She was every little girl's idea of a fairy princess and every little girl just knew that she was beautiful, charming, delightful and adorable. Sybil Trent, a star of the children's radio program Let's Pretend was truly all those things in real life, according to her son, the New York restaurateur Tracy Nieporent. "She was special...positive, upbeat, empathetic and sweet."
Radio and Film Appearances
Sybil Trent was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 1926 and was an actress when she was three and a half years old, appearing in film shorts with Fatty Arbuckle, Ruth Etting and Jack Haley. She performed in over twenty-five of these shorts as a member of the Warner Brothers Stock Company. She also did two feature films for RKO Pictures:The People's Enemy, with Melvyn Douglas in 1935 and Keep 'Em Rolling, in 1934 with Walter Houston.
Her Own Radio Program
At the age of six she had her own radio program, Baby Sybil Elaine and Her Kiddie Revue. She also made an appearance in Billy Rose's Broadway show Jumbo,with Jimmie Durante, Gloria Grafton and Donald Novis, where she sat atop an elephant.
Let's Pretend
In 1930 actress and writer Nila Mack took over a radio show that was called The Adventures of Helen and Mary, which became in 1934 Let's Pretend. Sybil became a member of the cast and stayed with the show until its demise in 1954. It was one of the most popular children's shows ever broadcast and the proof is in its longevity. Sybil took on the roles of fairy godmothers, princesses and damsels in distress and enchanted every little girl who listened. In later years (the show had a reunion at the Paley Center for Media in New York in 1994) she would say that the cast was like family...they cared for one another and kept in touch throughout the years.
Marriage and Family
Sybil Trent was a fine actress yet her favorite role was that of housewife and mother to two sons, Tracy and Drew. She had met Andrew Nieporent on a double date and they had fallen in love and married in 1951. Andrew was an attorney specializing in the legal aspects of the restaurant business, so it is fitting that Drew and Tracy are legendary in the New York City restaurant scene.
TV Appearances and Casting Director for Young and Rubicam
Sybil Trent did not divorce herself from the theater completely...she went on to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Martha Raye Show, and others and began working at Young and Rubicam in New York City as a casting director. Here she could keep her finger on the pulse of New York's theatrical affairs. She was also awarded a commendation in Baltimore, Maryland, as 'personality of the year.'
Sybil Trent was diagnosed with lymphoma and passed away on June 5, 2000. She is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, in Ardsley, New York, close to Ed Sullivan, Malcolm X, Judy Garland and Jerome Kern.
Source
Personal conversations with Tracy Nieporent, Sybil's son, December, 2008
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