Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries
Page 34
CAUSE: On February 29, 1956, Bogart was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles. The following day he underwent a nine-hour operation for cancer of the oesophagus. Newspaper reports did not mention the word cancer but later that year stories began to proliferate about the truth behind his failing health. On November 26 he was admitted to St John’s Hospital, Santa Monica. He stayed for anti-cancer treatment for five days. In early January 1957 he greeted guests in his pyjamas and dressing gown, a cigarette in one hand and a Martini in the other. Almost a fortnight later, he died at his home, 232 South Mapleton Drive, Los Angeles, at 2.25am, aged 57. On January 17, 1957, he was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park’s Crematory, 1712 South Glendale Avenue, Glendale, California 91209. The next day at All Saints Episcopal Church, Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, over 3,000 people attended a memorial service, including Marlene Dietrich, Samuel Goldwyn, Danny Kaye, Swifty Lazar, David Niven, Gregory Peck and Dick Powell. John Huston delivered the eulogy: “In each of the fountains at Versailles there is a pike, which keeps all the carp active, otherwise they would grow over fat and die. Bogie took rare delight in performing a similar duty in the fountains of Hollywood. Yet his victims seldom bore him any malice, and when they did, not for long … We have no reason to feel any sorrow for him – only for ourselves for having lost him. He is quite irreplaceable.” Bogart had wanted his ashes sprinkled on the Pacific from his 55-foot yacht Santana. However, this was illegal, so the remains were kept at Forest Lawn. His estate was worth over $1 million. On July 31, 1997, a commemorative stamp was issued in Bogart’s honour by the American post office.
FURTHER READING: Bogie: The Authorised Biography– Joe Hyams (London: Mayflower, 1973); Bogie And Me: A Love Story– Verita Thompson with Donald Shepherd (New York: Pinnacle, 1982); Humphrey Bogart– Allan Eyles (London: Sphere, 1990); Bogart– A.M. Sperber & Eric Lax (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997).
Eddie Boland
Born December 27, 1883
Died February 3, 1935
Silent star. Born and educated in San Francisco, 5́ 7˝ Boland worked as an accountant before becoming an actor in 1907. Six years later, he joined Carl Laemmle’s Imp company. In the Twenties he worked for Hal Roach appearing with Harold Lloyd in The Kid Brother (1927) as Flash Farrell. His other films included: The Brotherhood Of Man (1912), Sheridan’s Pride (1914), Jane’s Lovers (1914), Refugees (1915), Fares, Please! (1915), No Soup (1915), When A Wife Worries (1916), Alias Aladdin (1920), The Chink (1921), Oliver Twist (1922) as Toby Crackit, City Girl (1930) and Flying Down To Rio (1933). On May 28, 1921, he married the actress Jean Hope.
CAUSE: He died in Santa Monica, California, aged 51 of a heart attack.
John Boles
Born October 27, 1895
Died February 27, 1969
Versatility personified. Born in Greenville, Texas, (6)߰John Love Boles, Jr was educated at the University of Texas, graduating in 1917. A pacifist, he nonetheless joined General Pershing’s American Expeditionary Forces and later became a spy in Belgium. Boles was the ideal Thirties romantic lead – handsome, dark, and slim with a cleft chin and a trim moustache. He made his first film playing John Brant in The Sixth Commandment (1924). He was also Uriah in So This Is Marriage (1924) and Lieutenant Shaw in Excuse Me (1925). Then Hollywood legend took over and, reportedly, it was Gloria Swanson that saw him singing and dancing on Broadway in Kitty’s Kisses and signed him to a personal contract. The story has it that he then made his début with Swanson in Loves Of Sunya (1927) as Paul Judson. He also appeared with Swanson in Music In The Air (1934). In Back Street (1932) and Only Yesterday (1933) he played respectively Walter Saxel and James Stanton Emerson who were in love with other men’s wives and was so convincing that many assumed he was using personal knowledge. He wasn’t. In 1917 he married his college sweetheart Marcelita Dobbs by whom he had two daughters, Frances Marcelita and Janet. He actually disliked the roles, having a strong moral code. He became extremely rich through shrewd investments.
CAUSE: John Boles died, aged 73, in San Angelo, Texas from a heart attack. He was buried in the Sanctuary of Serenity of Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles County, California.
