Helen Westcott(1928-1998)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born January 1, 1928, to acting parents, Helen Westcott's show biz
career began at the ripe old age of 4 when she performed on stage with
her vaudevillian mother who played piano and drums. Her father was
handsome Warner Bros. actor
Gordon Westcott who appeared in second
leads opposite a number of the top stars of the day including
Bette Davis,
Joe E. Brown,
Joan Blondell,
William Powell,
James Cagney, etc. His untimely death in
Hollywood at age 31 following a horse polo accident robbed Hollywood of
a rising talent and deprived Helen, then age 7, of her father. Through
her father's connections at Warners, young Helen was able to muster up
a couple of pictures, earning a sizable role in the western
Thunder Over Texas (1934) and
as a little fairy in
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).
After time out for education, Helen returned to films as a beautiful
young ingénue in the late 40s. She appeared in both lead and second
lead roles in a number of pictures, notably playing
Gregory Peck's estranged wife in the
classic The Gunfighter (1950), the
lovely damsel-in-distress in
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953),
and the spurned wife of Aldo Ray in the steamy
drama God's Little Acre (1958).
She played plucky bobbysoxer co-eds in light comedies and musicals and
went on to provide feminine diversion in "B" adventure showcases
starring Errol Flynn,
George Montgomery,
Guy Madison,
Lex Barker and
Dale Robertson.
When her cinematic career started to slow down significantly in the
late 50s, she pursued TV work and showed up in such popular dramas as
Perry Mason (1957),
Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958),
Bonanza (1959),
The Twilight Zone (1959)
and M Squad (1957). She also returned
to the live stage. A founding member of the Stage Society, Helen
performed in such plays as "The Golden Fleece" (1968). In the 1970s,
she could still be glimpsed occasionally on film and TV. She died of
complications from cancer on March 17, 1998, at age 70, far away from
the limelight. There were no reported survivors.
career began at the ripe old age of 4 when she performed on stage with
her vaudevillian mother who played piano and drums. Her father was
handsome Warner Bros. actor
Gordon Westcott who appeared in second
leads opposite a number of the top stars of the day including
Bette Davis,
Joe E. Brown,
Joan Blondell,
William Powell,
James Cagney, etc. His untimely death in
Hollywood at age 31 following a horse polo accident robbed Hollywood of
a rising talent and deprived Helen, then age 7, of her father. Through
her father's connections at Warners, young Helen was able to muster up
a couple of pictures, earning a sizable role in the western
Thunder Over Texas (1934) and
as a little fairy in
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).
After time out for education, Helen returned to films as a beautiful
young ingénue in the late 40s. She appeared in both lead and second
lead roles in a number of pictures, notably playing
Gregory Peck's estranged wife in the
classic The Gunfighter (1950), the
lovely damsel-in-distress in
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953),
and the spurned wife of Aldo Ray in the steamy
drama God's Little Acre (1958).
She played plucky bobbysoxer co-eds in light comedies and musicals and
went on to provide feminine diversion in "B" adventure showcases
starring Errol Flynn,
George Montgomery,
Guy Madison,
Lex Barker and
Dale Robertson.
When her cinematic career started to slow down significantly in the
late 50s, she pursued TV work and showed up in such popular dramas as
Perry Mason (1957),
Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958),
Bonanza (1959),
The Twilight Zone (1959)
and M Squad (1957). She also returned
to the live stage. A founding member of the Stage Society, Helen
performed in such plays as "The Golden Fleece" (1968). In the 1970s,
she could still be glimpsed occasionally on film and TV. She died of
complications from cancer on March 17, 1998, at age 70, far away from
the limelight. There were no reported survivors.