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1-50 of 2,763
- Stanton Williams was born on 4 September 1912 in Utah, USA. He was an actor, known for The Forbidden Woman (1920) and A Woman Who Understood (1920). He died on 3 March 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Lorna Balfour was born on 26 November 1912 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Merely Mary Ann (1931). She died on 2 March 1932 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Robert B. Mantell Jr. was born on 12 September 1912 in the USA. He was an actor, known for When You and I Were Young (1917) and The Sins of Society (1915). He died on 24 October 1933 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
Xia Ai was born on 29 November 1912 in Tianjin, China. She was an actress, known for Feng nian (1933), Zhifen shichang (1933) and Chun can (1933). She died on 15 February 1934 in Shanghai, China.- Ernst von Delius was born on 29 March 1912 in Plessa, Germany. He died on 26 July 1937 in Bonn, Germany.
- Aileen Marson was born on 13 September 1912 in Alexandria, Egypt. She was an actress, known for Someone at the Door (1936), A Song for You (1934) and Ten Minute Alibi (1935). She was married to Jack Scott. She died on 4 May 1939 in London, England, UK.
- Champion diver Georgia Coleman was born on January 23, 1912 in St. Maries, Idaho. Georgia had been diving for only six months when she made the 1928 Olympic team at age sixteen. Coleman won both a bronze medal in women's springboard diving and a silver medal in women's platform diving at the 1928 Olympics. Georgia went on to win a gold medal in women's springboard diving and a second silver medal in women's platform diving at the 1932 Olympics. She was the first female athlete to perform a 2 1/2 forward somersault in competition. Moreover, Coleman won every U.S. national title in 1929 and was beaten only once in the next four years. In addition, Georgia won a total of eleven Amateur Athletic Union championships while competing for the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Coleman contracted polio in 1937, but learned to swim again prior to her death from pneumonia at the tragically young age of twenty-eight on September 14, 1940.
- Frank H. McClennan was born on 27 June 1912 in Spiegelville, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blood of Jesus (1941). He died on 3 December 1940 in Dallas, Texas, USA.
- Donna Damerel was born on 8 July 1912 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Myrt and Marge (1933). She died on 15 February 1941 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.
- Joachim Schepke was born on 8 March 1912 in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He died on 17 March 1941 in Atlantic Ocean.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
Pen Tennyson was an English film director. He only directed three films before his accidental death at age 28. He had previously served as an assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock in several 1930s films.
In 1912, Tennyson was born in London. He was the eldest son of the civil servant and academic Charles Bruce Locker Tennyson (1879-1977) and his wife Ivy Pretious. Through his father's side of the family, Tennyson was a great-grandson of the famous poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 -1892). Alfred served as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom (term 1850-1892). He is mostly remembered for writing the "Idylls of the King" (published in updated editions, 1859-1885), a collection of narrative poems based on Arthurian legends. The work was the most famous Victorian era-version of the legends, and it remains popular.
Tennyson received his secondary education at Eton College, an independent boarding school for boys between the ages of 13 and 18. He entered the film industry in 1932, at age 20. His mother introduced him to film distributor Charles Moss Woolf (1879-1942). Woolf in turn introduced him to film producer Michael Balcon (1896-1977), who helped him get his start in the industry. Balcon became his mentor, and reportedly treated Tennyson as a surrogate son.
Tennyson started working as a camera assistant at the Gaumont British Studios, located at Shepherd's Bush.in West London. In 1934, Tennyson was promoted to the position of assistant director. His first assignment was the film" The Man Who Knew Too Much", with Hitchcock serving as the main director.
Temnyson next worked with Hitchcock in the film "The 39 Steps" (1935). While Hitchcock helped in Tennyson's training, their relationship was not without its problems. During this film. Hitchcock played a cruel prank on Tennyson. He convinced him that they needed a double for actress Madeleine Carroll, and that there was nobody available. He then had Tennyson dress in drag for one of the film's scenes. Carroll herself was actually available for the scene, but Hitchcock had a laugh at Tennyson's expense.
In 1938, Michael Balcon became the new head of the Ealing Studios. This was a successor company to the Associated Talking Pictures (ATP). Tennyson followed his mentor to this company, and was finally given his chance at becoming a director. His directing debut was the boxing-themed sports film "There Ain't No Justice" (1939). In the film, a small-time boxer learns that his recent fights were fixed and that his career is controlled by gambling syndicate.
