John Garfield, Alan Mowbray, Rudy Vallee
John Garfield (March 4, 1913 -- May 21,
1952) was an
American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class characters.[1] He grew up in poverty in Depression-era
New York City and in the early
1930s became an important member of the
Group Theater. In
1937, he moved to
Hollywood, eventually becoming one of
Warner Bros.' major stars. Called to testify before the
U.S. Congressional
House Committee on Un-American Activities (
HUAC), he denied Communist affiliation and refused to "name names", effectively ending his film career. Some have claimed that the stress of this incident led to his premature death at 39 from a heart attack.[2]
Garfield is acknowledged as a predecessor of such
Method actors as
Montgomery Clift,
Marlon Brando, and
James Dean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Garfield
Alan Mowbray MM, (18 August 1896 - 25 March
1969), was an
English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.
Born Alfred Ernest Allen in
London, England, he served with distinction the
British Army in
World War I, being awarded the
Military Medal for bravery. He began as a stage actor, making his way to the
United States where he appeared in
Broadway plays and toured the country as part of a theater troupe.
As Alan Mowbray, he made his motion picture debut in 1931, going on to a career primarily as a character actor in more than
140 films including the sterling butler role in the comedy
Merrily We Live, and playing the title role in the
TV series The Adventures of
Colonel Flack. During
World War II, he made a memorable appearance as the
Devil in the
Hal Roach propaganda comedy
The Devil with Hitler. He appeared in some two dozen guest roles on various television series.
Mowbray was a founding member of the
Screen Actors Guild, with outside interests that led to membership in
Britain's
Royal Geographic Society.
He played the title role in the television series
Colonel Humphrey Flack, which first appeared in 1953-1954 and then was revived in 1958-1959
. In the 1954-1955 television season Mowbray played Mr.
Swift, the drama coach of the character
Mickey Mulligan, in
NBC's short-lived situation comedy
The Mickey Rooney Show:
Hey, Mulligan.
Mowbray died of a heart attack in 1969 in Hollywood and was interred in the
Holy Cross Cemetery in
Culver City, California.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Mowbray