Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other notable films include Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Woman of the Year (1942), State Fair (1945), and The Children's Hour (1960)
Early life
thumb|right|Portrait of Fay Bainter by [[Robert Henri (1918)]]
Bainter was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell.
Career
thumb|right|Fay Bainter in [[Jezebel (1938 film)|Jezebel (1938).]]
Bainter made her first appearance on stage in 1908 in The County Chairman at Morosco's Burbank Theater, which was at 548-550 South Main Street, in Los Angeles, California. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress. Her Broadway debut was in the role of Celine Marinter in The Rose of Panama (1912). P. G. Wodehouse, reviewing Turn to the Right in Vanity Fair in 1916, wrote, "Miss Bainter's advent from nowhere and her instant success form the season's biggest sensation." She appeared in a number of successful plays in New York, such as East Is West, The Willow Tree, and Dodsworth. In 1926, she appeared with Walter Abel in a Broadway production of Channing Pollock's The Enemy. MGM persuaded her to try films and her movie debut was in This Side of Heaven (February 1934). Also in 1934, she appeared in Dodsworth on Broadway and in the film It Happened One Day. Bainter quickly achieved success in the movies, and in 1939, she became the first performer to receive two Oscar nominations in the same year, contending for both Best Actress for White Banners (1938) and Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (1938), winning for the latter. In 1940, she played Mrs. Gibbs in the film production of the Thornton Wilder play Our Town. In 1945, she played Melissa Frake in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical State Fair. She was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Children's Hour (1961).
Bainter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
Personal life
Fay Bainter and Reginald Venable were married on June 8, 1921, in Riverside, California. The couple had one son, Reginald Venable Jr., who became an actor.
Bainter was the aunt of actress Dorothy Burgess.
Bainter and Venable are interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Films
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1934
| This Side of Heaven
| Francene Turner
|
|-
| 1937
| Quality Street
| Susan Throssel
|
|-
| 1937
| The Soldier and the Lady
| Strogoff's Mother
|
|-
| 1937
| Make Way for Tomorrow
| Anita Cooper
|
|-
| 1938
| White Banners
| Hannah Parmalee
| Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress
|-
| 1938
| Jezebel
| Aunt Belle Massey
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
| 1938
| Mother Carey's Chickens
| Mrs. Margaret Carey
|
|-
| 1938
| The Arkansas Traveler
| Mrs. Martha Allen
|
|-
| 1938
| '
| Hannah Linden
|
|-
| 1939
| Yes, My Darling Daughter
| Ann "Annie" Murray
|
|-
| 1939
| The Lady and the Mob
| Hattie Leonard
|
|-
| 1939
| Daughters Courageous
| Nancy "Nan" Masters
|
|-
| 1939
| Our Neighbors – The Carters
| Ellen Carter
|
|-
| 1940
| Young Tom Edison
| Mrs. Samuel (Nancy) Edison
|
|-
| 1940
| Our Town
| Mrs. Julia Hersey Gibbs
|
|-
| 1940
| '
| Margaret "Meg" Fairfield
|
|-
| 1940
| Maryland
| Charlotte Danfield
|
|-
| 1941
| Babes on Broadway
| Miss "Jonesy" Jones
|
|-
| 1942
| Woman of the Year
| Ellen Whitcomb
|
|-
| 1942
| '
|Stella Hadley
|
|-
| 1942
| Journey for Margaret
| Trudy Strauss
|
|-
| 1942
| Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
| Mrs. Elvira Wiggs
|
|-
| 1943
| '
|Mrs. Macauley
|
|-
| 1943
| Presenting Lily Mars
| Mrs. Thornway
|
|-
| 1943
| Salute to the Marines
| Jennie Bailey
|
|-
| 1943
| Cry 'Havoc
| Captain Alice Marsh
|
|-
| 1944
| '
| Margaret Sibyll
|
|-
| 1944
| Dark Waters
| Aunt Emily
|
|-
| 1944
| Three Is a Family
| Frances Whittaker
|
|-
| 1945
| State Fair
| Melissa Frake
|
|-
| 1946
| '
| Mrs. E. Winthrop LeMoyne
|
|-
| 1946
| '
| Mrs. Taylor
|
|-
| 1947
| Deep Valley
| Ellie Saul
|
|-
| 1947
| '
| Mrs. Eunice Mitty
|
|-
| 1948
| Give My Regards to Broadway
| Fay Norwick
|
|-
| 1948
| June Bride
| Paula Winthrop
|
|-
| 1951
| Close to My Heart
| Mrs. Morrow
|
|-
| 1953
| '
| Mrs. Donaldson
|
|-
| 1961
| '
| Mrs. Amelia Tilford
| Laurel Award for Top Female Supporting Performance <small>(2nd place)</small><br />Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
|}
Radio appearances
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Program !! Episode/source
|-
| 1946
| Suspense
| 180/"The Lucky Lady"
|-
| 1952|| Theatre Guild on the Air || "The Search"
|}
See also
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars
References
Further reading
External links
- Fay Bainter and son Reggie Jr.
- Fay Bainter at Virtual History