Victor Jory

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Victor Jory (born November 23, 1902 in Dawson , Yukon , † February 12, 1982 in Santa Monica , California ) was a Canadian film actor who was mainly used in villain roles over the course of his long career.

Life

Victor Jory's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Victor Jory was born in 1902 to Edwin and Joanna Jory in Dawson, Canada. After he moved to California with his family and attended high school there, he trained as an actor at the Pasadena Playhouse . He attended the University of California for a year, but then signed up to the United States Coast Guard , where he was boxing and wrestling champion. His strong stature later shaped his roles, as did his grim face and his distinctive deep voice, which is why he was mostly cast as a villain. As an actor, he initially traveled with theater troupes. Between 1920 and 1932 it was used in more than 400 plays across the United States. In 1929 he first appeared on a theater stage in New York . A year later, was in the original for the Broadway -produced piece of Berkeley Square to see. In 1930 he finally made his screen debut and from then on was mainly cast in supporting roles.

In 1935 he played Oberon in the Shakespeare film A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland . The industry journal Variety counted his portrayal of the Elf King among the “outstanding performances” of the film. Three years later he was seen in the role of Indian Joe in the Mark Twain film adaptation of Tom's Adventure . He had a supporting role in the Hollywood classic Gone With the Wind (1939) as the opportunistic slave overseer Jonas Wilkerson, who later tried to take away her Tara plantation from Scarlett O'Hara. In numerous westerns, Jory embodied devious Yankees or Indians. His later film roles include Helen Keller's father in the Oscar-winning drama Licht im Dunkel (1962) and the Indian chief at the side of Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in the prisoner drama Papillon (1973).

Over the years Jory has made more than 100 films and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6605 Hollywood Boulevard). During the 1940s he appeared several times on Broadway, including from 1946 to 1947 in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. He was also extremely active on the radio with more than 1,200 radio appearances. At times Jory was also active as a theater director and writer. For example, he wrote the Broadway play Five Who Were Mad and several television scripts. From the 1950s he worked in numerous television series, such as B. in Dr. Kildare (1962), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1963), Smoking Colts (1965), Bonanza (1966) and Detective Rockford - just give us a call (1978). Between 1959 and 1961, he played a leading role in 78 episodes in the Manhunt police series. He also worked as an acting teacher and gave lectures.

In 1928 he married Jean Inness. From the marriage, which lasted until their death on December 27, 1978, the two sons Jean and Jon were born. The latter headed the theater in Louisville , Kentucky for 31 years and later worked as a professor of acting at the University of Washington in Seattle . Victor Jory died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California in 1982 at the age of 79 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b cf. Victor Jory on matineeclassics.com ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / matineeclassics.com
  2. ↑ a b c d Jack Jones: Victor Jory . In: Los Angeles Times , February 13, 1982.
  3. ^ "There are some outstanding performances, however, notably Victor Jory as Oberon." Review: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" . In: Variety , December 31, 1934.
personal data
SURNAME Jory, Victor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian film actor
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Dawson , Yukon
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1982
Place of death Santa Monica , California