Tennyson's first film was well-regarded by critics due to its "realistic portrayal of the boxing world", though certain scenes of graphic violence had been censored at the film's production phase. Film historians credit the film as one of the first British sound films to attempt a realistic portrayal of working-class life in London.
The following year Tennyson directed his second film, "The Proud Valley" (1940). It depicted the life of an African-American immigrant who works as a miner in the South Wales coalfield. The film was intended as a comeback for American actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976), who had not appeared in films since 1937. However, Robeson's outspoken political views had angered the British press baron Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (1879 - 1964). Beaverbrook both ensured that the film received little actual publicity and had Robeson blacklisted throughout the British film industry. Robeson left the United Kingdom shortly following the film's release.
In 1940, Tennyson started his service in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He created the propaganda feature film "Convoy" (1940) in order to lionize the Royal Navy's activities in World War II. According to "Kinematograph Weekly", this film was the most popular British film of 1940 in its domestic market. It was Tennyson's third and last film as a director.
Later within 1940, Tennyson was commissioned in the Royal Navy. In June 1941, he was transferred to a unit that created instructional films for the Admiralty, the British government department responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. His experience in the film industry likely made him ideal for this role.
On July 7, 1941, Tennyson completed a filming session at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands. Scapa Flow served as the United Kingdom's chief naval base during World War II. Following the filming, Tennyson boarded a airplane that was supposed to transport him to Rosyth. The airplane accidentally ploughed into a hillside, killing Tennyson and everyone else aboard. The accident took place during fine weather conditions. Tennyson was 28-years-old at the time of his death.
Tennyson was survived by his wife, the actress Nova Pilbeam (1919-2015). He had no known children. He is remembered as a promising film director, who died prematurely.- Claire Maynard was born Marie J. MacCarthy on March 22, 1912 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, James MacCarthy, was head of New York City's board of transportation and her grandfather, M.J. Coffey, was a State Senator. When Claire was a teenager she started modeling for a local dress shop. A 20th Century Fox talent scout saw her and signed her to a contract in the Summer of 1931. She made her film debut in the drama Over The Hill. Claire made four more films at Fox including Good Sport and Dance Team. Unfortunately after six moths they decided to drop her contract. She was signed by Universal in 1932 and made two comedy shorts with Slim Summerville. Claire had a brief romance with writer Jack Kirkland, ex-husband of Nancy Carroll.
She was cast in the lead role in Under The Circumstances but the film never got made. In 1933 she moved back to New York City and started acting in the theater. She had a small role in the 1936 play Bright Honor. Claire was married for a short time. She was devastated when her mother Florence died in 1938. Claire became very depressed and attempted suicide. She would often spend hours visiting her mother's grave. On July 19, 1941 Claire killed herself by turning on the gas in her apartment. She was only twenty-nine years old. Claire left three notes for her family members. The letter for her father said "Daddy, My sweetheart, Always my sweetheart." Her friends said she ended her life because her heart could not ache any longer. Claire was buried next to her mother at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. - Marieluise Claudius was born on 6 January 1912 in Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen [now Thuringia], Germany. She was an actress, known for Pan (1937), Peer Gynt (1934) and King August the Strong (1936). She died on 2 August 1941 in Berlin, Germany.
- Gerald Gallagher was born on 6 July 1912. He died on 27 September 1941 in Nikumaroro Island, Pacific Ocean.
- Costume Designer
- Director
- Visual Effects
Valentin Kadochnikov was born on 3 December 1912. He was a costume designer and director, known for Without Dowry (1937), Volshebnoye zerno (1942) and The Golden Key (1939). He died on 9 March 1942 in Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, USSR [now Almaty, Kazakhstan].- Jiri Milan was born on 10 October 1912 in Brno, Morava, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Ze vsech jediná (1938), U svatého Mateje (1939) and Jarcin profesor (1937). He died on 24 November 1942 in Prague, Protektorát Cechy a Morava [now Czech Republic].
- Horst Birr was born on 17 February 1912 in Leipzig, Germany. He was an actor, known for D III 88 (1939), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1937) and Liebelei und Liebe (1938). He died on 8 October 1943 in Norway.
