Cedric Hardwicke

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Cedric Hardwicke in June 1942

Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (born February 19, 1893 in Lye , Worcestershire , England , † August 6, 1964 in New York City , New York , USA ) was a British film and theater actor . For decades he played prominent leading and supporting roles in numerous films in Hollywood. As a stage actor, he became famous with leading roles in the works of Shaw and Shakespeare .

Life

Cedric Hardwicke attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art against his father's wishes and made his stage debut at the Lyceum Theater in London in 1912 . A year later, in 1913, he appeared in front of the camera for the first time in a silent film. In the same year he went on tour trips to South Africa and Rhodesia with Frank Benson's theater company . As early as 1914 he received major Shakespeare roles at the famous Old Vic Theater in London. In the First World War Hardwick fought alongside the British and remained until 1921 in military service. However, he was then back on stage in Birmingham from 1922 . His friendship with the writer George Bernard Shaw paved Hardwicke's way to London . Hardwicke played the main role in the performances - some premieres - of many Shaw plays, which made him an actor of great repute. In 1934 he was knighted by King George V and thus raised to the status of Sir. This honor was rarely reserved for actors at the time, and Hardwicke received it at the relatively young age of 41. At times he also taught acting and theater at Cambridge University .

In 1936 Hardwicke emigrated to the United States, where he was able to build on his successes in Great Britain on Broadway . However, he returned to the UK several times in later years for acting appearances. Hardwicke has already appeared in numerous feature films in Great Britain, but above all in Hollywood. Hardwicke often embodied demanding character roles and thus villains, such as the gloomy Frollo in William Dieterle's literary film The Hunchback of Notre Dame based on the novel by Victor Hugo . In the horror film Frankenstein returns from Universal Pictures in 1942, Hardwicke played the leading role of the scientist Ludwig von Frankenstein. He played two of his perhaps most famous roles in Hitchcock films: In Suspicion (1941) he was the strict father of Joan Fontaine and in Cocktail for a Corpse (1948) he played the thoughtful scholar Mr. Kentley, who was one of the killers of his son Dinner is invited. In Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare adaptation Richard III. he played King Edward in 1955. A year later he acted as the aging pharaoh in Cecil B. DeMille's monumental film The Ten Commandments . From the 1950s, Hardwicke also took on guest roles on television.

As a film director and film producer located Hardwicke in 1943 participated in the episode film on forever and three days ( Forever and a Day ), this was his only work behind the camera. The actor once remarked about Hollywood: “I believe that God pitied the actors, so he invented Hollywood to give them a place in the sun and a swimming pool. The price they had to pay was to give up their talent. "

Private life

Cedric Hardwicke was married twice. His marriage to actress Helena Pickard in 1928 lasted 20 years. In 1932 the couple had a son, Edward Hardwicke , who also worked as an actor. After the divorce from Pickard, Hardwicke married Mary Scott, who also worked as an actress, in 1950 . After eleven years of marriage, they divorced in 1961. His autobiography , written in collaboration with James Brough in 1961, is entitled A Victorian in Orbit. The irreverent memoirs of Sir Cedric Hardwicke . The actor died of severe pneumonia in 1964 at the age of 71 .

Cedric Hardwicke was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his career .

Filmography (selection)

plant

  • Cedric Hardwicke, James Brough: A Victorian in Orbit. The irreverent memoirs of Sir Cedric Hardwicke, as told to James Brough. Methuen & Co., London 1961.

Web links

Commons : Cedric Hardwicke  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quoted at IMDb
personal data
SURNAME Hardwicke, Cedric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hardwicke, Cedric Webster (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British film and theater actor as well as film director and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Lye , Worcestershire , England
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1964
Place of death New York City , New York , USA