Helen Beverley, sometimes credited as Helen Beverly, (November 9, 1916 – July 15, 2011) was an American film and stage actress, who began her career in Yiddish theater and films.[1]
Beverley began her career in Yiddish theater and the Yiddish-language films, including a starring role in Peretz Hirshbein's Green Fields in 1937.[1] Screenwriter Hirshbein adapted the film from his 1916 play of the same name and cast Beverley in the lead role.[1] The National Center of Jewish Cinema has praised Green Fields, saying the film "heralded the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema."[1]
She next starred in The Light Ahead, a 1939 film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and filmed in New Jersey.[1] She also appeared in the 1940 Yiddish film, Overture to Glory about a cantor.[1][2][3] Her sole Broadway role was in Clean Beds in 1939.[3]
Beverley began appearing in mainstream English language Hollywood films during the 1940s.[3] her credits from this period included Black Magic in 1944; The Master Race, a 1944 film about the dangers of Nazi Germany[1]; and Stairway for a Star, a 1947 musical co-starring Cornel Wilde.[3] She continued to appear in smaller film roles during the 1950s, including The Robe in 1953 and The Shrike in 1955.[1] She appeared in an episode of the television series, The Rifleman, in 1960.[1] Her last film appearance was in Ada, a 1961 movie starring Susan Hayward and Dean Martin.[1][3]
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Beverley was the first wife of actor Lee J. Cobb, whom she married in 1940; they divorced during the 1950s.[3] Their daughter, Julie Cobb, is a retired actress.
Helen Beverley died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on July 15, 2011, aged 94.[2] She was survived by her daughter, and a granddaughter.[3]