Binnie Barnes

Binnie Barnes
Born	Gertrude Maud Barnes (1903-05-25)25 May 1903 Islington, London, England
Died	Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1923–73
Spouse(s)	Samuel Joseph (m. 1931–36) Mike Frankovich (m. 1940–92) (his death); 3 children
Children	Mike Frankovich Jr. (b. 1942) Peter Frankovich (b. 1946) Michelle Frankovich De Motte (b. 1944)

Gertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes (25 May 1903 – 27 July 1998) was an English actress whose career in films spanned fifty years, from 1923 to 1973.

Life and career

Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoyce and George Barnes, a policeman. Before moving to Hollywood to become an actress, Barnes worked a series of jobs, such as chorus girl, nurse, and dance hostess.

She began her acting career in films in 1923, appearing in a short film made by Lee De Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Her film career continued in Great Britain, most notably in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) as Katherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. Barnes' main qualm in accepting roles as an actress was that she not play submissive roles. Barnes once remarked "One picture is just like another to me, as long as I don't have to be a sweet woman". Later her career continued in Hollywood, until 1973, when she appeared in the comedy 40 Carats, her last acting role.

Marriage

She was married, secondly, to film producer Mike Frankovich, and later a naturalized United States citizen. The couple adopted three children.

Death

Binnie Barnes died in 1998 of natural causes, aged 95, in Beverly Hills, California. She was survived by her three children, including production manager, Mike Frankovich, Jr., and producer Peter Frankovich. She was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

Partial filmography

• Night in Montmartre (1931)
• Doctor Josser K.C. (1931)
• Love Lies (1931)
• Murder at Covent Garden (1932)
• Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! (1932)
• The Innocents of Chicago (1932)
• Down Our Street (1932)
• Counsel's Opinion (1933)
• Heads We Go (1933)
• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
• Their Night Out (1933)
• Taxi to Paradise (1933)
• The Silver Spoon (1934)
• One Exciting Adventure (1934)
• There's Always Tomorrow (1934)
• The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
• Forbidden Territory (1934)
• Diamond Jim (1935)
• Rendezvous (1935)
• La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935)
• The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
• Three Smart Girls (1936)
• Small Town Girl (1936)
• Broadway Melody of 1938 (1938)
• The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
• The First Hundred Years (1938)
• The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
• Holiday (1938)
• Three Blind Mice (1938)
• Always Goodbye (1938)
• Tropic Holiday (1938)
• The Three Musketeers (1939)
• Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)
• Man About Town (1939)
• Frontier Marshal (1939)
• 'Til We Meet Again (1940)
• This Thing Called Love (1940)
• Tight Shoes (1941)
• The Great Awakening (1941)
• Skylark (1941)
• In Old California (1942)
• I Married an Angel (1942)
• The Man from Down Under (1943)
• Barbary Coast Gent (1944)
• It's in the Bag (1945)
• The Spanish Main (1945)
• The Time of Their Lives (1946)
• If Winter Comes (1947)
• The Pirates of Capri (1949)
• Decameron Nights (1953)
• Malaga (1954)
• The Donna Reed Show (ABC television series), in "Just a Little Wedding" (1963) and the final series episode "By-Line: Jeff Stone" (1966)
• The Trouble with Angels (1966)
• Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1969)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC television series) (2/15/73)
• 40 Carats (1973)

External links

• Binnie Barnes at the Internet Movie Database
• Binnie Barnes at Find a Grave
• Photographs and literature