Helen Burgess

Helen Margarite Burgess (April 26, 1916 – April 7, 1937) was an American film and stage actress. Discovered by Cecil B. DeMille, she began her acting career in 1936 at age nineteen, playing Louisa Cody in DeMille's Western biopic The Plainsman. She would appear in four films as a contract player for Paramount Pictures before dying at age twenty from pneumonia.

Life and career Early life Helen Margarite Burgess was born in Portland, Oregon in 1916, the daughter of Frank T. and Estella "Fanny" L. (née Hayden) Burgess. and was described as a shy child. the marriage lasted two months, and was annulled on March 15, 1937. Burgess's condition worsened, to the point that she was hospitalized with lobar pneumonia. On the morning of April 7, she was placed in an oxygen tent; she would die later that evening at her home in Hollywood. During her funeral on April 9, the crew of Night of Mystery were forced to continue filming "around" the scenes she had been unable to complete.

She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1936 The Plainsman Louisa Cody 1937 A Doctor's Diary Ruth Hanlon 1937 King of Gamblers Jackie Nolan 1937 Night of Mystery Ada Greene (final film role)