Irene Purcell was primarily a stage actress, making only seven feature films in 1931-32. She was already 35 when Man was made, a credit to her youthful looks and acting ability that she was hired to make any movies at all. At the time, turning 30 was a death knell for actresses, so entering movies at 35, well, lets hear it for Irene! She was the oldest of Bob's ladies, born in 1896, eight years his senior.
In 1941, Irene married Herbert F. Johnson, Jr., as in the Johnson Wax Company. Herbert whisked her away to his 14,000 sq. ft. home in Racine, WI, where they remained married until her death in 1972. During this time, Johnson Wax would sponsor Robert Montgomery Presents, making Irene the wife of Bob's boss, of sorts. Which brings us to the photo below.
It is Herbert and Irene on November 8, 1956. They are at the Bresler Art Gallery in Milwaukee, it is opening night and all 17 of Irene's paintings being shown have been sold to raise money for the Actor's Fund of America. The painting on the wall behind the couple, titled "Marguerites", was purchased by ... ta-da ... Robert Montgomery!
Took a while to get there ...
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2 comments:
Verrrry interesting!!
I do have to wonder what happened to the painting. The Montgomerys collected paintings, doubt there was an empty space on the walls in any of their dwellings. They were no doubt in the same social circle as the Johnsons, so maybe they would tell Irene the photo was on display elsewhere whenever they visited. Or did they dig it out for display when she visited, and later return it to storage. Ah, the problems of having so much money. Must have been nice.
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