24 Facts About Helen Bonfils

Helen Gilmer Bonfils was an American heiress, actress, theatrical producer, newspaper executive, and philanthropist.

Helen Bonfils acted in local theatre in Denver, Colorado, and on Broadway, and co-produced plays in Denver, New York City, and London.

Helen Bonfils succeeded her father, Frederick Gilmer Bonfils, as manager of The Denver Post in 1933, and eventually became president of the company.

Helen Bonfils's estate endowed the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Helen Bonfils was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Colorado Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 1999.

Helen Gilmer Bonfils was born in Peekskill, New York to American newspaper publisher Frederick Gilmer Bonfils and his wife Belle Barton Bonfils.

In Denver, the Helen Bonfils girls attended an elite private girls' school.

Helen Bonfils attended finishing school at the National Park Seminary in Forest Glen Park, Maryland.

Helen Bonfils received another $10 million bequest in 1935 upon the death of her mother, plus newspaper stock and possession of the family's Humboldt Street mansion.

In 1933, Helen Bonfils assumed the management of The Denver Post and served as secretary-treasurer of the corporation.

Helen Bonfils acted with the Elitch Stock Theatre, helped organize and performed in the Civic Theatre at the University of Denver, performed at the Bonfils Memorial Theatre, and acted on Broadway under the stage name Gertrude Barton.

Helen Bonfils met English actor and theatrical producer George Somnes when he was hired by the Elitch Theatre in 1936.

Helen Bonfils married him in April 1959 at the age of 69; he was 28.

Helen Bonfils sued for divorce in December 1971 after 12 years of marriage, possibly to preempt any claim Davis might have to her estate.

Helen Bonfils inherited the presidency of the philanthropic Frederick G Bonfils Foundation after her father's death and between 1936 and 1973 distributed nearly $11 million.

In 1948 alone, the Frederick G Bonfils Foundation distributed more than $1.4 million to churches of different denominations.

Helen Bonfils became embroiled in a drawn-out legal battle in her later years.

Helen Bonfils was hospitalized for the last six years of her life at Saint Joseph Hospital, where she and her entourage occupied the entire top floor.

Helen Bonfils died on June 6,1972, at the age of 82.

Helen Bonfils was buried in the Bonfils family vault at the Fairmount Mausoleum alongside her parents and first husband Somnes.

Helen Bonfils was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.

Helen Bonfils was named to the inaugural class of the Colorado Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Helen Bonfils Girl was selected as the stage play to relaunch theatrical productions at the historic Elitch Theatre in 2024.

Elitch Theatre was the first summer stock playhouse in the United States and shuttered over 30 years before the play chronicling the life of Helen Bonfils headlined the reopening of the venue.