- Simone Bourday was born on 23 August 1912 in Le Raincy, Seine-et-Oise [now Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France], France. She was an actress, known for Ladies' Paradise (1930), Les quatre vagabonds (1931) and Pirates et compagnie (1930). She died on 27 December 1943 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.
- Music Department
One of the legions of jazz musicians to have lived hard and died young, pianist and band leader Bob Zurke is best remembered for his association with Bob Crosby's orchestra. Hard drinking and undisciplined, Zurke played with various outfits in New York, Philadelphia, and his native Detroit during the late 1920s and early 1930s. In late 1928 he cut two sides with female band leader Thelma Terry. In January 1937 he joined Bob Crosby, replacing Joe Sullivan, who had been hospitalized with tuberculosis. And except for a 1937 hiatus brought on by a broken leg suffered in horseplay with Bob Haggart, remained with them until the summer of 1939. He then formed his own short lived big band, and with only average arrangements and a poor rhythm section, it broke up the following spring.
Zurke was very popular and well respected by jazz fans and musicians alike for his piano work. In 1939 he won Downbeat magazine's poll for best piano player.
Zurke spent a brief period in jail due to alimony problems and continued to work as a pianist, first in Chicago, then moving to Detroit, then to St. Paul, and finally to Los Angeles, where he performed at "The Hangover Club" from August 1942 until his death in 1944. He collapsed while in the club and was taken to Los Angeles General Hospital where he died 24 hours later, only 32 years of age. A month before he died he had recorded the background piano music for the Technicolor cartoon film, "Jungle Jive" which was "a Tour De Force display of keyboard magic".- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Emanuele Caracciolo was born on 22 August 1912 in Tripoli, Libya. He was a writer and assistant director, known for Troppo tardi t'ho conosciuta (1940), La carne e l'anima (1945) and Marionette (1939). He died on 24 March 1944 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Wolfgang Klein was born on 28 September 1912 in Mannheim, Germany. He was an actor, known for Allo Berlin? Ici Paris! (1932), Rheinische Brautfahrt (1939) and Meine Tochter tut das nicht (1940). He died on 15 May 1944 in Foscani, Romania.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
A very talented singer with a beautiful voice. She starred in two films, the first, Intisar al-chabab (1941), was with her older brother 'Farid Al Atrach' and the second Gharam wa intiqam (1944). Asmahane died in a car accident while filming 'Gharam wa intiqam', it is rumoured, through the war between the secret services in Cairo during World War II.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Damien Parer was a noted war cameraman during WWII. He filmed Australian soldiers in action in the Middle East and New Guinea, for the (then) Department of Information. He won an Academy Award for his coverage of the action on the Kokoda Trail. In 1943, he went to work for Paramount, covering US ground forces in action in the Pacific. He was killed by a burst of enemy machine gun fire while covering US Marines advancing on Peleliu.- Hazel Ying Lee was born on 24 August 1912 in Portland, Oregon, United States. She died on 25 November 1944 in Great Falls, Montana, United States.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Vladimir Sushchinskiy was born on 5 September 1912 in Saransk, Penza Governorate, Russian Empire [now Republic of Mordovia, Russia]. He was a cinematographer, known for Ukraine in Flames (1943), Den voyny (1942) and Pobeda za Visloy (1945). He died on 22 February 1945.- Erford Gage was born on 5 April 1912 in Northfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Seventh Victim (1943), Hitler's Children (1943) and Gangway for Tomorrow (1943). He died on 17 March 1945 in Manila, Philippines.
- Clara Petacci was born on 28 February 1912 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was married to Riccardo Federici. She died on 28 April 1945 in Giulino di Mezzegra, Lombardy, Italy.
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
Eva Braun was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann. She began seeing Hitler often about two years later. She attempted suicide twice during their early relationship. By 1936, she was a part of his household at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden and lived a sheltered life throughout World War II. Braun was a photographer, and she took many of the surviving color photographs and films of Hitler. She was a key figure within Hitler's inner social circle, but did not attend public events with him until mid-1944.
