Helen Burgess

Helen Burgess died at 20, weeks before her 21st birthday, after a brief acting career that lasted just over a year. Born in the United States on April 26, 1916, she was American and Caucasian. A Paramount contract player, she made only four films in her lifetime, starting with a standout debut in Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Plainsman (1936). Discovered by DeMille with little stage experience, she played Louisa Frederici Cody, the young bride of Buffalo Bill, opposite Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Her performance earned her fifth billing and remains her most famous role.

After that auspicious start, Helen appeared in a handful of B pictures. She starred opposite George Bancroft in A Doctor's Diary (1937) and took a supporting femme lead in King of Gamblers (1937) alongside Claire Trevor. While filming her fourth movie, Night of Mystery (1937), she caught a chill that turned into a serious cold and then lobar pneumonia. She died in Beverly Hills on April 7, 1937, months after The Plainsman's release. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. She left behind a short filmography but a lasting impression of promise cut short.