Irene Purcell, the Future Mrs. Johnson Wax

  The Man in Possession (1931) with Beryl Mercer, C. Aubrey Smith,                   Reginald Owen, Irene Purcell and Bob.

Irene Purcell, Bob's co-star in the delightful pre-code romp The Man in Possession, was born on August 7, 1896 --- or 1901 per the engraving on the Johnson family crypt.  (Like she was the only person in Hollywood who shaved a few years off her birth date...)  Irene came to Hollywood from the stage to make a half dozen features in 1931 and 1932, and then left the movies, to go back to the stage, I'm assuming.  There just is not much information on Irene out there. 

I did discover that in 1941 she married Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr., the third generation Johnson to run the Johnson Wax Co.  With the marriage, she moved into Herbert's home outside Racine, Wisconsin. Wingspread, as it was named, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1937-1938.  Coming in at a mere 14,000 sq. ft., there were four wings (private wing, children's wing, guest rooms and servant quarters) that extended from a massive multi-storied open area used for communal functions such as dining and entertaining.  

                  Wingspread, built in 1938 by Frank Lloyd Wright

In the 1950s,  the Johnson Wax Co. would become a principal sponsor of Robert Montgomery Presents.   Do you think there were jokes on the set about Bob sleeping with the Boss's wife?