Peter Lawford

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Lawford (left) with his then-brother-in-law, US President John F. Kennedy (1962)

Peter Lawford (born September 7, 1923 in London , † December 24, 1984 in Los Angeles ; actually Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen ) was a British actor .

Life

Peter Lawford was born the son of Army Lieutenant General Sir Sidney Lawford (1865-1953) and his wife May (1883-1972). His parents married when he was one year old, so his mother's surname is on his birth certificate. He spent his childhood in France with his parents , so he learned French rather than English. Lawford later also spoke fluent Spanish and Italian. At the age of seven, he stood for the first time in the British film Poor Old Bill (1931). In 1938 he played a supporting role in the drama Lord Jeff on the side of child stars Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney , his first film in America. In the early 1940s Lawford signed his first studio contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . A serious arm injury Lawford sustained when he ran into a glass door at age 14 prevented him from serving in World War II. This was an advantage for him when applying for better roles because many of his competitors were gone, and so he rose from a small actor to a promising young star.

His breakthrough came with his roles in the Irene Dunne drama The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and in the literary film The Portrait of Dorian Gray (1945) as David Stone. Lawford had his first leading role in 1945 in the Lassie film Son of Lassie , directed by S. Sylvan Simon . In 1946 he was seen in Ernst Lubitsch's comedy Cluny Brown on Free Feet and Henry Koster's musical Two Sisters from Boston . He starred alongside Fred Astaire in the films Easter Walk (1948) and Royal Wedding (1951). Lawford often embodied youthful lovers at MGM, for example as Theodore Laurence in Kleine bravere Jo , the film adaptation of the novel Little Women . After the end of his contract with MGM he became a member of the Rat Pack to Frank Sinatra , where he played the playboy Jimmy Foster in Ocean's Eleven . On television, Lawford starred in the television series The Skinny Man between 1957 and 1959 .

In his later career, he starred numerous guest roles on television and appeared in films both large and small, such as A Frog in Manhattan and Company Rosebud . However, he did not succeed in becoming a big star. He had his last role in 1983 in the British comedy The Sky Machine alongside Tony Curtis .

Private life

Peter Lawford (left) at John F. Kennedy's funeral (1963)

Peter Lawford was known for his sometimes colorful and turbulent private life: in 1954 he married Patricia Kennedy , the sister of John F. Kennedy , and thus became a member of the Kennedy family . They had four children together, including actor Christopher Lawford (1955-2018). The marriage ended in divorce in 1966. Lawford and the Frank Sinatra Rat Pack also supported Kennedy in his election campaigns. Lawford is said to have supported the close personal relationships of the two Kennedy brothers, John F. and Robert Kennedy, with Marilyn Monroe . Marilyn Monroe exchanged her last words with Lawford during a phone call on the night of August 4, 1962, in which she died in a manner that has not yet been clarified beyond doubt. After divorcing the Kennedy daughter, Lawford married Mary Rowan , daughter of comedian Dan Rowan, 27 years his junior in 1971 . The marriage lasted until 1975. After that he appeared twice before the altar, once with Debora Gould (1977-78) and a few months before his death with Patricia Seaton .

The friendship between him and Sinatra suffered for years from the fact that he had an affair with Sinatra's wife Ava Gardner and Sinatra thought this was the reason for his separation from Gardner. Lawford, on the other hand, had various more or less serious affairs with stars such as June Allyson , Lana Turner and Kim Novak . His relationship with the Afro-American actress Dorothy Dandridge was remarkable , the wedding plans failed because of the different skin color.

Peter Lawford, who was addicted to alcohol for years, died in 1984 of kidney and liver failure.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Peter Lawford  - collection of images, videos and audio files