David Niven

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David Niven (1973)

James David Graham Niven (born March 1, 1910 in London , England , † July 29, 1983 in Château-d'Oex , Switzerland ) was a British actor . In 1959 he won the Oscar for Best Actor for Separate from Table and Bed . Like hardly any other actor, Niven was successful in the role of the British gentleman for decades and was almost exclusively identified with this image by many viewers.

life and work

Early life

David Niven was born in London to William Edward Graham Niven and Henrietta Julia de Gacher. His father died as an officer in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli . Niven initially wanted to pursue a military career and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . He was appointed second lieutenant in 1930 , and in early 1933 he was promoted to first lieutenant . Niven initially enjoyed the life of an officer, but according to his own statement he quickly got bored and began to become rebellious. In September 1933 he was arrested after a cheek towards a general from whom he fled. Niven secretly left Great Britain to begin his acting career in America. He confirmed his army service by telegram.

Pre-war career

After a few detours, Niven came to Hollywood in 1934 , where he initially had to be content with minor supporting roles, for example in the classic film Mutiny on the Bounty alongside Clark Gable and Charles Laughton . His first substantial supporting role took place in 1935 in the crime film Blackmailer on the side of Elissa Landi . A film deal with Samuel Goldwyn brought Niven supporting roles in important Hollywood films such as Rose-Marie (1936) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). By the end of the 1930s he had made it to the leading actor in Hollywood: under the direction of William Wyler , he played the role of the ailing Edgar Linton in the literary film adaptation of Sturmhöhe (1939), in the same year he was also a partner of Ginger Rogers in the comedy To see the foundling mother . In the film Raffles , Niven played the title role of the elegant safe cracker Raffles. In many of his later films, Niven was to be seen as a noble thief.

Military service in World War II

During the Second World War he rejoined the army and received his old rank back. By the end of the war he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (lieutenant colonel). Niven came to the British Commandos at his own request . In the special unit he initially worked as a trainer and later, after D-Day in France, in a reconnaissance unit. Niven spoke very little about his war experiences after the war.

His wartime activity gained greater prominence as the coordinator of all troop support events for the US and British armed forces in Europe. In this function he also organized Marlene Dietrich's appearances and was personally responsible for her rescue from the approaching armed forces on the front in the Ardennes offensive . At that time he was friends with Glenn Miller , for whom he organized a troop support trip, which did not take place after his death, which was not fully clarified. Peter Ustinov officially served as Nivens "batman" (for example: officer boy , orderly) because this was the easiest way administratively to let the staff officer Niven and the common soldier Ustinov travel and work together.

After the war

David Niven was able to easily resume his film career after the war. The leading roles in the high-class films Irrtum im Jenseits (1946), Every Woman Needs an Angel (1947) and Enchantment (1948) established him as a film star who mostly commuted between British and American film productions. His role in Clouds Are Everywhere , directed by Otto Preminger , earned him the Golden Globe Award in 1953 . Another film success was the lead role of Phileas Fogg in the Oscar-winning, star-studded literary film around the world in 80 days (1956). In 1959, David Niven was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Major Pollock in the film Separated from Table and Bed . Niven remained a popular film actor until his death: He also acted as a leading actor in films such as The Cannons of Navarone (1961) and Casino Royale (1967), and he also played in ensemble films such as A Corpse for Dessert and Death on the Nile . A particular success was the role of the gentleman crook Sir Charles Lytton in The Pink Panther (1963) on the side of Peter Sellers . He played this role again in his last film The Curse of the Pink Panther from 1983.

In addition, David Niven was also active as a television actor since the 1950s. In 1952 he founded the television production Four Star Television with his colleagues Charles Boyer , Ida Lupino and Dick Powell and appeared successfully in their own television series The David Niven Show (1959) and Gauner gegen Gauner (1964 to 1965).

Private life and death

Niven was married twice. In 1940 he married Primula Rollo (1918–1946), with whom he had two sons: David jr. and Jamie, who were born in 1942 and 1946, respectively. Primula died of severe head injuries in 1946 after an unfortunate fall at the Tyrone Powers home . He married his second wife, the Swedish model Hjördis Tersmeden (1921–1997), in 1948. With her, David Niven adopted two daughters: Kristina and Fiona.

David Niven fell ill with ALS in the early 1980s , of which he died in 1983. In addition to his wife Hjördis Tersmeden, Roger Moore and Audrey Hepburn also attended his funeral . His grave is in the cemetery of Château-d'Œx in the Swiss canton of Vaud . Niven bequeathed his fortune to research.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Others

Autobiographies and Literature

  • David Niven: The Moon's a Balloon. Putnam Pub Group, 1972, ISBN 0-399-10557-3 .
  • David Niven: Maybe the moon is just a balloon. My busy life. (OT: The Moon's a Balloon ). Ehrenwirth, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-431-01674-X .
  • Stars who didn't fall from the sky. Hollywood and all of my friends. (OT: Bring On the Empty Horses ). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1979, ISBN 3-499-14444-1 .
  • Sheridan Morley: David Niven. The Other Side of the Moon. Coronet / Hodder & Stoughton, Sevenoaks 1986, ISBN 0-340-39643-1 .

Web links

Commons : David Niven  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roger Moore: The Autobiography: My Name is Bond ... James Bond I. P. Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-931624-62-0 , p. 298
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of David Niven
personal data
SURNAME Niven, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Niven, James David Graham
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1983
Place of death Château-d'Oex , Switzerland