Debonair matinée idol, on stage from 1891. He began as a tailor's assistant in Logansport, Indiana, raising a stake of $50 to enable him to join a vaudeville troupe in Chicago. Before becoming established, he also worked as a clerk and took up professional boxing for a while. Bennett's lengthy Broadway career spanned the years from 1899 to 1935. He was primarily a star of the theatre, though his many forays into films included memorable roles in John Ford's "Arrowsmith", and, as the Major, in Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons".