Olympe Bradna

Antoinette Olympe Bradna (12 August 1920 – 5 November 2012) was a French dancer and actress, who emigrated to the United States where she lived for the rest of her life.

Olympe Bradna
Olympe Bradna, 1938
Born	Antoinette Olympe Bradna (1920-08-12)12 August 1920 Paris, France
Died	5 November 2012(2012-11-05) (aged 92) Lodi, California
Occupation	Dancer, actress
Years active	1921–1941
Relatives	Ella Bradna (aunt)

Early years

Bradna was born in a dressing room in the Olympic Theatre in Paris,[1] and her full name was Antoinette Olympe Bradna. Her father, Joseph Bradna, was a Bohemian Czech and her mother, Jana Bradna, was Austrian German. (Another source says that her mother was French.)[2] They were circus performers before Olympe began her career.[3] (Jana Bradna had been an opera singer before she joined her husband in the circus.)[2] Her aunt Ella Bradna also was in the circus, as an equestrienne.[4] An item in a newspaper in 1936 reported that Bradna "followed a line of trained dogs on the stage in France, when she was only 18 months old."[5]

Dancing

Bradna appeared at 18 months of age with her parents, who were world-famous bare back riders. By the time she was 8, Bradna "had attracted so much attention that agents were anxious to book her as a 'single.'"[2] Her parents accompanied her to Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France as she danced. She performed "an acrobatic dance" in the Paris, France, production of Hit the Deck.[2]

Later she joined the Folies Bergère.[6] She was with that group for eight months and danced at the French Casino in New York City for eight more months.[2]

She danced in Stockholm, New York City and other world capitals.

Film

Olympe Bradna in 1936, when she broke into film with Paramount Pictures.

Bradna started her film career in France, then, in 1934, moved to Hollywood, California where she saw her greatest success, signing a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures.[7] In 1935, she was one of seven young women "named by Paramount ... as possible screen stars of the future."[8] She was one of six newcomers selected by Paramount in December 1935 to appear in a planned musical.[9] Her screen debut came in Three Cheers for Love (1936).[10] In 1936, she appeared in College Holiday.[11] Later, branching out from musicals to more serious films, she had roles in The Last Train from Madrid and Souls at Sea.[12]

During her career she appeared in more than a dozen films[13] and was seen opposite such notable film stars as Ronald Reagan, George Raft and Gary Cooper.

Early retirement, later years

In May, 1941 Olympe married Douglas Woods Wilhoit, at which point she retired from acting. For many years she and her family lived in Stockton, California, before ultimately settling in Lodi, California. Together, she and Douglas would have four children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. They were married for over seventy years, with Douglas passing away in February, 2012, just nine months prior to Olympe's death.[14]

Death

Bradna died 5 November 2012, in Stockton, California, at age 92.[12] (Another source says, "... Bradna died at her home in San Joaquin, California ...)[13] She was survived by a son, two daughters, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.[12]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1933	Roger la Honte	Suzanne Laroque
1934	Flofloche	Reine
1936	Three Cheers for Love	Frenchy
1936	College Holiday	Felice L'Hommedieu
1937	The Last Train from Madrid	Maria Ronda
1937	High, Wide, and Handsome
1937	Souls at Sea	Babsie
1938	Stolen Heaven	Steffi
1938	Say It in French	Julie
1939	The Night of Nights	Marie Alyce O'Farrell
1940	South of Pago Pago	Malia
1941	Knockout	Angela Grinnelli
1941	Highway West	Myra Abbott
1941	International Squadron	Jeanette	(final film role)

References

1. "Olympe Begins Early". Altoona Tribune. Pennsylvania, Altoona. 2 January 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Harrison, Paul (16 April 1936). "Hollywood". The Post-Register. Idaho, Idaho Falls. NEA Service. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Vecchi, Nina (13 January 1935). "Folies Bergeres Girls Are Truly Scandalized". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. p. 30. Retrieved 29 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "News and Comment Of Stage and Screen". Fitchburg Sentinel. Massachusetts, Fitchburg. 11 April 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "'Veteran' of 15 Starts in Films". The Indiana Gazette. Pennsylvania, Indiana. NEA. 10 April 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "News of the Stage". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. 7 December 1934. p. 14. Retrieved 29 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bits About 'Em". The Charleston Daily Mail. West Virginia, Charleston. 24 May 1936. p. 25. Retrieved 1 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Hollywood Roundup". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. Wisconsin, Oshkosh. 23 October 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Young 'Unknowns'". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. 13 December 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Dickstein, Martin (6 February 1936). "Picture Parade". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Burdett, Winston (24 December 1936). "The Screen". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. p. 6. Retrieved 1 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Vitello, Paul (15 November 2012). "Olympe Bradna, Stage and Screen Actress, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
13. Lentz III, Harris M. (2013). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2012. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-7864-7063-1. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
14. "Antoinette Olympe (Bradna) Wilhoit". Lodi News-Sentinel. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2018 – via Legacy.com.

Further reading

• Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 24.

External links

• Olympe Bradna on IMDb
• Image of actresses Betty Burgess and Olympe Bradna shaking hands, Los Angeles, 1935. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.