Ross Alexander
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2009) |
Ross Alexander | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ross Alexander in the trailer for Shipmates Forever in 1935 | |
| Born | Alexander Ross Smith July 27, 1907 |
| Died | January 2, 1937 (aged 29) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot to the head |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1920–1937 |
| Spouse(s) | Aleta Freel (1934–1935, her suicide) Anne Nagel (1936–1937, his suicide) |
Ross Alexander (July 27, 1907 – January 2, 1937) was an American stage and film actor.
Early years
Alexander was born Alexander Ross Smith in Brooklyn, New York,[1] the son of Maud Adelle (Cohen) and Alexander Ross Smith.[2][3]
His father was a leather merchant. Alexander grew up in Rochester, where his family moved soon after he was born. When he was 17, he went to New York City and studied acting at the Packard Theatrical Agency.[4]
Stage
Alexander began his acting career with the Henry Jewett Players in Boston, debuting in Enter Madame.[5] By 1926, he was regarded as a promising leading man with good looks and an easy and charming style and began appearing in more substantial roles.
His Broadway credits include The Party's Over (1932), Honeymoon (1932), The Stork Is Dead (1932), After Tomorrow (1931), That's Gratitude (1930), Let Us Be Gay (1928), The Ladder (1926), and Enter Madame (1920).[6]
Film
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2018) |
Alexander was signed to a film contract by Paramount Pictures, but his film debut in The Wiser Sex[7] (1932) was not a success,[citation needed] and so he returned to Broadway. In 1934, he was signed to another film contract, this time by Warner Bros. His biggest successes of the period were A Midsummer Night's Dream and Captain Blood (both 1935).
In 1936, he starred in Hot Money. It was a defining role in his persona as a glamorous, wore-clothes-well leading man, not in the usual Warner gangster mold of rough-hewn stars like Edward G. Robinson or Paul Muni. His final film, Ready, Willing and Able, was released posthumously.
Personal life
Alexander married actress Aleta Freel on February 28, 1934, in East Orange, New Jersey.[4] The marriage ended the following year when Freel committed suicide on December 7, 1935.[8] On September 17, 1936, he married another actress, Anne Nagel,[9] with whom he had appeared in the films China Clipper and Here Comes Carter (both 1936).
Death
With his professional and personal life in disarray and deeply in debt, Alexander shot himself in the head in the barn behind his home. It has been reported that Alexander used the same gun his wife Aleta Freel shot herself with 13 months earlier.[10] Other sources claim that Ross used a pistol, while Aleta used a rifle.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | The Wiser Sex | Jimmy O'Neill | |
| 1934 | Social Register | Lester Trout | |
| 1934 | Gentlemen Are Born | Tom Martin | |
| 1934 | Flirtation Walk | Oskie | |
| 1935 | Maybe It's Love | Rims O'Neil | |
| 1935 | Going Highbrow | Harley Marsh | |
| 1935 | We're in the Money | C. Richard Courtney, aka Carter | |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Demetrius | |
| 1935 | Shipmates Forever | Lafayette "Sparks" Brown | |
| 1935 | Captain Blood | Jeremy Pitt | |
| 1936 | Boulder Dam | Rusty Noonan | |
| 1936 | Brides Are Like That | Bill McAllister | |
| 1936 | I Married a Doctor | Erik Valborg | |
| 1936 | Hot Money | Chick Randall | |
| 1936 | China Clipper | Tom Collins | |
| 1936 | Here Comes Carter | Kent Carter | Alternative title: The Voice of Scandal |
| 1937 | Ready, Willing, and Able | Barry Granville | Released posthumously |
References
- ^ Frasier, David K. (2005). Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases. McFarland. pp. 9–10. ISBN 9781476608075. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Hundreds at Actor's Funeral". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Illinois, Edwardsville. 9 January 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 16 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2243
- ^ a b Allen, John R. Jr. "Ross Alexander". Classic Images. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Signed for Films". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. 4 November 1931. p. 21. Retrieved 16 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "("Ross Alexander" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 7–8. ISBN 9781557835512. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Milestones". Time. 7 December 1935.
- ^ "Alexander Ended Life As Film Fame Neared". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. Associated Press. 4 January 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 15 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. p. 38. ISBN 1-84449-430-6.
External links
- 1907 births
- 1937 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male stage actors
- American people of Jewish descent
- Broadway theatre people
- Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- Male actors from New York City
- American male actors who committed suicide
- Suicides by firearm in California
- People from Brooklyn
- Paramount Pictures contract players