Helen Gilmer Bonfils (November 16, 1889 – June 6, 1972)[1] was an American heiress, actress, theatrical producer, newspaper executive, and philanthropist.

[9] She 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.

[10] Her flair for the theatrical extended to her ordering two dozen yellow roses to be placed in the lobby of The Denver Post to welcome her arrival; she drove to the building in a Pierce-Arrow touring car bearing the Colorado license plate "#1".

[13] In 1934, she introduced a free summer series of Broadway plays and light opera staged outdoors at the Cheesman Park Pavilion under the auspices of The Denver Post.

[14][15] In 1966, she became president of the paper and asked Donald Seawell, a theatrical producer whom she had met on Broadway, to move to Denver and become chairman and publisher.

[20] The latter partnership produced the successful Broadway musical Sail Away (1962), The Hollow Crown (1963), The Last Analysis (1964), and Sleuth, which won the 1971 Tony Award.

[21][23] The couple – always referred to as "Helen Bonfils and George Somnes"[24] – bought a condominium at River House in New York City and resided in Denver at the Humboldt Street mansion.

[24][25][26][27] The couple's amicable personal and professional partnership ended with Somnes' death in February 1956 due to liver failure.

[24][29] Bonfils sued for divorce in December 1971[30] after 12 years of marriage, possibly to preempt any claim Davis might have to her estate.

[24][30] Lacking heirs, Bonfils invested her fortune into supporting culture, arts, healthcare, education, and humanitarian causes in Denver and the state of Colorado.

[33] Helen further established the Bonfils Tumor Clinic in her father's memory,[21] finished and furnished the Holy Ghost Catholic Church at a cost of $1.2 million,[34] and helped construct the Nurses' Home at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

[38] Donald Seawell became chairman of the board of the new foundation and guided the expansion of the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

However, the $5 million spent on attorney fees drained the newspaper's coffers and in 1980 The Denver Post was sold to the Los Angeles-based Times Mirror Company.

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.