Freddie Bartholomew

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Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (born March 28, 1924 in London , England , † January 23, 1992 in Sarasota , Florida ) was a British - American child actor and later television director and producer. He was the highest-paid male child star in Hollywood at the time and starred in the literary films David Copperfield (1935), The Little Lord (1936) and Manuel (1937).

Life

Freddie Bartholomew grew up in Warminster under the care of his aunt Millicent Bartholomew. He was already on stage at the age of three and eventually took acting lessons at the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts . After a few brief appearances in British films, Bartholomew was engaged in the film adaptation of the Dickens novel of the same name in 1934 as a young David Copperfield . A studio contract tied the actor to MGM for seven years . The child actor received good reviews for his appearance in David Copperfield and suddenly became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood.

Further appearances in Anna Karenina as the son of Greta Garbo and Basil Rathbone and in Professional Soldier alongside Victor McLaglen and Gloria Stuart established Freddie Bartholomew as a popular child star. His best-known roles included appearing as the title character in The Little Lord from 1936, directed by John Cromwell . Bartholomew starred in The Devil is a Sissy with Mickey Rooney and Jackie Cooper that same year . A weekly fee of around $ 2,500 made him the highest-paid male child star of his time. Alongside Spencer Tracy , Bartholomew was seen in Victor Fleming's literary film adaptation of Manuel in 1937 , where Bartholomew for once did not play the role of a well-bred boy, but embodied the spoiled offspring of an entrepreneur. The film adaptation of the novel Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling had been in production for almost a year and would be his final success. In 1937 Bartholomew was involved in two legal disputes. On the one hand, his parents tried to obtain custody of him in court. At the same time, his aunt took legal action to sue her nephew from the current contract. Both trials were unsuccessful. MGM gradually lost interest in Bartholomew, especially as he was approaching puberty and his multiple co-actor Mickey Rooney had great success at the same time and became the new youth star at MGM.

From the late 1930s onwards, Bartholomew only played in smaller films, which have largely been forgotten today. He fought in the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 in World War II , for which he took American citizenship. He injured his back badly. After his service in the war, Bartholomew only appeared in supporting roles in three smaller films and a few television programs, most recently in 1951. All his childhood fees had been used up by his relatives' lawsuits and embezzled by his aunt. From 1954 he worked for Benton & Bowles, a well-known New York advertising agency, which invented the first soap opera in 1956 for their client Procter & Gamble . Bartholomew has also directed and produced television programs, including episodes of the Andy Griffith Show and of Young and Passionate .

In his retirement he moved to Bradenton , Florida. There he died of heart failure in 1992 at the age of 67 . He was married to his first wife Maely Daniele between 1946 and 1953, the marriage ended in divorce. His subsequent marriage to Aileen Paul also divorced in 1976. They had two children. He remained married to his third wife until his death.

A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard commemorates the actor.

Filmography

  • 1930: Toyland
  • 1931: Fascination
  • 1932: Lilly Christine
  • 1932: Strip! Strip! Hooray !!!
  • 1935: David Copperfield
  • 1935: Anna Karenina
  • 1935: Professional Soldier
  • 1936: The Little Lord ( Little Lord Fauntleroy )
  • 1936: The Devil Is a Sissy
  • 1936: Signals to London ( Lloyd's of London )
  • 1937: Manuel ( Captains Courageous )
  • 1938: Kidnapped ( Kidnapped )
  • 1938: Lord Jeff
  • 1938: Listen, Darling
  • 1939: Two Bright Boys
  • 1939: The Spirit of Culver
  • 1940: The Island of the Lost ( Swiss Family Robinson )
  • 1940: Tom Brown's School Days
  • 1941: Naval Academy
  • 1942: Cadets on Parade
  • 1942: A Yank at Eton
  • 1942: Junior Army
  • 1944: The Town Went Wild
  • 1947: Sepia Cinderella
  • 1951: St. Benny the Dip

Web links

Commons : Freddie Bartholomew  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Freddie Bartholomew at Google Books
  2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048860/fullcredits
  3. ^ Julie Poll, "As The World Turns - 40th Anniversary Special," p. 290; 1996
personal data
SURNAME Bartholomew, Freddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bartholomew, Frederick Cecil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-American child actor and later television director and producer
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1992
Place of death Sarasota , Florida