Walter Pidgeon

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Walter Pidgeon (1942)

Walter Davis Pidgeon (born September 23, 1897 in Saint John , New Brunswick , † September 25, 1984 in Santa Monica , California ) was a Canadian actor .

Career

Walter Pidgeon studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston , Massachusetts , where he was trained as a classical baritone singer. During the 1920s, he first appeared in a number of silent films . After the introduction of the sound film , he was also seen in film musicals . After him MGM in 1937 took them under contract, he got supporting roles in films such as Saratoga ( Saratoga (1937)) on the side of Jean Harlow and Clark Gable and the Golden West ( The Girl of the Golden West , 1938) next to Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy . 1941 MGM lent it to 20th Century Fox to star in Green Was My Valley ( How Green Was My Valley ) made. It was his first big success.

He then made several films with his colleague Greer Garson , with whom he formed one of the most popular screen pairs in American cinema of the 1940s. Their eight films together include: a. Blossoms in the Dust , Mrs. Miniver and Madame Curie . For the latter two, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor . From 1947 he also appeared frequently in front of the camera alongside Deborah Kerr . Kerr, set up by MGM to replace the older Greer Garson, and Pidgeon played together a. a. in If Winter Comes (1947) and You and No Others ( Dream Wife , 1953). From the mid-1950s, Walter Pidgeon also played increasingly in the theater and worked in various television films.

In 1974 he was recognized by the Screen Actors Guild for life's work. He had one of his last roles in 1976 as a judge in the TV movie Die Entführung des Lindbergh-Babys ( The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case ). At the end of the 1970s, he completely withdrew from the film business.

Walter Pidgeon died in Santa Monica in 1984 after a series of strokes. At his request, his body was turned over to UCLA Medical School for medical research.

Walter Pidgeon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Hollywood Boulevard 6414).

Private life

Walter Pidgeon was married twice. His first wife Edna Pickles, with whom he had been married since 1919, died in 1921 giving birth to their daughter, who was then baptized in the name of her mother Edna. Through her he later had two granddaughters named Pam and Pat.

In 1931 Pidgeon married his secretary Ruth Walker, with whom he was married until his death.

Filmography

Web links

Commons : Walter Pidgeon  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files