Young and full of promise, Paramount contract player Helen Burgess
possessed a lovely, sweet-faced quality, but made only four films
during her lifetime. Born April 26, 1916, the rather demure Portland,
Oregon beauty was given an auspicious debut in Cecil B. DeMille's epic
bio-western Verrat - Ein amerikanisches Duell (1936). Discovered by DeMille himself with only brief
stage experience behind her, the film starred Gary Cooper as Wild Bill
Hickok and Jean Arthur as Calamity Jane. Helen was fifth billed as Louisa
Frederici Cody, the young bride of Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody,
played by James Ellison.
Helen went on to co-star in lesser "B" pictures, one opposite George Bancroft
in the drama A Doctor's Diary (1937), and a second femme lead in King of Gamblers (1937) supporting
Claire Trevor. She was busy filming her fourth movie Night of Mystery (1937) when she caught
a chill that resulted in a serious cold. This, in turn, developed into
lobar pneumonia. Helen died in Beverly Hills on April 7, 1937, weeks
before reaching her 21st birthday, and only months after the release of
her first and best known film "The Plainsman." One can only wonder what
was in store for this future star. She was buried in Forest Lawn
Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
