Claire Trevor, ‘Queen of Noir’ and Key Largo Star, Dies at 90

“Key Largo… I could have stayed on that picture for the rest of my life. I adored it.”

— Claire Trevor

Claire Trevor, born Claire Wemlinger on March 8, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York, got her start on Broadway in the 1932 production of Whistling in the Dark. She soon made the leap to film, going on to appear in more than 60 movies before retiring in the late 1980s.

Career Highlights & Awards

• Academy Award Winner – Best Supporting Actress, 1948 for Key Largo, portraying Gaye Dawn, a troubled nightclub singer opposite Humphrey Bogart.
• Oscar Nominations – Received earlier nods for Dead End (1937) and later for The High and the Mighty (1954).
• Emmy Winner – Honored in 1957 for her live television performance in Dodsworth.
• Became known as the “Queen of Noir,” delivering memorable performances in films like Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Born to Kill (1947).

Personal Life

The actress married director Clark Andrews in 1938, but the couple divorced four years later in 1942. In 1943, she married Navy Lieutenant Cylos William Dunsmore. They had a son named Charles before divorcing in 1947. The following year, she married film producer Milton Bren and became stepmother to his two sons, including Donald Bren, who would go on to become a prominent real estate developer.

Tragedy struck in 1978 when her son Charles died in the crash of PSA Flight 182. Just a year later, her husband Milton passed away. Following these losses, Trevor moved back to New York for a time before eventually settling in Newport Beach, California.

She devoted her later years to supporting the arts and mentoring young talent. In collaboration with her stepsons, she helped donate $10 million to the University of California, Irvine. The university’s arts school was later renamed the Claire Trevor School of the Arts in her honor.

Death

Trevor passed away from respiratory failure in Newport Beach, California, on April 8, 2000, at the age of 90. She was survived by her two stepsons and extended family.

Net Worth

Estimates suggest Claire Trevor’s net worth was around $4 million at the time of her death, with inflation-adjusted estimates reaching about $10 million today. Her wealth came from her prolific acting career and investments in real estate and art.

Legacy

Claire Trevor’s impact on film and television is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her Academy Award and Emmy are on display at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine, where her name lives on through her generous support of the arts.