Helen Menken

Helen Menken
from the film Stage Door Canteen (1943).
Born	Helen Meinken (1901-12-12)December 12, 1901 New York City, New York
Died	March 27, 1966(1966-03-27) (aged 64) New York City, New York
Spouse(s)	Humphrey Bogart (m.1926–1928; divorced) John Swanson (m.1928-1932; divorced) Henry T. Smith (m.1932–1947; divorced) George N. Richard (m.1948–1966; her death)

Helen Menken (December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American actress.

Menken was born Helen Meinken in New York City, to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden. Her parents were deaf, and her early communication came via sign language. She did not begin talking until age 4.

Originally a teenage actress who made her Broadway theatre debut in Parlor, Bedroom and Bath in 1917. Her greatest stage triumphs were Seventh Heaven in 1922–1924 (Janet Gaynor played her role of Diane in the 1927 classic film); Mary of Scotland in 1933–1934 as Elizabeth I opposite Helen Hayes in the title role (Katharine Hepburn played Mary in the 1936 film version); and The Old Maid, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that starred Menken and Judith Anderson in 1935. Bette Davis would recreate Menken's role as the spinster with a secret in the 1939 film version. Menken's final Broadway appearance was in an unsuccessful play named The Laughing Woman, which ran for less than a month in 1937.

Her performance as Irene De Montcel in the first English-language production of The Captive, Edouard Bourdet's lesbian-themed drama, led to her arrest (along with the rest of the cast) on February 9, 1927. This arrest, reflecting 1920s attitudes about homosexuality, contributed to her lack of a film career and (probably) to her divorce from Bogart.

Menken was a major presence behind the scenes in the theater world, especially at the American Theatre Wing. She served as its chairman during World War II and began serving as president of the group in 1957.