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01
Among American actors, Joan Bennett made the most films for Fritz Lang, totaling five, despite the director’s difficult reputation.
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02
At 39, Bennett became Hollywood’s youngest grandmother when her daughter gave birth; Marlene Dietrich, the previous titleholder, sent a congratulatory telegram.
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03
In 1951, husband Walter Wanger shot Bennett’s agent Jennings Lang in the groin after discovering their affair; Wanger was convicted of attempted murder and served four months.
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04
Bennett was a frequent target of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper; in 1950 she mailed Hopper a skunk with a note reading You Stink!
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05
She was one of only three cast members to appear on Dark Shadows from its first episode on June 27, 1966 to its last on April 2, 1971.
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06
She was the younger sister of actresses Barbara Bennett and Constance Bennett.
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07
She was a finalist for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind 1939; producer David O. Selznick offered to cast her daughter Diana as Bonnie Blue Butler, but Bennett refused because Diana was too old at 11.
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08
She was offered the role of Beth McCarthy in Cocoon 1985 by director Ron Howard, but her fourth husband David Wilde talked her out of it, a decision she later regretted when the film became a hit.
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09
Archive footage of Bennett appears in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show 1971 showing a clip from Father of the Bride 1950.
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10
She was pregnant with daughter Melinda Markey while filming Little Women 1933.
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11
Her hobbies included interior decorating, gardening, dog breeding, and collecting miniature model horses.
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12
She was nearsighted and wore glasses when not in public view.
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13
At her death, Bennett had 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren on the way.
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14
She was an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee and the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, donating time and money to liberal causes and candidates including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter.
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15
She appeared in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: Disraeli 1929, Little Women 1933, and Father of the Bride 1950 across three decades.
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16
She played Amy March in Little Women 1933 with Katharine Hepburn, and later played Elizabeth Taylor’s mother in Father of the Bride 1950; Taylor would go on to play Amy March in the 1949 remake.
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17
In her 1970 memoir The Bennett Playbill, she listed personal trivia: she loved peanut butter, knocked on wood, made great hollandaise sauce, loved fresh flowers, hated turnips, slept in a nightgown, and favored shocking pink and green.
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18
From 1961 to 1964, she was romantically involved with actor John Emery and cared for him until his death.
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19
Filming of She Wanted a Millionaire 1932 was halted for six months when she broke her leg in a fall from a horse.
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20
Her grandfather, Lewis Morrison born Morris W. Morris, was of English and Spanish descent and served as a lieutenant in the Civil War.
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21
Her 78 feature-length films include at least five bit parts in silents and six TV-movies.
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22
Her production company, Diana Productions, was named after her daughter Diana.
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23
She was called Doanie by her grandchildren because one granddaughter could not say Joanie.
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24
She was the aunt of Gyl Roland, Lorinda Roland, and Morton Downey Jr.
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25
She co-starred with Edward G. Robinson in The Woman in the Window 1944 and Scarlet Street 1945.
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26
Her grandmother was Rose Wood and her grandfather was stage actor Lewis Morrison.
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27
At age 39, she was the youngest grandmother among famous actresses.
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28
In 1931, the Max Fleischer Studios’ ad for Betty Boop described her as having the sweetness of Joan Bennett.
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29
Her daughters: Adrienne Ralston Fox Diana, born 1928, Melinda Markey 1934, Stephanie Wanger 1943, and Shelley Wanger 1948.
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30
Her first grandchild, Amanda Anderson, was born in March 1949 to daughter Diana.
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31
She was acting mentor and friend of David Selby.
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32
She was the daughter of actors Richard Bennett and Adrienne Morrison.
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33
In the late 1930s, she had two pet dogs: Mugsy and Boojums.
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34
She was the ex-mother-in-law of Don Hayden.
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35
Her biography appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume Two, 1986-1990.
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36
In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Lydia Simoneschi, including Father of the Bride 1950 and Father’s Little Dividend 1951.
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37
Her fourth husband David Wilde was a cross-dresser with an alter ego named Gail; they met during Dark Shadows and were married 13 years until her death, after which Wilde resumed his persona until his suicide in 2001.
