Roland Young
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|
Roland Young | |
---|---|
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1908–1953 |
Spouses | Marjorie Kummer
(m. 1921; div. 1940)Dorothy Patience May DuCroz
(m. 1948) |
Roland Young (11 November 1887 – 5 June 1953) was an English-born actor. He began his acting career on the London stage, but later found success in America and received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the film Topper (1937).
In 1960, Young was posthumously honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in the television and motion pictures industries.[1]
Early life
Born in
Career
Young made his first stage appearance in
He signed a contract with
Freelance performer
Young began to work as a freelance performer and found himself in constant demand. He appeared with Jeanette MacDonald,
In 1937, he achieved one of the most important successes of his career in Topper, as a bank president haunted by the ghosts of his clients, played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. It was one of the most successful films of the year, and Young was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Topper's wife was played by Billie Burke, who wrote in her memoir that Young "was dry and always fun to work with". They also appeared together in The Young in Heart (1938), and both of the Topper sequels, Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941). He continued to play supporting roles in comedies such as Yes, My Darling Daughter, with Fay Bainter and Priscilla Lane, but over the next few years the importance of his roles again decreased. He achieved another success as Uncle Willie in The Philadelphia Story (1940) with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. His last starring role was in the final instalment of the Topper series, Topper Returns in 1941, with Billie Burke, Joan Blondell and Carole Landis.
Artwork
As a visual artist, Young drew caricatures of notables, some of which appeared in Life magazine in the early 1920s.[5][6] In 1925, a collection was published in the form of a limited-edition book, Actors and Others.[7]
Later life and career
He continued working steadily through the 1940s, playing small roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard and Greta Garbo in her final film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). In 1945, he began his own radio show and appeared in the film adaption of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. By the end of the decade his film career had declined, and his final films, including The Great Lover (1949), in which he played a murderer opposite Bob Hope, and Fred Astaire's Let's Dance (1950), were not successful.
In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre.
Recognition
Young has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film at 6523 Hollywood Blvd. and another for television at 6315 Hollywood Blvd. Both were dedicated 8 February 1960.[1]
Personal life
Young was married twice, to Marjorie Kummer from 1921 until 1940, and to Patience DuCroz from 1948 until his death at home in New York City at 65 in 1953.[8]
Filmography
Partial list of stage appearances
- Hindle Wakes (1912)
- Good Gracious, Annabelle (1916)
- A Successful Calamity (1917)
- The Gipsy Trail (1917)
- Buddies(1919)
- Rollo's Wild Oat (1920)
- The Devil's Disciple (1923)
- Beggar on Horseback (1924)
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1925)
- The Queen's Husband (1928)
- Her Master's Voice (1933)
- Spring Thaw (1938)
- Another Love Story (1943)
See also
Bibliography
- Actors and Others (Pascal Covici, 1925)
- Not For Children: Pictures and Verse (Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1930)
- Thorne Smith: His Life and Times (Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1934)
References
- ^ a b c "Roland Young". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^
- ^ "Gordon Richards, 70, Actor On Broadway and in Films". The New York Times. 17 January 1964.
- ^ (7 February 1921). Roland Young and Clare Kummer's Daughter Married, New York Herald
- ^ "Roland Young scrapbook and originals". New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts. New York Public Library. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Warwick, Diana (23 August 1923). "Life and Letters". archive.org. Life. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Roland Young Drawings". New York Times Book Review. New York. 17 May 1925. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Roland Young Dies in Home Here at 65". New York Times. 7 June 1953. p. 84. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- Shipman, David, The Great Movie Stars, The Golden Years, Bonanza Books, New York, 1970. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 78-133803
External links
- Roland Young at the Internet Broadway Database
- Roland Young at IMDb
- Roland Young scrapbook and originals, 1905-1973, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Clip of Roland Young on YouTube