Jane Fenmore Barnes (August 17, 1910 – March 20, 1998)[1][2] was a film and theatre actress in the United States during the 1930s. She originally studied to become a concert pianist before deciding to become an actress instead, spending several years on the theatre circuit along with radio dramas and modeling before becoming a film star for Fox Studios.
Jane Barnes | |
|---|---|
 Barnes c. 1937 | |
| Born | Jane Fenmore Barnes August 17, 1910 |
| Died | March 20, 1998 (aged 87) |
| Other names | Jane Barnes Moore |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1934–1937 |
| Spouse | Carlyle Moore Jr. |
| Parent | Clarence A. Barnes |
Cast in multiple major and minor film roles from 1934 through 1937, she then returned to theatre work to hone her acting skills before marrying actor Carlyle Moore Jr. in August 1937. When her theatre plans in New York on Broadway did not work out, she became a columnist for multiple papers, moving several times back to Massachusetts and then Hollywood. In her later years, she settled in Victorville, California and became a part of her local library group to support her love of books.
Career
editBorn as Jane Fenmore Barnes in Mansfield, Massachusetts, to Massachusetts Attorney General father Clarence A. Barnes and fashion magazine artist mother Helen Long,[3][4] Barnes attended the Wykeham Rise School for Girls and studied to become a concert pianist. Ultimately, however, she changed her mind on her career choices and instead signed a contract with Fox Studios to become an actress.[5] Before signing, she had worked as a secretary for her father's Representative office[6] before obtaining acting experience by appearing for two years in the Phidelah Rice Players theatre group in Martha's Vineyard. At the same time, she also performed in radio dramas and was featured as a model on magazine covers.[7]
While on a chartered ship, the SS Virginia, from New York to Los Angeles in 1933, Barnes' voyage encountered a hurricane in the Caribbean sea, though she was uninjured.[8] She eventually arrived at Movietone City to begin film work.[8] Not long after arriving, she also began taking pilot lessons in secret, so that she could fly her own plane back home.[9] In a 1936 contest to find the "Perfect Extra" that had 8,000 women competing, Barnes was chosen as the winner by a group of directors from Central Casting and given a film contract.[10] This also led to her being cast as one of the main female roles in 1937's Man of the People.[11] In the summer of 1937, Barnes returned to her home state to learn new techniques for acting. Joining the Mary Young Company in Centerville, Massachusetts, she aimed to appear in several theatre performances to obtain, as Marjory Adams for The Boston Globe stated, that "extra bit of polish which a girl needs nowadays to compete".[12]
After her training, she moved to New York to attempt to break into Broadway before she planned to return to Hollywood films as a more high-profile star. Living in Gramercy Park, she wrote from scratch her audition roll to try and get a theatre contract, naming it "Miss Milquetoast in New York". Her theatre plans did not work out, however, and she later moved back to Massachusetts and became a column writer for the Mansfield News and Foxboro Times. Her column was titled "Barnes Storming in Hollywood". Soon after, she returned to Hollywood and became switchboard receptionist for the American Federation of Radio Artists. She also wrote a chat column in the organization's bulletin.[4]
Years later, Barnes moved to Victorville, California and spent her time as secretary for the Friends of the Victorville Library group, helping them fundraise and support local children's programs. She continued writing, publishing a column in the local Daily Press titled "Ex Libris" to showcase her love for books.[4]
Filmography
edit- Such Women Are Dangerous (1934) as Nancy Ryan[13]
- Too Many Women (1934),[14] a short
- Gold Rush of 1934 (1934)[15] (Wild Gold)?
- The Gay Deception (1935)[16]
- Your Uncle Dudley (1935) as Marjorie Baxter[17]
- Naughty Marietta (1935)[18]
- Melody Trail (1935) as Helen[19]
- Frontier Justice (1935) as Ethel Gordon[20][21]
- Hollywood – The Second Step (Short, 1936)[22]
- Man of the People (1937) as Marie Rossetti[23]
- Stan (1937)[24] a film produced by the Standard Oil Company pf Indiana
Personal life
editFirst meeting in the summer of 1937 on the stage for the play Stop Light, Barnes married actor Carlyle Moore Jr. on August 28, 1937.[3] They had three children together.[4] She died on March 20, 1998, due to heart failure, aged 87.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FX72-5ZG : 12 November 2022), Jane Fenmore Barnes, 10.
- ^ a b "Valley Obituaries". Daily Press. March 24, 1998. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Movie Actress, Actor Wed At Mansfield". The Boston Globe. August 28, 1937. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Kellogg, Stuart (August 15, 1993). "Family & Friends: Jane Moore on Shirley Temple, Aaron Burr, the Victorville Library". Daily Press. pp. D1, D3. Retrieved November 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pedigreed Girls Crash Gates at Hollywood and Get Along in Celluloid". Oakland Tribune. December 3, 1933. Retrieved November 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Film Actress Takes to Air". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 30, 1933. Retrieved November 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Donald Reed and Jane Barnes". New York Daily News. August 28, 1933. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "40 Minutes of Terror in Trough of Wild Seas Told by Actress". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. October 3, 1933. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Real Sky-Going Movie Star". Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat. November 15, 1933. Retrieved November 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ""Perfect Extra" Is One In 8,000". The Evening Sun. January 7, 1937. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Former Extra Is In Featured Role". The Record. January 26, 1937. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Adams, Marjory (June 26, 1937). "Mansfield Girl Home From Hollywood For Cape Cod Training". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Such Women Are Dangerous". The Gazette. June 2, 1934. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Matt Moore Joins "Too Many Women"". The Los Angeles Times. February 24, 1934. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Six New Pictures To Start For Fox". Sunday Times Signal. February 18, 1934. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Pageant of the Film World". The Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1935. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Your Uncle Dudley". The Kansas City Star. December 22, 1935. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ""Naughty Marietta" To Open Friday at the Met". The Winnipeg Tribune. May 9, 1935. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wear. (December 11, 1935). "Film Reviews: Melody Trail". Variety. p. 34. ProQuest 1475869362.
Gene Autry.....Gene Autry; Frog Milhouse.....Smiley Burnette; Millicent Thomas.....Ann Rutherford; Timothy.....Wade Boteler; Matt Kirby.....Al Bridge; Frantz.....Willy Castello; Perdita.....Marie Quillen; Nell.....Fern Emmett; Cuddles.....Gertrude Messinger; Slim.....Tracy Lane; Pete.....George De Norman; Sally.....Marion Dowling; Mamie.....Ione Reed; Helen.....Jane Barnes; 'Buck'.....Buck
- ^ Flowers, John; Frizler, Paul (April 8, 2004). Psychotherapists on Film, 1899-1999: A Worldwide Guide to Over 5000 Films. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 9780786412976 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Frontier Justice". The Virginia Star. January 16, 1936. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jane Barnes Draws Lead". The Hollywood Reporter. November 6, 1936. p. 3. ProQuest 2297365800.
Jane Barnes draws the lead in 'Hollywood Second Step,' MGM short which gets underway next week.
- ^ "The ... Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures". J.W. Alicoate. October 15, 1938 – via Google Books.
- ^ "New Star On The Screen In "Stan"". Greenville Sun. June 17, 1937. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.