This page uses content from the Louis Calhern biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Louis Calhern (February 19, 1895 - May 12, 1956) was an American stage and screen actor.

Early life

Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up. While playing high school football, a stage manager from a touring theatrical stock company spotted him, and hired him as an extra. Just prior to World War I, Calhern decided to move back to New York to pursue an acting career. He began as a prop boy and bit player with touring companies and burlesque companies. His burgeoning career was interrupted by the war and he served overseas in the military during World War I.

Career

He became a matinee idol by virtue of a play titled The Cobra, and soon began to act in films. In the early 30s he was primarily cast as a character actor in Hollywood, while he continued to play leading roles on stage. He reached his peak in the 1950s as an MGM contract player. Among his most memorable roles were the double-crossing lawyer and sugar-daddy to Marilyn Monroe in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, in 1950 his Oscar-nominated role as Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee and his portrayal of the title role in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film of Julius Caesar in 1953.

Marriages

Calhern was married four times, to Ilka Chase from 1926 to 1927, to Julia Hoyt from 1927 to 1932, to Natalie Schafer from 1933 to 1942, and Marianne Stewart from 1946 to 1955. All four marriages ended in divorce.

Death

Calhern died of a sudden heart attack in Tokyo, while filming The Teahouse of the August Moon. He was replaced in the film by Paul Ford, who had played Calhern's role in the original stage version. Calhern is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

• 1921 -What’s Worth While?
• 1921 -Too Wise Wives
• 1921 -The Blot
• 1931 -The Road to Singapore
• 1932 -20,000 Years in Sing Sing
• 1934 -The Count of Monte Cristo
• 1933 -Duck Soup
• 1933 -Diplomaniacs
• 1935 -The Last Days of Pompeii
• 1937 -The Life of Emile Zola
• 1943 -Heaven Can Wait
• 1946 -Notorious
• 1948 -Arch of Triumph
• 1950 -The Magnificent Yankee
• 1950 -Annie Get Your Gun
• 1950 -The Asphalt Jungle
• 1952 -The Prisoner of Zenda
• 1953 -Julius Caesar
• 1954 -Rhapsody
• 1954 -Betrayed
• 1954 -Executive Suite
• 1955 -The Prodigal
• 1955 -Blackboard Jungle
• 1956 -High Society

External link

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