Leslie Fenton

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leslie Fenton (born March 12, 1902 in Liverpool , England , † March 25, 1978 in Montecito , California ) was an American film actor and director .

Life

The son of a shoemaker came to the United States from England with his family at the age of six. One of his brothers was the writer Frank Fenton . At first like his father he was a worker in a shoe factory, but then he became a theater actor and also found employment in film, where he appeared in 62 feature films between 1923 and 1938. Mostly he played leading roles in B-films and supporting roles in larger films. Probably his best-known role was that of the elegant gangster Nails Nathan in the gangster classic The Public Enemy with James Cagney . In 1932 he married actress Ann Dvorak , who even followed him to England, where he stayed during the Second World War and there achieved a higher rank in the military. They got divorced in 1945; Fenton remarried, the marriage lasted until his death.

He had already started his career as a film director before the war ; by 1951 he directed 19 films. He made mostly B-films, some of which were well received by the critics. He gave up appearances as an actor since 1938 and also gave up his work as a film director at the age of 50. Leslie Fenton died in 1978 at the age of 76.

Filmography (selection)

As an actor:

  • 1925: The Lazybones
  • 1926: The Road to Glory
  • 1926: The Shamrock Handicap
  • 1926: Black Paradise
  • 1926: Rivals (What Price Glory?)
  • 1927: Illusion (The Last Performance)
  • 1928: The Gateway of the Moon
  • 1928: Police (The Dragnet)
  • 1928: The First Kiss
  • 1929: dynamite (dynamite)
  • 1929: Paris Bound
  • 1931: The Public Enemy (The Public Enemy)
  • 1931: The Guilty Generation
  • 1932: The Avenger of the Tong (The Hatchet Man)
  • 1932: Airmail
  • 1933: Night Flight
  • 1933: The Womanizer (Lady Killer)
  • 1934: Dangerous Frontier (Fugitive Road)
  • 1934: Marie Galante
  • 1935: Men without Names
  • 1935: East of Java
  • 1936: Sworn Enemy
  • 1937: China Passage
  • 1938: Teufelskerle (Boys Town)

As a director:

  • 1939: Tell no Tales
  • 1940: The Man from Dakota
  • 1941: The Saint's Vacation
  • 1944: Tomorrow, the World!
  • 1948: Smugglers from Saigon (Saigon)
  • 1948: Lulu Belle
  • 1948: Whispering Smith
  • 1949: The Death Riders of Laredo (Streets of Laredo)
  • 1951: The Redhead and the Cowboy

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Fenton, Leslie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor and film director
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool , England
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1978
Place of death Montecito , California