BIO

Richard Bennett was born Clarence Charles William Henry Richard Bennett in Deer Creek Township, Indiana, in 1870.

Bennett began acting on the stage in Chicago, Illinois before moving to New York City.   There, he made his Broadway debut in 1899, at the age of 27.   He became a stage star, appearing in 37 Broadway productions over the next 3 decades.

Bennett wrote, directed and starred in his first film, a silent picture for American Films, in 1914, at the age of 42.   It was a reprisal of his role in the Broadway revival Damaged Goods (1913).

He appeared in less than 30 motion pictures, mostly as a character actor toward the end of his career.   His last film role was in 1943.

Bennett married three times:

1. Grena Heller, stage actress, (m. 1901-1903), divorced;
2. Adrienne Morrison (1883-1940), actress, (m. 1903-1925), three children, divorced.   All their children became the actresses: Barbara Bennett (1906-1958), Constance Bennett (1904-1965), and Joan Bennett (1910-1990).
3. Aimee Raisch, stage actress, (m. 1927-1937), divorced.

He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1944, at the age of 74.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at: