Helene Whitney

For the TV producer of a similar name, see Helen Whitney.

Helene Whitney (born Kenyon Fortescue, July 4, 1914 – March 28, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s. She was known as Helene Reynolds after her marriage.

Helene Whitney
Whitney (as Fortescue Reynolds) in Los Angeles, 1930s
Born	Kenyon Fortescue (1914-07-04)July 4, 1914 Brussels, Belgium
Died	March 28, 1990(1990-03-28) (aged 75) Atlantis, Florida, U.S.
Other names	Helen Fortescue Joyce Gardner Helene Reynolds
Years active	1939–1948
Spouse	J. Louis Reynolds (1936–1939; divorced)
Parent(s)	Granville Roland Fortescue Grace Fortescue

Biography

Whitney was born Kenyon Fortescue in 1914, but was known as Helene.^[1][2] Through her mother, Grace Fortescue, she was a grandniece (and cousin twice removed) of Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. Through her father Granville Roland Fortescue, she was a first cousin once removed of US President Theodore Roosevelt.

She grew up in Washington D.C. where she attended the National Cathedral School for Girls.^[3] She married Julian Louis Reynolds,^[2] son of Richard S. Reynolds, Sr.^[4] and heir to the Reynolds aluminum and tobacco fortunes, on July 15, 1936, in Washington, becoming Helene Fortescue Reynolds.^[5] After three years of marriage, they divorced in May 1939.^[5][6][7]

She became an actress, using the stage names of Joyce Gardner, Helene Whitney and Helene Reynolds, appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s and later in stage productions.^[3] After her acting career ended, she became a Manhattan art gallery proprietor and artist in the 1960s.^[1] She died of pneumonia at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida aged 75 on March 28, 1990.^[3]

Filmography

As Helene Whitney/Helen Whitney

Year	Title	Role
1939	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Fleur de Lys	NYT
1940	The Saint's Double Trouble	Anne Bitts	IMDb
1940	Millionaire Playboy aka Glamour Boy (UK)	uncredited	IMDb
1940	The Philadelphia Story	Main Line Society Woman	IMDb
1941	City of Missing Girls	Katherine Crawford	IMDb

As Helene Reynolds

Year	Title	Role
1941	Confirm or Deny	Dorothy	IMDb
1941	Blue, White and Perfect	Helen Shaw	NYT
1942	Girl Trouble	Helen Martin	IMDb
1942	Roxie Hart	Velma Wall	IMDb
1942	Tales of Manhattan	Actress	IMDb
1942	Moontide	Woman in boat	IMDb
1942	The Man Who Wouldn't Die	Anna Wolff	NYT
1943	Dixie Dugan	Jean Patterson	IMDb
1943	Heaven Can Wait	Peggy Nash	IMdb
1943	Wintertime	Marian Daly (uncredited)	NYT
1943	The Meanest Man in the World0	Wife (Park Ave. Neighbor)	IMDb
1944	Bermuda Mystery	Angela	IMDb

Television

As Helene Reynolds

Year	Title	Role
1945	The Front Page	Mollie Malloy	IMDb
1948	Mirage in Manhattan (Chevrolet Tele-Theatre)		IMDb

Stage

• Oh, Captain! (February 4, 1958 – July 19, 1958)
• Happy Hunting (December 6, 1956 – November 30, 1957)
• Call Me Madam (October 12, 1950 – May 3, 1952)
• Miss Liberty (July 15, 1949 – April 8, 1950)
• High Button Shoes (October 9, 1947 – July 2, 1949)
• Yours Is My Heart (September 5, 1946 – October 5, 1946)

Family tree

v t e Hubbard-Fortescue family tree
David Charles Bell (1817–1902) Gardiner Greene Hubbard (1822–1897) Gertrude McCurdy (1827–1909) Alexander Melville Bell (1819–1905) Cornelius Roosevelt (1794–1871) Margaret Barnhill (1799–1861) Charles Bell (1858–1929) Roberta Hubbard (1859–1885) Mabel Hubbard (1857–1923) A. G. Bell (1847–1922) Robert Roosevelt (1829–1906) Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (1831–1878) Grace Hubbard Fortescue (1883–1979) "Rolly" Fortescue (1875–1952) Theodore Roosevelt U.S. President (1858–1919) Thomas H. Massie (1905–1987) Thalia Massie (1911–1963 ) Julian Louis Reynolds (1910–1983) Helene Whitney (1914–1990)
Notes:

References

1. Spinzia, Raymond E. "Those Other Roosevelts: The Fortescues". THE FREEHOLDER: Magazine Online. The Oyster Bay Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
2. Ancestry.co Historical Person Overview: Kenyon "Helene" Fortescue, accessed May 2017.
3. "Obituary: Helene Fortescue Reynolds". The Washington Post. Mar 31, 1990. p. B5. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
4. "Milestones". Time. July 27, 1936. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
5. "Helene Reyonlds To Seek Friendly Divorce in Reno". The Washington Post. Mar 26, 1939. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
6. Fine, Mary Jane (January 23, 1984). "Reliving a scandalous past". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-01-03. "The papers crowed about the wedding, when Helen Fortescue and Julian Reynolds married on July 15, 1936, in Washington, DC, where Helene had grown up. They gloated over the divorce a few years later in story after sparing nary a detail.... The divorce was granted in May of 1939."
7. "Former Helen Fortesque at Reno to divorce Reynolds". The New York Times. March 28, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-01-03. "Mrs. Helen E. Fortesque Reynolds arrived here today by plane from New York, prepared to take up residence to divorce Julian Louis Reynolds, tobacco heir."

External links

• Helene Whitney at IMDb
• Helene Whitney at the Internet Broadway Database