As Nazi Germany was collapsing towards the end of the war, Eva Braun swore loyalty to Hitler and went to Berlin to be by his side in the heavily reinforced Führerbunker beneath the Reich Chancellery. As Red Army troops fought their way into the neighborhood on 29 April 1945, she married Hitler during a brief civil ceremony; she was 33 and he was 56. Less than 40 hours later, they committed suicide together in a sitting room of the bunker, she by biting into a capsule of cyanide, and he by a gunshot to the head. The German public was unaware of Braun's relationship with Hitler until after their deaths.- Camera and Electrical Department
Viktor Muromtsev was born on 1 November 1912 in the Russian Empire. Viktor is known for The People's Avengers (1943) and Liberation of Soviet Belarus (1945). Viktor died on 30 April 1945 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.- Roland Malraux was born on 14 May 1912 in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France. He was married to Madeleine Malraux. He died on 3 May 1945 in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
- Actor
Fritz Holtzschue was born on 15 February 1912 in the USA. He was an actor. He was married to Josephine Nichols. He died on 25 September 1945 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Magda Kun was born on 17 February 1912 in Szászrégen, Hungary. She was an actress, known for Filléres gyors (1932), Dance Band (1935) and Dead of Night (1945). She was married to Steven Geray. She died on 7 November 1945 in London, England, UK.
- John Amery was born on 14 March 1912 in Chelsea, London, England, UK. He died on 19 December 1945 in Wandsworth Prison, London, England, UK.
- Marvin Hubbard was born on 13 August 1912 in Alabama, USA. He died on 4 May 1946 in Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California, USA.
- Production Designer
- Art Department
Sándor Iliszi was born on 22 April 1912 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was a production designer, known for Leányvásár (1941), A 2000 pengös férfi (1942) and Halálos tavasz (1939). He died on 19 November 1946 in Budapest, Hungary.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Christine Maple was born Christine Raphael on November 16, 1912 in Belle-Plaine, Kansas. When she was a child her parents divorced. Her mother remarried and they moved to Los Angeles. Christine started competing in beauty pageants and was a finalist in the Elks National Convention bathing beauty contest. In 1930 she made her film debut in the Charley Chase short Fifty Million Husbands. She also appeared as a dancer in the musical Whoopee. Florenz Ziegfeld hired her to star in the Ziegfeld Follies and gave her the title of "Miss Universe". During the show she shocked audiences by appearing on stage completely nude. She was romantically involved with violinist Enric Madriguera and plastic surgeon Dr. Morton Berson (who fixed her nose). Christine became known for wearing low-cut evening dresses and telling outrageous lies about her life. She once claimed that her father was a British duke. In December of 1933 she was arrested after causing a scene on train in Switzerland.
A few months later the wife of millionaire Martino De Alzaga Unzue accused her of being "too friendly" with her husband. She made headlines in April of 1935 when she got into a fight with a cab driver after refusing to pay her bill. Her mother said she had a nervous breakdown and sent her to a sanitarium. Christine signed a contract with Republic pictures in 1936 and appeared in the westerns The Big Show and Roarin' Lead. She went to Australia in 1938 to appear in a stage production of The Women. Unfortunately she had to leave the show when she became very ill. She suffered another nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized in 1943. After being released she moved to Langhorne, Pennsylvania and worked in a department store. Tragically on January 12, 1947 she committed suicide by hanging herself. Christine was only thirty-four years old. Her body was cremated and her ashes were given to her family.- Lajos Alszeghy was born on 24 March 1912 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor, known for A 2000 pengös férfi (1942), Lelki klinika (1941) and Valamit visz a víz (1944). He died on 9 December 1947 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actress
Virginia Crawford was born on 25 September 1912 in Mississippi, USA. She was an actress. She died on 3 April 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Voluptuous Beryl Wallace was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of nine children of working class Austrian-Jewish émigrés. With her knockout looks and obvious shapeliness, the "Big Apple" beauty naturally gravitated toward an entertainment career and first turned to dancing. She was only a teenager when, acting on a casting call ad, earned a role in the "Earl Carroll Vanities" of 1928. Carroll changed her marquee name to "Beryl Wallace" and off she went to appear in other provocative shows that featured flesh and fantasy themes, some even requiring frontal nudity. Outside of Carroll's Vanities of 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935 and 1940, Beryl also appeared on Broadway in the musical comedy "Treasure Girl" (1928), Carroll's "Murder at the Vanities" (1932) and "The Women" (1936), in which she had a small part as a model.
