Charles Bickford

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Charles Bickford (born January 1, 1891 in Cambridge , Massachusetts , † November 9, 1967 in Los Angeles ) was an American actor .

Life

Bickford grew up as the fifth of a total of nine children in poor circumstances. At the age of nine, he was charged with attempting to murder a driver who ran over his dog, but was acquitted. As a teenager, he made his way through life with numerous odd jobs and traveled across the United States. When he fell in love with an actress in San Francisco, he began acting around 1911. In the 1920s, he developed into a well-known theater actor who appeared on Broadway more often .

His film career began with the first sound films in the late 1920s. One of his first films was in Dynamit in 1929 , directed by Cecil B. DeMille , which he is said to have knocked unconscious after an argument - which disrupted Bickford's nascent film career, but did not end it. In 1930 he became known to the general public through his appearance as partner of Greta Garbo in the film Anna Christie . Bickford, endowed with a powerful voice, was an actor of lovers, but not in the course of his further film career; he played numerous character roles for it, which he found more interesting anyway. The redhead mostly embodied rough and energetic, but rarely malicious, but in many cases honorable and warm-hearted characters - quite similar to the personality he was off the big screen. Bickford was considered one of the few who could mess with Hollywood greats like Louis B. Mayer and still had a long, successful career. In 1935 he was seriously injured by a lion while filming East of Java .

Bickford was nominated three times for an Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actor: for his role as priest Dominique Peyramale in Henry King's religious drama The Song of Bernadette (1943), for portraying a lovable caretaker in the comedy The Farmer's Daughter (1947) with Loretta Young and for his performance by the father of a deaf-mute young woman (played by Jane Wyman ) in the drama Silent Lips (1948). Winner of the National Board of Review Award was his portrayal of a doctor in Stanley Kramers ... rather than a stranger (1955) alongside Robert Mitchum and Olivia de Havilland . His films that are still better known today include George Cukor's A New Star in the Sky (1954), starring Judy Garland , in which he played the boss of a Hollywood studio, and William Wyler's western Far Country (1958), in which he played Major Tyrell in an ugly feud with a rival rancher. He played his last role from 1966 in the series The People from Shiloh Ranch as John Grainger , from the fifth season the owner of Shiloh Ranch. After Bickford's unexpected death, the character from the series was written and his brother Clay Grainger (played by John McIntire ) took over the ranch.

Charles Bickford died of blood poisoning in 1967 at the age of 76. He was married to Beatrice Allen from 1916 until his death and the couple had two children. He published his autobiography Bulls Balls Bicycles & Actors in 1965. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and television .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Oscar / Best Supporting Actor

National Board of Review Award

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Blog at WordPress.com: Charles Bickford: Acquitted of attempted murder at nine, nearly killed by a lion, and three times Oscar nominee. In: The Film Colony ♛. September 14, 2012, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Blog at WordPress.com: Charles Bickford: Acquitted of attempted murder at nine, nearly killed by a lion, and three times Oscar nominee. In: The Film Colony ♛. September 14, 2012, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  3. ^ Charles Bickford | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English).
  4. ↑ Blog at WordPress.com: Charles Bickford: Acquitted of attempted murder at nine, nearly killed by a lion, and three times Oscar nominee. In: The Film Colony ♛. September 14, 2012, accessed June 23, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Bickford, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 1, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Cambridge , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1967
Place of death los Angeles