Fredric March
Fredric March | |
---|---|
![]() Circa 1940 | |
Born | Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel August 31, 1897 |
Died | April 14, 1975 | (aged 77)
Cause of death | Prostate cancer |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1921–1973 |
Spouse(s) |
Ellis Baker (m. 1921–1927)(his death) 2 children |
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a "distinguished stage actor and one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 40s."[1][2] He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and in 1947 for The Best Years of Our Lives. March is the only actor to have won both the Academy Award and the Tony Award twice.
Early life
March was born in Racine, Wisconsin, the son of Cora Brown Marcher (1863–1936), a schoolteacher, and John F. Bickel (1859–1941), a devout Presbyterian Church elder who worked in the wholesale hardware business.[3] March attended the Winslow Elementary School (established in 1855), Racine High School, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi.[citation needed] He began a career as a banker, but an emergency appendectomy caused him to reevaluate his life, and in 1920 he began working as an extra in movies made in New York City, using a shortened form of his mother's maiden name. He appeared on Broadway in 1926, and by the end of the decade signed a film contract with Paramount Pictures.[citation needed] March served in the United States Army during World War I as an artillery lieutenant.
Career
March received an Oscar nomination for the 4th Academy Awards in 1930 for The Royal Family of Broadway, in which he played a role based upon John Barrymore. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 6th Academy Awards in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (tied with Wallace Beery for The Champ although March accrued one more vote than Beery[4]), leading to a series of classic films based on stage hits and classic novels like Design for Living (1933) with Gary Cooper and Miriam Hopkins, Death Takes a Holiday (1934), Les Misérables (1935) with Charles Laughton, Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo, Anthony Adverse (1936) with Olivia de Havilland, and as the original Norman Maine in A Star is Born (1937) with Janet Gaynor, for which he received his third Oscar nomination.
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/FredricMarchinAStarIsBorn1937.jpg/220px-FredricMarchinAStarIsBorn1937.jpg)
March resisted signing long-term contracts with the studios,[4][5] enabling him to play roles in films from a variety of studios. He returned to Broadway after a ten-year absence in 1937 with a notable flop Yr. Obedient Husband, but after the success of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth he focused as much on Broadway theatre as Hollywood. He won two Best Actor Tony Awards: in 1947 for the play Years Ago, written by Ruth Gordon; and in 1957 for his performance as James Tyrone in the original Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. He also had major successes in A Bell for Adano in 1944 and Gideon in 1961, and played Ibsen's An Enemy of the People on Broadway in 1951. He also starred in such films as I Married a Witch (1942) and Another Part of the Forest (1948) during this period, and won his second Oscar in 1946 for The Best Years of Our Lives.
March also branched out into television, winning Emmy nominations for his third attempt at The Royal Family for the series The Best of Broadway as well as for television performances as Samuel Dodsworth and Ebenezer Scrooge. On March 25, 1954, March co-hosted the 26th Annual Academy Awards ceremony from New York City, with co-host Donald O'Connor in Los Angeles.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Inherit_the_wind_trailer_%286%29_Spencer_Tracy_Fredric_March.jpg/150px-Inherit_the_wind_trailer_%286%29_Spencer_Tracy_Fredric_March.jpg)
March's neighbor in Connecticut, playwright Arthur Miller, was thought to favor March to inaugurate the part of Willy Loman in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman (1949). However, March read the play and turned down the role, whereupon director Elia Kazan cast Lee J. Cobb as Willy, and Arthur Kennedy as one of Willy's sons, Biff Loman, two men that the director had worked with in the film Boomerang (1947). March later regretted turning down the role and finally played Willy Loman in Columbia Pictures's 1951 film version of the play, directed by Laslo Benedek, receiving his fifth-and-final Oscar nomination as well as a Golden Globe Award.
March also played one of the two leads in The Desperate Hours (1955) with Humphrey Bogart when Bogart and Spencer Tracy both insisted upon top billing and Tracy withdrew, leaving the part available for March.
