the winter of 1919, the four-bedroom apartment in which the family resided caught fire one night. Twelvetrees's brother perished in the burning structure, but the rest of the family was rescued. Later she attended Brooklyn Heights Seminary. After graduation, she enrolled in the Art Students League of New York, where she studied for a year before enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. While attending AADA, she met actor Clark Twelvetrees, whom she married in 1927. She adopted her husband's surname which she used as her professional name.
With some stage experience, Twelvetrees went to Hollywood with a number of other actors to replace the silent stars who could not or would not make the transition to talkies. Her first job was with Fox Film Corporation, and she appeared in The Ghost Talks (1929). After three films with Fox, she was released from her contract. However, she was signed by Pathé shortly thereafter, and along with Constance Bennett and Ann Harding, Twelvetrees starred in several lachrymose dramas, not all of which were critically acclaimed. When Pathé was absorbed by RKO Radio Pictures, she found herself at various times miscast in mediocre films. With the arrival of Katharine Hepburn at RKO, Twelvetrees left the studio to freelance (Harding and Bennett would also subsequently depart).
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