Warren William
| Warren William | |
|---|---|
 from the trailer for the film Goodbye Again (1933). |
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| Born | Warren William Krech December 2, 1894 Aitkin, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | September 24, 1948 (aged 53) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1922–1947 |
| Spouse | Helen Barbara Nelson (1923-1948) (his death) |
Warren William (December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, popular during the early 1930s, who was later nicknamed the "king of Pre-Code". He was born Warren William Krech in Aitkin, Minnesota to parents Freeman E. and Frances Krech. He had a certain physical resemblance to John Barrymore. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After moving from Broadway to Hollywood in 1931, he reached his peak as a leading man in early 1930s pre-Production Code films. He was a contract player at the Warner Bros. studio and was known for portraying amoral businessmen, lawyers, and other heartless types, including the Sam Spade character (renamed "Ted Shane") in the second filming of The Maltese Falcon, called Satan Met a Lady (1936) with Bette Davis.
He also played sympathetic roles, however, as in Imitation of Life, in which he portrayed Claudette Colbert's love interest. He appeared as her love interest again that year, when he played Julius Caesar to her Cleopatra in Cecil B. DeMille's version of Cleopatra. And he was the swashbucking d'Artagnan in the 1939 version of The Man in the Iron Mask, directed by James Whale.
William was the first to portray Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional defense attorney Perry Mason on the big screen and starred in four fast-paced, comical, and highly entertaining Perry Mason mysteries. He also played Raffles-like reformed jewel thief The Lone Wolf for Columbia Pictures beginning with The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) with Ida Lupino and Rita Hayworth, and he starred as detective Philo Vance in two films in that series, 1934's The Dragon Murder Case and 1939's The Gracie Allen Murder Case (billed below Gracie Allen).
In 1923, he married Helen Barbara Nelson; Mrs. Helen B. Krech – who also survived him – was seventeen years his senior. Warren William died on 24 September 1948 in Hollywood, California of multiple myeloma.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Warren William has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1551 Vine Street. A biography from McFarland books, written by John Stangeland, Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood, was released in October 2010.[dated info]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | The Town that Forgot God | Eben |
| 1923 | Plunder | Mr. Jones |
| 1927 | Twelve Miles Out | Bit part |
| 1931 | Honor of the Family | Captain Boris Barony |
| Expensive Women | Neil Hartley | |
| Under 18 | Raymond Harding | |
| 1932 | The Woman from Monte Carlo | Lieutenant d'Ortelles |
| Beauty and the Boss | Baron Josef von Ullrich | |
| The Mouthpiece | Vincent "Vince" Day | |
| The Dark Horse | Hal Samson Blake | |
| Skyscraper Souls | David "Dave" Dwight | |
| Three on a Match | Robert Kirkwood | |
| The Match King | Paul Kroll | |
| 1933 | Just Around the Corner | Mr. Sears |
| Employees' Entrance | Kurt Anderson | |
| The Mind Reader | "Chandra" Chandler | |
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | J. Lawrence Bradford | |
| Goodbye Again | Kenneth L. "Ken" Bixby | |
| Lady for a Day | Dave the Dude | |
| 1934 | Bedside | Bob Brown |
| Upper World | Alexander "Alex" Stream | |
| Smarty | Tony Wallace | |
| Dr. Monica | John Braden | |
| The Dragon Murder Case | Philo Vance | |
| The Case of the Howling Dog | Perry Mason | |
| Cleopatra | Julius Caesar | |
| Imitation of Life | Stephen "Steve" Archer | |
| The Secret Bride | Robert "Bob" Sheldon | |
| 1935 | Living on Velvet | Walter "Gibraltar" Pritcham |
| The Case of the Curious Bride | Perry Mason | |
| Don't Bet on Blondes | Oscar "Odds" Owen | |
| The Case of the Lucky Legs | Perry Mason | |
| The Widow from Monte Carlo | Major Allan Chepstow | |
| 1936 | Times Square Playboy | Victor "Vic" Arnold |
| Satan Met a Lady | Ted Shane | |
| The Case of the Velvet Claws | Perry Mason | |
| Stage Struck | Fred Harris | |
| Go West, Young Man | Morgan | |
| 1937 | Outcast | Dr. Wendell Phillips / Phil Jones |
| Midnight Madonna | Blackie Denbo | |
| The Firefly | Colonel de Rouchemont | |
| Madame X | Bernard Fleuriot | |
| 1938 | Arsène Lupin Returns | Steve Emerson |
| The First Hundred Years | Harry Borden | |
| Wives Under Suspicion | District Attorney Jim Stowell | |
| 1939 | The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt | Michael Lanyard |
| The Gracie Allen Murder Case | Philo Vance | |
| The Man in the Iron Mask | d'Artagnan | |
| Day-Time Wife | Bernard "Barney" Dexter | |
| 1940 | The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | Michael Lanyard |
| Lillian Russell | Jesse Lewisohn | |
| The Lone Wolf Strikes | Michael Lanyard | |
| Arizona | Jefferson Carteret | |
| The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | Michael Lanyard | |
| 1941 | Trail of the Vigilantes | Mark Dawson / George Trent |
| The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance | Michael Lanyard | |
| Wild Geese Calling | Blackie Bedford | |
| Secrets of the Lone Wolf | Michael Lanyard | |
| The Wolf Man | Dr. Lloyd | |
| 1942 | Wild Bill Hickok Rides | Harry Farrel |
| Counter-Espionage | Michael Lanyard | |
| 1943 | One Dangerous Night | Michael Lanyard |
| Passport to Suez | Michael Lanyard | |
| 1945 | Strange Illusion | Brett Curtis |
| 1946 | Fear | Police Capt. Burke |
| 1947 | The Private Affairs of Bel Ami | Laroche-Mathieu |
[edit] External links
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