Jane Bryan

Jane Bryan Biography

Jane Bryan (June 11, 1918 - April 8, 2009) was an American actress who was being prepared by the Warner Bros. studio to become one of their leading ladies until she married a drugstore magnate in 1940 and retired.

She was born Jane O'Brien in Hollywood, California. Her screen career lasted only four years, but she appeared in prominent roles in several memorable films, including Marked Woman (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart; Kid Galahad (1937) with Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart; A Slight Case of Murder (1938) with Edward G. Robinson; Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney and George Raft; Invisible Stripes (1939) with George Raft, William Holden, and Humphrey Bogart; and The Old Maid (1939) with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins.

Marriage

Jane Bryan married wealthy businessman and entrepreneur Justin Dart on New Year's Eve, 1939. Dart took control of the Boston-based United Drug Company in 1943, and rebranded the stores under the Rexall Drug name.

Justin and Jane Dart were staunch Republicans and helped persuade their personal friend, former California governor Ronald Reagan, to run for President of the United States in 1980. She and her husband were married until his death in 1984. Jane Bryan Dart served on the United States Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. from 1971 to 1976.

Death

Jane Bryan Dart died at her home on April 8, 2009, aged 90, in Pebble Beach, California, following a lengthy illness. She was survived by her three children, Guy Michael Dart, Jane Dart Tucker and Stephen M. Dart; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two brothers, William and Donald O'Brien.

She was predeceased by her brother Jim O'Brien in 1986. Her stepson, Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr., a disability-rights activist, died in 2002.

Filmography

The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
The Captain's Kid (1936)
Under Southern Stars (1937)
Marked Woman (1937)
The Cherokee Strip (1937)
Kid Galahad (1937)
Confession (1937)
A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
The Sisters (1938)
Girls on Probation (1938)
Brother Rat (1938)
The Man Who Dared (1939)
Each Dawn I Die (1939)
The Old Maid (1939)
These Glamour Girls (1939)
We Are Not Alone (1939)
Invisible Stripes (1939)
Brother Rat and a Baby (1940)

Jane Bryan

Jane Bryan Biography

Marriage

Death

Filmography

See also