The pencil-browed brunet and producer/mogul Earl Carroll, who was at least 16 years her senior, began to engage in a personal relationship as well as professional. In Hollywood he had her headlining his shows at the Earl Carroll Theatre and Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. From there she made her movie debut in a film adaptation of Carroll's Broadway play Murder at the Vanities (1934), and then went on to appear in a number of small roles until co-starring with western star Tom Keene in the Monogram programmer Romance of the Rockies (1937). She went on to perform in nearly two dozen "B" films, mostly action adventures or westerns, opposite a number of good-looking leading men including Kermit Maynard in Rough Riding Rhythm (1937), Larry J. Blake and Dick Purcell, who fought over her in Air Devils (1938), Roy Rogers in Sunset on the Desert (1942), and Richard Dix in The Kansan (1943). Her last films, in which she was again reduced to secondary femmes, were in The Woman of the Town (1943) and Enemy of Women (1944). Most of her other films, to her detriment, had the gorgeous gal serving as mere set decoration and in unbilled parts.
Throughout her minor film reign, she remained a star attraction at Earl Carroll's spectacular musical reviews. During World War II, sexy Beryl did her part by singing and hosting on radio shows. She also entertained soldiers at the Masquers Club and danced at the Hollywood Canteen. The fact that her film career did not amount to too much did not have her overly concerned. She WAS a star -- in Earl Carroll's extravaganzas.
In 1948, Carroll was in the final planning stages of opening a larger theater just one block from his current location. The new one would rival New York's Radio City Music Hall and cost upwards of $15,000,000. On June 17, 1948, while en route from Los Angeles to New York City, both Beryl and Earl perished in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624 at Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. Forced to make an emergency landing, the plane crashed into a 66,000 volt transformer on its quick descent and exploded. According to Carroll's wishes in his will, their ashes were interred together in the Garden of Memory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. On top of their crypt lies a huge facsimile of Carroll's own hands holding a life-sized figure symbolizing the impossibly beautiful Beryl.- Actor
- Additional Crew
John Gubbins was born on 4 May 1912 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor. He died on 2 December 1948 in Riverside California, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Buddy Clark grew up in the Westend of Boston. As a youngster, he expressed strong interests in sports, body building, exercising, and one of his big dreams was to become a professional baseball player. Buddy even had plans to become a lawyer. He attended Northeastern Law School in Boston, however his love for music was stronger than his dreams of becoming a pro baseball player or an attorney. As a young boy Buddy sang as often as he could at gatherings, and in what today's times would be called "joints", local pubs, where the floors of the local pubs and ba rooms were covered with sawdust. He often times sang just to earn enough to pay for a square meal. Neighbors and friends, who heard this young lad sing were supportive; whether he sang on the streets or in a pub, he was well liked; it wasn't long before Buddy was appearing with local Boston bands, singing his heart out to supportive loyal Boston fans. At 27 years old the young Sam Goldberg was singing at a local wedding in Boston when he was heard by David Lilienthal, a proprietor of Boston's leading furriers, I.J. Fox, located on Washington Street in Boston. Sam became a protégé of Mr. Lilienthal who arranged music lessons for him and started him off on a professional career as a band vocalist and radio star. He appeared for nine years on a Boston radio show sponsored by I.J. Fox; Sam made two evening broadcasts and sang six days a week on morning shows. Sam was now on his way to a new musical career with his own Boston radio show, with a new name, were he was billed as Buddy Clark...a name that had more of a show business flair than his own. It wasn't too long that the Buddy Clark stylish unique baritone voice was catching on to local audiences in his own home state of Massachusetts. Within a few years after his successful Boston radio show, he was now ready to tackle the "Big Apple"...New York City, where singers often went to seek their musical careers by joining the big bands.... and Buddy was no exception. In 1934 he made his big band singing debut career in earnest as a vocalist with the Benny Goodman band on the "Let's Dance" radio show. Buddy was billed on several other top radio shows including the "Hit Parade" from 1936-1939. Buddy worked hard to achieve his musical goals. He even supplemented his vocal activity by appearing, often times unaccredited, on the transcription discs recorded with such giants of the big band era as Fred Rich, Archie Blyer, Freddy Martin, Lud Gluskin, Nat Brandywynne, and other popular bands of the radio stations that couldn't afford to have a live music program of