In 1957, March was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for "distinguished contribution to the art of film."[6]
On February 12, 1959, March appeared before a joint session of the 86th United States Congress, reading of the Gettysburg Address as part of a commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.[7]
March co-starred with Spencer Tracy in the 1960 Stanley Kramer film Inherit the Wind, in which he played a dramatized version of famous orator and political figure William Jennings Bryan. March's Bible-thumping character provided a rival for Tracy's Clarence Darrow-inspired character. In the 1960s, March's film career proceeded with a performance as President Jordan Lyman in the political thriller Seven Days in May (1964) in which he co-starred with Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Edmund O'Brien; the part earned March a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor.
March made several spoken word recordings, including a version of Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant issued in 1945, in which he narrated and played the title role, and The Sounds of History, a twelve volume LP set accompanying the twelve volume set of books The Life History of the United States, published by Time-Life. The recordings were narrated by Charles Collingwood, with March and his wife Florence Eldridge performing dramatic readings from historical documents and literature.
Following surgery for prostate cancer in 1970, it seemed his career was over, yet he managed to give one last performance in The Iceman Cometh (1973), as the complicated Irish saloon keeper, Harry Hope.
Personal life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Fredric_March_in_Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_trailer.jpg/220px-Fredric_March_in_Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_trailer.jpg)
March was married to actress Florence Eldridge from 1927 until his death in 1975, and they had two adopted children. He died from prostate cancer, at age 77, in Los Angeles, California; he was buried at his estate in New Milford, Connecticut.
Throughout his life, he and his wife were supporters of the Democratic Party.
Tributes
March has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1616 Vine Street. In addition, the 500-seat theater at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is named after March,[8] as well as the 168-seat Fredric March Play Circle Theater at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union.[9]
Biographies of March include Fredric March: Craftsman First, Star Second by Deborah C. Peterson (1996),[10] and Fredric March: A Consummate Actor (2013) by Charles Tranberg.[4]
Filmography and awards
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1921 | The Great Adventure | uncredited | extra |
Paying the Piper | uncredited | extra | |
The Education of Elizabeth | uncredited | extra | |
The Devil | uncredited | extra | |
1929 | The Dummy | Trumbull Meredith | |
The Wild Party | James 'Gil' Gilmore | ||
The Studio Murder Mystery | Richard Hardell | ||
Paris Bound | Jim Hutton | ||
Jealousy | Pierre | ||
Footlights and Fools | Gregory Pyne | lost film; the soundtrack survives | |
The Marriage Playground | Martin Boyne | ||
1930 | Sarah and Son | Howard Vanning | |
Paramount on Parade | Doughboy (cameo) | ||
Ladies Love Brutes | Dwight Howell | ||
True to the Navy | Bull's Eye McCoy | ||
Manslaughter | Dan O'Bannon | ||
Laughter | Paul Lockridge | ||
The Royal Family of Broadway | Tony Cavendish | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor | |
1931 | Honor Among Lovers | Jerry Stafford | |
The Night Angel | Rudek Berken | ||
My Sin | Dick Grady | ||
1932 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde | Academy Award for Best Actor (tied with Wallace Beery for The Champ) |
Strangers in Love | Buddy Drake/Arthur Drake | ||
Merrily We Go to Hell | Jerry Corbett | ||
Make Me a Star | himself | behind-the-scenes drama | |
Smilin' Through | Kenneth Wayne | ||
The Sign of the Cross | Marcus Superbus | ||
Hollywood on Parade No. A-1 | himself | short film | |
1933 | Tonight Is Ours | Sabien Pastal | |
The Eagle and the Hawk | Jerry H. Young | With Cary Grant and Carole Lombard | |
Design for Living | Thomas B. 'Tom' Chambers | With Gary Cooper and Miriam Hopkins | |
1934 | All of Me | Don Ellis | With Miriam Hopkins and George Raft |
