Helen Eby-Rock

Helen Eby-Rock (July 18, 1896 – July 20, 1979) was an American actress and stage performer born in Pennsylvania. Before entering show business, she worked as a public school teacher in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the city where she was raised.

Eby-Rock's performing career began in vaudeville, where she appeared in the musical revue Hitchy-Koo alongside the team of William Rock and Frances White. When Rock and White dissolved their partnership in 1919, she and Rock formed both a professional and personal union, teaming up as performers and eventually marrying. Following Rock's death, she briefly partnered with Jack Haley in 1925, serving as his straight woman.

Her Broadway career spanned from 1917 to 1930 and encompassed both plays and musicals. Among her stage credits were Dancing Mothers, which she appeared in during 1924, and Harry Delmar's Revels in 1927. Additional Broadway productions included Honeymoon Lane, The City, and The Town's Woman, as well as That's the Woman in 1930.

Eby-Rock subsequently transitioned into film, establishing herself as a character actress in small roles across numerous feature productions. Her screen career began with the 1933 film Ann Vickers, in which she played dope addict Kitty Cognac. Her film credits extended across two decades and included The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), Born Yesterday (1950), Singin' in the Rain (1952), and A Star Is Born (1954), among many others.

In addition to her film work, she appeared in television comedies including The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Charlie Farrell Show, and The Jack Benny Program. Eby-Rock died on July 20, 1979, in Woodland Hills, California, two days after her eighty-third birthday.