George Bancroft (actor)

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George Bancroft in Berlin (1929, right)

George Bancroft (born September 30, 1882 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † October 2, 1956 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American actor .

Life

Tall, sturdy Bancroft began his career in vaudeville . He made the leap to Broadway , where he quickly made a name for himself with appearances on The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and Paid in Full . He made his film debut in 1921 in The Journey's End , but it wasn't until 1925 that he became a Paramount star with the western The Pony Express , directed by James Cruze . He reached the peak of his popularity through appearances as a gangster in the Josef von Sternberg classic Underworld , which in 1927 first took a concerned look behind the scenes of organized crime. Ben Hecht wrote the script and the film set the style for the entire genre. Bancroft had his best role again a year later, directed by Josef von Sternberg, in The Docks of New York , who showed him as a seaman falling in love with a prostitute played by Betty Compson , and blaming one of her Homicide takes over.

The actor made it into the sound film easily and in 1930 an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his performance in They called him Thunderbolt . Soon after, Bancroft's popularity declined due to age, so that he had to be content with supporting roles from the mid-1930s. He played a bad-tempered newspaper editor in Frank Capra's tragic comedy Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) or a dubious businessman in Michael Curtiz's gangster film Chicago - Angels with Dirty Faces (1938). In 1939 he played the honorable sheriff in John Ford's western classic Ringo . In 1942 his acting career ended after 54 films to retire to his ranch.

While his first marriage to Edna Brothers was divorced, he remained married to his second wife Octavia Broske (1886–1967) until his death. They had a daughter named Georgette. He died in Santa Monica in 1956 at the age of 74.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 1930: Oscar nomination for best actor for you named him Thunderbolt

Web links

Commons : George Bancroft (actor)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Bancroft, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1956
Place of death Santa Monica , California