Helen Gilbert

Helen Amelia Gilbert (July 4, 1915 – October 23, 1995) was an American film actress and musician.

Early years Gilbert was born in Pennsylvania and was raised in Warren, Ohio. Her talent with that instrument earned her a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music and an opportunity to play at the Hollywood Bowl.

Film Gilbert was described in a May 22, 1939, syndicated newspaper column as "The only studio musician who ever became an actress." Writer Paul Harrison explained that Gilbert had been playing cello in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer orchestra for two years when test director Fred M. Wilcox saw her "and asked why she was behind the camera instead of in front of it."

Gilbert's romantic proclivities may have cost her a role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Eila Mell wrote in the book Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others: "Helen Gilbert was the first choice to play Glinda the Good Witch. The actress was interested and it seemed the deal would be made. After she ran off with Howard Hughes, the role was up for grabs." Her activities with Hughes may have cost Gilbert more than that one film role. David J. Hogan’s book The Wizard of Oz FAQ nots: “Shortly after a young MGM contract player named Helen Gilbert was cast as Glinda, the inveterate girl-chaser Howard Hughes spirited her away for a fling … Gilbert was suspended, and the studio, which had been building her as a leading lady, allowed her contract to lapse after 1940.”

Personal life Gilbert's first husband was orchestra leader Mischa Bakaleinikoff.

She was married to actor Bill Marshall, probably during 1941, although the dates are uncertain.

On December 8, 1942, she was divorced by Seymour J. Chotiner, an attorney in Hollywood, California. They had been married five months. Her next husband was restaurateur Victor Makzoumet, married in 1945, who died in 1948. They divorced five months later in July 1949.

Her sixth (and penultimate) husband was Nevada casino manager James E. Durant. They married on September 28, 1949, in Las Vegas or in February, 1950 in Coolidge, Arizona. Gilbert maintained that the decree in Arizona was invalid, but she dropped her suit after marrying M.O. Bryant, who was "associated with her in a Hollywood cafe." They remained married until his death in 1987.

All of the unions were childless.

Death Gilbert died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles on October 23, 1995, at age 80. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea.

Filmography Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939) The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939) Florian (1940)