Dana Andrews: Difference between revisions
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Andrews signed a contract with [[Samuel Goldwyn]] and nine years after arriving in Los Angeles was offered his first movie role in [[William Wyler]]'s ''[[The Westerner]]'' (1940), starring [[Gary Cooper]]. He was also memorable as the gangster in the 1941 comedy ''[[Ball of Fire]]''. In the 1943 movie adaptation of ''[[The Ox-Bow Incident]]'' with [[Henry Fonda]], often cited as one of his best films, he played a [[lynching]] victim. {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} |
Andrews signed a contract with [[Samuel Goldwyn]] and nine years after arriving in Los Angeles was offered his first movie role in [[William Wyler]]'s ''[[The Westerner]]'' (1940), starring [[Gary Cooper]]. He was also memorable as the gangster in the 1941 comedy ''[[Ball of Fire]]''. In the 1943 movie adaptation of ''[[The Ox-Bow Incident]]'' with [[Henry Fonda]], often cited as one of his best films, he played a [[lynching]] victim. {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} |
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Andrews' two signature roles came as an obsessed detective in ''[[Laura (1944 film)|Laura]]'' (1944) opposite [[Gene Tierney]], and as a soldier returning home from the war in the Oscar-winning 1946 film ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]''. He played a crooked cop in ''[[Where the Sidewalk Ends]]'' (1950), also with Gene Tierney. Around this time, alcoholism began to derail Andrews' career, and on a couple of occasions it nearly cost him his life on the |
Andrews' two signature roles came as an obsessed detective in ''[[Laura (1944 film)|Laura]]'' (1944) opposite [[Gene Tierney]], and as a soldier returning home from the war in the Oscar-winning 1946 film ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]''. He played a crooked cop in ''[[Where the Sidewalk Ends]]'' (1950), also with Gene Tierney. Around this time, alcoholism began to derail Andrews' career, and on a couple of occasions it nearly cost him his life on the highway.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} |
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By the middle 1950s, Andrews was acting almost exclusively in B movies. A handful of films Andrews starred in during the late '50s, however, contain memorable work. Two movies for [[Fritz Lang]] in 1956, ''[[While the City Sleeps (1956 film)|While the City Sleeps]]'' and ''[[Beyond a Reasonable Doubt]]'', and two for [[Jacques Tourneur]], ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Fearmakers]]'' (1958), are particularly noteworthy. From 1952 to 1954, Andrews starred in the radio series ''[[I Was a Communist for the FBI]]''. The series dealt with the experiences of [[Matt Cvetic]], an undercover agent who had infiltrated the Communist Party in the United States. {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} In 1963, he was elected president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. Between 1969 and 1970<ref>{{cite book|last=Schemering|first=Christopher|title=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia|year=1987|publisher=Ballentine|location=New York|isbn=345-35344-7|pages=48}}</ref>, he appeared in a leading role as college president Tom Boswell on the NBC daytime soap opera ''[[Bright Promise]]''. In 1960 he and [[Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.]] starred in ''[[The Crowded Sky]]''; Zimbalist played the part of a military jet pilot who crashes into a large passenger airliner that Andrews is flying. Coincidentally, fifteen years later, Andrews and Zimbalist appeared in ''[[Airport 1975]]'' in which Andrews plays a businessman pilot who has a heart attack and crashes his plane into a 747 that Zimbalist is flying. |
By the middle 1950s, Andrews was acting almost exclusively in B movies. A handful of films Andrews starred in during the late '50s, however, contain memorable work. Two movies for [[Fritz Lang]] in 1956, ''[[While the City Sleeps (1956 film)|While the City Sleeps]]'' and ''[[Beyond a Reasonable Doubt]]'', and two for [[Jacques Tourneur]], ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Fearmakers]]'' (1958), are particularly noteworthy. From 1952 to 1954, Andrews starred in the radio series ''[[I Was a Communist for the FBI]]''. The series dealt with the experiences of [[Matt Cvetic]], an undercover agent who had infiltrated the Communist Party in the United States. {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} In 1963, he was elected president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. Between 1969 and 1970<ref>{{cite book|last=Schemering|first=Christopher|title=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia|year=1987|publisher=Ballentine|location=New York|isbn=345-35344-7|pages=48}}</ref>, he appeared in a leading role as college president Tom Boswell on the NBC daytime soap opera ''[[Bright Promise]]''. In 1960 he and [[Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.]] starred in ''[[The Crowded Sky]]''; Zimbalist played the part of a military jet pilot who crashes into a large passenger airliner that Andrews is flying. Coincidentally, fifteen years later, Andrews and Zimbalist appeared in ''[[Airport 1975]]'' in which Andrews plays a businessman pilot who has a heart attack and crashes his plane into a 747 that Zimbalist is flying. |
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Revision as of 09:16, 11 June 2011
Dana Andrews | |
|---|---|
 from the trailer for the film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) | |
| Born | Carver Dana Andrews January 1, 1909 |
| Died | December 17, 1992 (aged 83) Los Alamitos, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1940–85 |
| Spouse(s) |
Janet Murray (m. 1932–1935)Mary Todd (m. 1939–1992) |
Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.