their own. In fact, Buddy Clark's renown as a "ghost singer" was such that film producer Darryl F. Zanuck hired him to do the singing for actor Jack Haley in "Wake Up and Live", a 1937 movie about a popular radio singer who gets "Mike Fright". The Hollywood welcome mat was now laid down for Buddy. He was offered his own radio show called, "Here's to Romance" and he even played a small cameo role in the 1942 film "Seven Days Leave' which starred two of Hollywood's leading stars, Lucille Ball and Victor Mature. He also sang for actor Mark Stevens in the musical hit "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now". Buddy made scores of hit records many of them with Xavier Cugat's orchestra. The balding Clark who didn't care whether he lost his hair or not earned the title of the "Contented Crooner", partly because of his radio sponsor on the "Carnation Contented" program, and also because of his appeal to the bobby-sox fans. He didn't care if his fans swooned when he sang. Although fame and fortune came to Buddy Clark, in the 30's and 40's he was one who never forgot where he came from as a struggling singer of Boston. Every year he would return back to the Westend of Boston and perform for friends, and fans alike. Jdacob Burnes at the time was an official of the Westend House on Blossom Street in Boston, where Clark was an alumnus of the famous Westend House. Burnes recalled, "The young singer was a good looking boy, an excellent debater and a fine athlete. He was the catcher on the Wesend House baseball team and was on the basketball team." Buddy Clark put his career on hold by enlisting into the U.S. Army for three years during World War II. While serving his country, Buddy sand with many of the military bands until his discharge in 1945, in which he resumed his career. For the last ten years of his singing career as a super star in radio and a top ranking celebrity of the juke boxes, he had lived in an aura of success while earning over a $100,000 a year, which in those days would be equivalent to millions of dollars to popular singers of the 1990's and now of the 2000's. Buddy married twice. His first wife was Louise Dahl, the adopted daughter of famed hotelier, Ralph Hitz, who owned the famous New Yorker Hotel, as well as the Lexington, and several other New York hotels. Buddy and Louise had three children, all born between 1935 and 1939. Following their divorce, Buddy married Nedra Stevens. They had one daughter, Penelope, born in 1943. Penny, as she was called, died in 1950, as a result of being hit by a car as she ran across the street to meet her governess. Penny was a 'little friend' of Clark Gable, the Clark's next-door neighbor, who often shared 'little tea' with his young neighbor.
Buddy's career ended abruptly in the plane crash onto Beverly Boulevard on the 1st of October 1949.- Actress
Georgia Clarke was born on 23 April 1912 in Nebraska, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Donald Dewar. She died on 3 May 1950 in North Hollywood, California, USA.- Georgia Pembleton was born on 23 April 1912 in Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for Happy Days (1929). She was married to ? Dewar. She died on 3 May 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Edward Druitt was born on 18 January 1912 in Mosman, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mystery Island (1937). He died on 15 May 1950 in Mosman, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Hungarian film and stage actress, longtime wife and collaborator with director Steve Sekely. She was born February 23, 1912 in Budapest, Hungary. She born a few hours after her parents attended a theatrical performance, and she claimed this augured a theatrical career for her. Indeed, she began as a child actress, working with the Terézkörút Stage and the Vig Theatre in Budapest. She graduated from the Actors Association school of drama and by 20 was playing leading roles in Budapest. She had a great success in the play Emmy, but the critics were not pleased with her Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra. In 1933, director István Székely (later Steve Sekely and Ágay's husband) attended a play to evaluate an actor for his upcoming film Iza néni, and was impressed with Ágay's performance. He cast her in the film, which began a long association with her as actress and consultant. The pair married in October, 1933, and made a total of 14 films together. Ágay continued to work on the stage as well, with Székely doing his best to accommodate her film schedule to her stage obligations. Although she herself dismissed any claims to singing talent, she did appear in musicals, both on stage and in film (such as the Austrian musical Hoheit tanzt Walzer [1935]). The custom in Hungary at the time was for films to be shot in multiple versions in multiple languages, and although rarely credited, Ágay played roles in more than one version of some of her films, speaking the language of each. In 1937, Ágay and her husband were invited to tour the United States with some of their films. As German aggression in Europe was of increasing concern, the couple leapt at the opportunity. Although Székely had far more credits to his name, it was his wife Iren