Charles Farrell (actor, 1901)

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Charles Farrell (born August 9, 1901 in Onset Bay , Massachusetts , † May 6, 1990 in Palm Springs , California ) was an American actor in the 1920s and 1930s. He has starred as a screen couple with Janet Gaynor in 12 films , their common nickname being America's Favorite Lovebirds .

Life

After a few years at the theater, Farrell made his screen debut as an extra in the Pola Negri film The Cheat in 1923 . After a few supporting roles, mainly with Paramount and Fox , he became a star practically overnight in 1927 as partner of Janet Gaynor in the film Luck in the Attic , directed by Frank Borzage . The film, which portrays the romantic adventures of a young woman and a sewer worker in Paris, became the biggest box-office hit of the year, turning the two into one of the most popular screen couples for the next seven years . While Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, as well as Vilma Bánky and Ronald Colman, tended to appear in melodramatic adventures, Farrell and Gaynor were often seen as idealistic young lovers. That earned them the nickname America's Sweethearts . The couple made the leap into talkies with the musical Sunny Side Up in 1929 and peaked in popularity with high society blues in 1930 .

While Gaynor, in contrast to her naive screen image, resolutely fought for more fees and a say in the selection of her films, Farrell was not very successful as a solo artist. Apart from The River from 1928 and City Girl, both directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau , his films were often produced with little effort. After the old Fox studio had to declare bankruptcy in 1934, Farrell went to Warner Brothers for a film , where he appeared on the side of Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown . After that, his film career was increasingly lost in B-films. He retired from the big screen in the 1940s and was rich and successful as the manager of the Palm Springs Racquet Club even after his film career ended. From 1953 to 1960 he was Mayor of Palm Springs. He had an acting comeback in the 1950s on US television, where he played one of the leading roles in the series My Little Margie and The Charles Farrell Show . After the end of the two television series, he finally retired from acting.

Although the fan press often and happily speculated about an alleged romance between Gaynor and Farrell, Farrell ended up marrying actress Virginia Valli . He remained married to Valli from 1931 until her death in 1968. Throughout his life, the sexual orientation of both Gaynor and Farrell was the subject of many rumors. He died of a heart attack in 1990 at the age of 88. Two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are dedicated to Charles Farrell, one at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard commemorates his film work, while the second star at 1617 Vine Street is dedicated to Farrell's television activity.

Filmography (selection)

Movies with Janet Gaynor are marked with an asterisk *:

  • 1923: The Cheat
  • 1923: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
  • 1923: The A Woman (A Woman of Paris)
  • 1923: The Ten Commandments (The Ten Commandments)
  • 1925: The Freshman (The Freshman)
  • 1926: Old Ironsides
  • 1927: Happiness in the Attic * ( Seventh Heaven )
  • 1928: Street Angel * ( Street Angel )
  • 1928: The River
  • 1928: Behind the walls of the harem (Fazil)
  • 1928: The Red Dance of Moscow
  • 1929: Sunny Side Up *
  • 1929: The Seventh Commandment * ( Lucky Star )
  • 1930: Our daily bread ( City Girl )
  • 1930: High Society Blues *
  • 1930: Liliom
  • 1930: Happy Days *
  • 1931: The Man Who Came Back *
  • 1931: Merely Mary Ann *
  • 1931: Delicious *
  • 1932: The First Year *
  • 1932: After Tomorrow
  • 1932: Wild Girl
  • 1932: Tess of the Storm Country *
  • 1933: Girl Without a Room
  • 1933: Aggie Appleby Maker of Men
  • 1934: Change of Heart *
  • 1934: The Great Shakedown
  • 1937: Moonlight Sonata (Moonlight Sonata)
  • 1938: Just Around the Corner
  • 1941: The Deadly Game
  • 1952–1955: My Little Margie (TV series, 126 episodes)
  • 1956: The Charles Farrell Show (TV series, six episodes)

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Farrell, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Onset Bay , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 1990
Place of death Palm Springs , California