Benita Hume

Biography

Benita Hume was a British actress whose career began on the stage in London. She was born on October 14, 1906 in London, England. After breaking into cinema in a 1925 British silent film in 1925, she transitioned nicely into sound and made two dozen films in England before travelling to the U.S. By that time she had become a leading lady and top supporting actress. In 1933, she made her first American film with MGM - "Clear All Wires." Over the next four years, Hume would make a dozen films with MGM and RKO. Most were dramas with a couple mysteries and musicals. Only two were comedies, and although she showed very good talent for comedy and excellent chemistry with Cary Grant in "Gambling Ship" of 1933, she didn't rise to the star status she had reached in England. In 1938, she married Ronald Colman and except for acting with him, she left her career behind. They had a popular comedy radio program in 1949-1951, "The Halls of Ivy." It was later made into a TV sitcom of the same title and stars, in 1954-55. And she and Colman appeared in some episodes of the Jack Benny Show on radio, as his woeful neighbor couple. She and Colman were also part owners of the San Ysidro Resort in Santa Barbara. Colman died in 1958, and the next year, Hume married another English actor, George Sanders. They remained married until her death in 1967 of bone cancer, with Sanders caring for her. Among her most memorable films are "The Gay Deception" of 1935, "Looking Forward" of 1933, and "Lord Camber's Ladies" of 1932.