Early life
He was born Carver Dana Andrews on a farmstead outside Collins, Covington County, Mississippi, the third of nine children of Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister, and his wife Annis (née Speed).[1] The family subsequently moved to Huntsville, Texas, where his younger siblings (including actor Steve Forrest) were born.
Andrews attended college at Sam Houston State University and also studied business administration in Houston, Texas, working briefly as an accountant for Gulf & Western[citation needed] . In 1931, he travelled to Los Angeles, California seeking opportunities as a singer. He worked at various jobs to earn a living, including pumping gas at a filling station in Van Nuys. One of his employers believed in him and paid for his studies in opera and also at the Pasadena Playhouse, a theater and acting school. [citation needed]
Career
Andrews signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn and nine years after arriving in Los Angeles was offered his first movie role in William Wyler's The Westerner (1940), starring Gary Cooper. He was also memorable as the gangster in the 1941 comedy Ball of Fire. In the 1943 movie adaptation of The Ox-Bow Incident with Henry Fonda, often cited as one of his best films, he played a lynching victim. [citation needed] Andrews' two signature roles came as an obsessed detective in Laura (1944) opposite Gene Tierney, and as a soldier returning home from the war in the Oscar-winning 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives. He played a crooked cop in Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), also with Gene Tierney. Around this time, alcoholism began to derail Andrews' career, and on a couple of occasions it nearly cost him his life on the highway.[citation needed]
By the middle 1950s, Andrews was acting almost exclusively in B movies. A handful of films Andrews starred in during the late '50s, however, contain memorable work. Two movies for Fritz Lang in 1956, While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, and two for Jacques Tourneur, Night of the Demon (1957) and The Fearmakers (1958), are particularly noteworthy. From 1952 to 1954, Andrews starred in the radio series I Was a Communist for the FBI. The series dealt with the experiences of Matt Cvetic, an undercover agent who had infiltrated the Communist Party in the United States. [citation needed] In 1963, he was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild. Between 1969 and 1970[2], he appeared in a leading role as college president Tom Boswell on the NBC daytime soap opera Bright Promise. In 1960 he and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. starred in The Crowded Sky; Zimbalist played the part of a military jet pilot who crashes into a large passenger airliner that Andrews is flying. Coincidentally, fifteen years later, Andrews and Zimbalist appeared in Airport 1975 in which Andrews plays a businessman pilot who has a heart attack and crashes his plane into a 747 that Zimbalist is flying.
Personal life
Andrews married Janet Murray on New Year's Eve, 1932. She died in 1935, not long after the birth of their son, David (a musician and composer who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1964). On November 17, 1939, he married actress Mary Todd. They had three children, Katharine (born in 1942), Stephen (born in 1944), and Susan (born in 1948). Dana MacDuff, a film producer and the son of Andrews' friend Tyler MacDuff, is named for Dana Andrews. For 20 years the Andrews family lived in Toluca Lake in the home now owned by Jonathan Winters. After his children were grown, Andrews lived out his later years with his wife Mary in the Studio City home bought from film director Jacques Tourneur (director of Canyon Passage and Night of the Demon, in which Andrews appeared). Andrews suffered from alcoholism, which he eventually brought under control. In 1972 he appeared in a television public service advertisement on the subject.[3] In the early 1980s, after former movie star Ronald Reagan had become president, Andrews told a magazine interviewer that Reagan's disciplined attitude toward alcohol (which Andrews had witnessed first-hand) was a big factor in his success.
Death
In the last years of his life, Andrews suffered from Alzheimer's disease and in 1992, at the age of 83, he died of congestive heart failure and pneumonia.
Filmography
References
- ^ Dana Andrews' obituary in New York Times
- ^ Schemering, Christopher (1987). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. New York: Ballentine. p. 48. ISBN 345-35344-7.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: length (help) - ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DF1E3BF93AA25751C1A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
External links
- 1909 births
- 1992 deaths
- Actors from Mississippi
- Actors from Texas
- American film actors
- American television actors
- Presidents of the Screen Actors Guild
- Baptists from the United States
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
- Deaths from congestive heart failure
- Deaths from pneumonia
- Infectious disease deaths in California
- People from Covington County, Mississippi
- People self-identifying as alcoholics