Death Takes a Holiday | Prince Sirki/Death | ||
Good Dame | Mace Townsley | ||
The Affairs of Cellini | Benvenuto Cellini | ||
The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Robert Browning | With Norma Shearer and Charles Laughton | |
We Live Again | Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov | ||
Hollywood on Parade No. B-6 | himself | short film | |
1935 | Les Misérables | Jean Valjean/Champmathieu | |
Anna Karenina | Vronsky | ||
The Dark Angel | Alan Trent | ||
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 11 | himself | short film | |
1936 | The Road to Glory | Lieutenant Michel Denet | |
Mary of Scotland | Bothwell | With Katharine Hepburn Directed by John Ford | |
Anthony Adverse | Anthony Adverse | ||
Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 3 | himself | short film | |
1937 | A Star Is Born | Norman Maine | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor With Janet Gaynor |
Nothing Sacred | Wallace 'Wally' Cook | ||
Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 5 | himself | short film | |
1938 | The Buccaneer | Jean Lafitte | |
There Goes My Heart | Bill Spencer | ||
Trade Winds | Sam Wye | ||
1939 | The 400 Million | Narrator | Documentary of Chinese history |
1940 | Susan and God | Barrie Trexel | |
Victory | Hendrik Heyst | ||
Lights Out in Europe | Narrator | War documentary about the outbreak of World War II in Europe | |
1941 | So Ends Our Night | Josef Steiner | |
One Foot in Heaven | William Spence | ||
Bedtime Story | Lucius 'Luke' Drake | With Loretta Young and Robert Benchley | |
1942 | I Married a Witch | Jonathan Wooley/Nathaniel Wooley/Samuel Wooley | With Veronica Lake and Robert Benchley |
Lake Carrier | Narrator | Documentary short | |
1944 | Valley of the Tennessee | Narrator | voice only |
The Adventures of Mark Twain | Samuel Langhorne Clemens | ||
Tomorrow, the World! | Mike Frame | ||
1946 | The Best Years of Our Lives | Al Stephenson | Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor With Myrna Loy |
1948 | Another Part of the Forest | Marcus Hubbard | |
An Act of Murder | Judge Calvin Cooke | ||
1949 | Christopher Columbus | Christopher Columbus | |
The Ford Theatre Hour | Television Episode: "The Twentieth Century" | ||
1950 | The Titan: Story of Michelangelo | Narrator | documentary about the life and works of Michelangelo Buonarroti |
The Nash Airflyte Theater | Television Episode: "The Boor" | ||
1951 | It's a Big Country | Joe Esposito | |
Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Volpi Cup for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor | |
Lux Video Theatre | Television Episode: "The Speech" | ||
1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Television Episode: "Ferry Crisis at Friday Point" | |
Toast of the Town | himself | later known as The Ed Sullivan Show | |
1953 | 25th Academy Awards | himself | presenter Academy Award for Best Actress to Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba |
Omnibus | Television Episode: "The Last Night of Don Juan" | ||
Man on a Tightrope | Karel Cernik | With Terry Moore and Gloria Grahame | |
The Bridges at Toko-Ri | Rear Admiral George Tarrant | ||
1954 | 26th Academy Awards | himself | Co-hosted from New York, with Donald O'Connor in Hollywood |
Executive Suite | Loren Phineas Shaw | Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting (shared with the principal cast) Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor | |
The Best of Broadway | Tony Cavendish | Television Episode: "The Royal Family" (based on March's Broadway play and film of the same name) Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor | |
Shower of Stars | Ebenezer Scrooge | Television Episode: "A Christmas Carol" Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor | |
What's My Line? | himself | ||
1955 | The Desperate Hours | Dan C. Hilliard | With Humphrey Bogart |
1956 | Alexander the Great | Philip II of Macedon | |
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | Ralph Hopkins | ||
Producers' Showcase | Sam Dodsworth | Television Episode: "Dodsworth" Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor | |
Shower of Stars | Eugene Tesh | Television Episode: "The Flattering World" | |
Island of Allah | Narrator | ||
1957 | Toast of the Town | himself | later known as The Ed Sullivan Show |
Albert Schweitzer | Narrator | documentary | |