who attracted the most attention in the U.S., because Hungarian-Americans were already quite familiar with her work. Arriving in Hollywood, they were championed by Hungarian expatriates such as Bela Lugosi, Paul Lukas, and Joe Pasternak, and their future in the movie capital seemed assured. However, the agency that had brought them to America had failed to arrange properly their visas, and they were told they would have to leave the U.S. for a period of time and then return with the proper visas before they could work in the States. Székely and Ágay went to Mexico in early 1938. Székely returned the U.S. almost immediately, but Ágay was forced by regulations to remain in Mexico for months. By mid-year, she was permitted to join him. However, unlike her husband, she found work in films almost impossible to obtain. Székely had Americanized his name to Steve Sekely and was working regularly as a director and writer. Ágay found work only in the theatre, touring for a time in the play Don't Mention It. As war broke out in Europe, she desired to be of use to the war effort and volunteered as an ambulance driver. However, a routine health examination revealed dangerous hypertension. Comparatively untreatable at the time other than by diet, the disease began to diminish her eyesight. Ágay was able to play a role in her husband's American comedy The Great Suzanne in 1946, and she served as associate producer on his film Amazon Quest (1949). She went with her husband to Mexico to film a role in his production Stronghold (1951), and was supposed to play the same role in the Spanish-language version Furia roja (1951) he would direct. But her chronic illness became severe and she was forced to leave the production having only done the first version. She returned to their home in Hollywood. Her vision became worse until she was completely blind. Sekely left filming on Furia roja and joined her, but doctors held out no hope. Ágay died at 38 on September 3, 1950.- Frantisek Svantner was born on 29 January 1912 in Bystrá, Austria-Hungary [now Slovakia]. He was a writer, known for Nevesta hôl (1972), Piargy (2022) and Zivot bez konca (1982). He died on 13 October 1950 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Kyllikki Väre was born on 13 March 1912 in Vaasa, Finland. She was an actress, known for 'Herra ja ylhäisyys' (1944), Kyläraittien kuningas (1945) and Katupeilin takana (1949). She was married to Unto Salminen. She died on 2 January 1951 in Helsinki, Finland.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
In a world weary of war and dispirited by the ravages of the Great Depression, Hollywood at the turn of the 1940s concocted a wildly popular, effective lot of escapist fare (though often cheaply made) to regale the sick at heart worldwide. Universal Pictures, more often than not, led in producing such films. We know about the monster movies: wolf men, invisible men -- and invisible women too, for that matter. We know about Sherlock Holmes chasing not killer hounds in 1890 but chasing killer Nazis a half- century later. Such were among typical Universal "B" productions. Enter Maria de Santo Silas -- Maria Montez. This daughter of a Spanish diplomat traveled extensively after being educated in the Canary Islands and attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to establish herself as a stage actress in Europe. In 1940 she found herself in New York City, a model. Her screen career began in 1941, with Universal casting her in bit parts. On account of her strikingly exotic looks and her exotic accent, the studio soon paired her with other "exotics" (Sabu and Turhan Bey), and usually with a more "home-style" hero (Jon Hall), in a series of low-budget adventures, filmed in Technicolor and situated in fantasy lands, with Montez herself often situated in revealing dress. With Montez threatened by all manner of nastiness -- from evil caliphs to man-eating sharks to her own cobra-worshipping twin sister (!) -- her pictures soon became immensely popular, even though she could not really act, could not dance and could not sing. Audiences flocked to see her films, just to witness the trials and endurance of an alluring beauty in distress (as well, perhaps, as to glimpse some scantily clad, beauteous flesh). The Depression having long since passed, the end of World War II meant also the end of flying carpets and sand dunes and deadly reptiles as potential subjects for attracting moviegoers. That bit of history, plus a bit of girth added to Montez's frame, led her and her husband, the actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, to abandon Hollywood for Europe, where she would appear in a handful of French and Italian adventure films. On 7 September 1951 Maria Montez was discovered drowned in her bath, possibly having first suffered a heart attack.- Additional Crew
Madeleine Robinson was born on 2 December 1912 in Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA. She is known for Gun Crazy (1950). She was married to Edward Dmytryk. She died on 6 June 1952 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Raoul Wallenberg was born on 4 August 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden. He died on 31 July 1952 in Moscow, Russia.