- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMauryne Taylor
- Mauryne Brent was born on November 14, 1921 as Mauryne Eleanor Taylor, the daughter of Julian and Viola Thompson Taylor. Her entrance as a performer came when she was very young singing duets with her father in churches and the gingerbread bandshell at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA. She was a model, singer, writer, poet and actress, known for Come On, Cowboy! (1948) and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Her recurring role as Mildred, a maid, on Wyatt Earp began with a credited appearance on the fifth episode of season one in 1955. None of her later appearances were credited, although on many episodes she had speaking roles. She was married to Leland Simmons Brent briefly until his accidental death on November 9, 1943. Mauryne's second marriage was to William W. Grant, Jr., a crane operator, on August 20, 1945 in Washington, DC, USA. They lived in Ansonia, Connecticut, USA. Mauryne Taylor Brent's autobiography, "The Heart Speaks," was published by Vantage Press in 1976. She died on August 3, 2013 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
- IMDb mini biography by: SAGE STEPS
- SpousesWilliam W. Grant, Jr.(August 20, 1945 - ?) (divorced)Leland Simmons Brent(? - November 9, 1943) (his death, 4 children)
- Mauryne Taylor was one of 124 mid-year graduates of Garnet-Patterson Junior High School at commencement exercises on January 29, 1936. She was among the 46 students to attend Dunbar High School, one of "the three colored high schools" in the District of Columbia, USA. In high school she was an honor student and the class poet.
- Family members writing about Mauryne many years after she was snubbed by the Hollywood studios were convinced that a quote by Mauryne was accurate. The studios told her that she "was too light and beautiful to be black, and too 'exotic' to be white." Independent producers wanted her to relocate to Europe. Instead Mauryne chose to participate in the birth of black cinema. An artistic underground developed which were known at the time as "race movies." Mauryne was adamant that her light skin not hide her African-American ethnicity, and refused to participate in a Hollywood culture that only would cast Blacks as servants or buffoons.
- Jazz pianist and composer Billy Taylor was Mauryne Taylor's cousin. After Hollywood blocked her career path she worked with her cousin at the Wells, a Harlem jazz club. She also sang at jazz clubs on 52nd Street and wrote lyrics for Arnold Records.
- An original composition was recited by Mauryne Brent on April 7, 1946 broadcast over radio station WWDC. It was part of the Institute of Race Relations broadcasts, "Americans All." The purpose of the series was to fight job discrimination based on color, faith, or place of national origin and to support new laws that would penalize those who deny American men and women their natural rights. Mauryne's composition was entitled, "A New American.".
- Great-aunt of actress Melissa Haizlip.
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