1958 | The DuPont Show of the Month | Arthur Winslow | Television Episode: "The Winslow Boy" |
Tales from Dickens | Host | also known as Fredric March Presents Tales From Dickens, March hosted seven episodes during 1958 and 1959. Episodes: "Bardell Versus Pickwick", "Uriah Heep", "A Christmas Carol", "David and Betsy Trotwood", "David and His Mother", "Christmas at Dingley Dell" and "The Runaways" | |
1959 | Middle of the Night | Jerry Kingsley | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Written by Paddy Chayevsky |
1960 | Inherit the Wind | Matthew Harrison Brady | Won — Silver Bear for Best Actor (Berlin Film Festival)[11] Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor With Spencer Tracy |
1961 | The Young Doctors | Dr. Joseph Pearson | |
1962 | I Sequestrati di Altona (The Condemned of Altona) |
Albrecht von Gerlach | |
1963 | A Tribute to John F. Kennedy from the Arts | Host | broadcast on November 24, 1963, two days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy |
1964 | Seven Days in May | President Jordan Lyman | David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama With Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas |
The Presidency: A Splendid Mystery | Narrator | Television | |
Pieta | Narrator | documentary | |
1967 | Hombre | Dr. Alex Favor | Nominated — Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance With Paul Newman |
1970 | …tick…tick…tick… | Mayor Jeff Parks | |
1973 | The Iceman Cometh | Harry Hope | With Lee Marvin and Robert Ryan |
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1946 | Academy Award | A Star Is Born[12] |
1953 | Theatre Guild on the Air | Cass Timberlane[13] |
1953 | Star Playhouse | A Bell for Adano[14] |
1953 | Star Playhouse | There Shall Be No Night[15] |
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
- ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/121733%7C56086/Fredric-March/
- ^ Obituary Variety, April 16, 1975, page 95.
- ^ https://archive.org/stream/playeraprofileof002609mbp/playeraprofileof002609mbp_djvu.txt
- ^ a b c Tranberg, Charles (2013). Fredric March: A Consummate Actor. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media. ISBN 9781593937454.
- ^ "Fredric March: A Consummate Actor - An Interview with author Charles Tranberg". Let's Misbehave: A Tribute to Precode Hollywood. Blogspot.com.au.
- ^ "Awards granted by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film". George Eastman House. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ "Nation Honor Lincoln On Sesquicentennial" (PDF). Yonkers Herald-Statesman. Northern Illinois University Libraries. Associated Press. February 11, 1959. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
Congress gets into the act tomorrow, when a joint session will be held. Carl Sandburg, famed Lincoln biographer, will give and address, and actor Fredric March will read the Gettysburg Address.
- ^ http://www.uwosh.edu/theatre/Theatre/ThFaci.html
- ^ http://www.union.wisc.edu/playcircle.htm
- ^ Peterson, Deborah C. (1996). Fredric March: Craftsman First, Star Second. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313298028.
- ^ "Berlinale: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
- ^ "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. 41 (3): 32–39. Summer 2015.
- ^ Kirby, Walter (February 15, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 42. Retrieved June 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kirby, Walter (October 11, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved July 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kirby, Walter (November 29, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved July 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1897 births
- 1975 deaths
- People from Racine, Wisconsin
- American Presbyterians
- American male stage actors
- American male film actors
- American male silent film actors
- Best Actor Academy Award winners
- Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- California Democrats
- Deaths from prostate cancer
- Cancer deaths in California
- Male actors from Wisconsin
- Tony Award winners
- Wisconsin Democrats
- 20th-century American male actors
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- Volpi Cup winners
- David di Donatello winners
- Silver Bear for Best Actor winners
- Paramount Pictures contract players