Ray Bolger
(RAYMOND WALLACE BULCAO)
Born January 10, 1904
Died January 15, 1987
The Scarecrow. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the son of James Edward Bolger and Anne Wallace, Roman Catholic Bolger was raised in an Irish-Jewish neighbourhood and educated at Dorchester High School. After various amateur productions he made his professional début in Boston in 1922 appearing with the Bob Ott Musical Comedy repertory company. He stayed with them for two years when he moved to vaudeville where he was one half of a team called Sanford and Bolger. He also appeared in several Broadway shows as a singer, dancer and comedian. He made his film début in Carrie Of The Chorus (1924) but it would be 12 years before he returned to the screen. In 1935 he signed to make one film at MGM for $20,000 a week for seven weeks. On April 11, 1936, he signed a long-term contract with MGM worth $3,000 a week. He played himself in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), the biopic of Florenz Ziegfeld. This was followed by Rosalie in which he played Bill Delroy opposite Eleanor Powell. Sweethearts was his first singing and dancing role and he played opposite Jeanette MacDonald. It was his “wooden shoes” number that brought him to the attention of MGM’s bigwigs and in March 1938 he was called into the office of Mervyn Le Roy and told he was to play the part of the Tin Man in The Wizard Of Oz (1939). His response was less than enthusiastic. He wanted to be in the film but wanted the role of the Scarecrow which he eventually got. In fact, Bolger quickly realised that he was not cut out for film stardom and a month after The Wizard Of Oz he asked to be released from his contract. He later signed for RKO where he made Sunny (1941) as Bunny Billings and Four Jacks And A Jill (1942) as Nifty. In 1946 he was reunited with Judy Garland at MGM in The Harvey Girls (1946) where he played Chris Maule. After a few more films he returned to the theatre where he felt more at home. He won the 1948–49 Tony Award, as well as two Donaldson Awards. On October 8, 1953 he began his own television sitcom Where’s Raymond? (later changed to The Ray Bolger Show) which ran until June 10, 1955. Neither incarnation was very successful. His other films included Look For The Silver Lining (1949) as Jack Donahue, April In Paris (1952) as S. Winthrop Putnam, Babes In Toyland (1961) as Barnaby, The Daydreamer (1966) as The Pieman, The Runner Stumbles (1979) as Monsignor Nicholson and Just You And Me, Kid (1979) as Tom. Bolger’s greatest success came in Where’s Charley (1952) in which he played Charley Wykeham, a role he was to repeat on Broadway and on tour for four years. In 1976 at the age of 72 Bolger spent an hour dancing every morning to keep his joints supple. In 1980 he was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame. On July 9, 1929, he married Gwendolyn Rickard. They were still together at his death.
CAUSE: Bolger died five days after his 83rd birthday in Los Angeles, California, from cancer. He is buried in the Mausoleum, Crypt F 2, Block 35 at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.
Beulah Bondi
(BEULAH BONDY)
Born May 3, 1888
Died January 11, 1981
Perennially the old woman. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bondi made her stage début aged seven in the title role of Little Lord Fauntleroy. Three years later, she won a gold medal for her acting. Signed up for a repertory company she earned $25 a week for two years before launching out on her own. She studied at a Catholic college in Montreal, achieving her Bachelor of Arts degree before gaining her Masters at the University of Valparaiso. She first appeared on Broadway in 1925 in One Of The Family and later (1929) appeared in the original production of Street Scene. Two years later, she was signed to recreate her role in the movie version. She was to return to Broadway only four more times. Bondi never signed a studio contract, which meant she dictated her own conditions and wages – $500 a week, even in 1931. She made 63 films including Arrowsmith (1931) as Mrs Tozer, Rain (1932) as Mrs Davidson, Ready for Love (1934) as Mrs Burke
, Finishing School (1934) as Miss Van Alstyn, The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936) as Mrs Livinston Ames, Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1936) as Melissa, The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) as Rachel Jackson, for which she was Oscar-nominated, Vivacious Lady (1938) as Mrs Martha Morgan, Of Human Hearts (1938) as Mary Wilkins, which again garnered an Oscar nomination, Mr Smith Goes To Washington (1939) as Ma Smith, One Foot In Heaven (1941) as Mrs Lydia Sandow, Our Hearts Were Young And Gay (1944) as Miss Horn, The Southerner (1945) as Granny Tucker, It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) as Ma Bailey, High Conquest (1947) as Clara Kingsley, So Dear To My Heart (1949) as Granny Kincaid, A Summer Place (1959) as Mrs Hamilton Humble, Tammy Tell Me True (1961) as Mrs Call and her last appearance reprising Mrs Call in Tammy And The Doctor (1963). Her two major disappointments were, she claimed, not failing winning the Oscars but being replaced (by May Robson) in The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer (1938) and (by Jane Darwell) in The Grapes Of Wrath (1940). She only occasionally appeared on television but won an Emmy for a performance in The Waltons in 1977. She was unmarried.
CAUSE: She died in Hollywood from injuries caused when she fell over her cat. She was 92.
Margaret Booth
Born January 16, 1898
Died October 28, 2002
Female techie. Born in Los Angeles, California, her elder brother, (William) Elmer (b. Los Angeles, California, December 9, 1882), a promising actor for D.W. Griffith at Biograph, was killed in Los Angeles on June 16, 1915 when the director Tod Browning drove his car into a freight train on a foggy night. To help the family Margaret Booth was given a job by Griffith as a patcher or film joiner. It was difficult, often tedious, work. Her next job was working for Louis B. Mayer at the Mission Road Studios which also housed the Selig Jungle Zoo. “I once went into the vault to get some film and there was a monkey jumping around,” she recalled. “At night a trainer used to take one of those big apes for a walk around our lot. It scared me to death.” Respite came when Mayer merged his company with Metro and Sam Goldwyn and Miss Booth (almost no one called her Margaret) moved to Culver City. She stayed behind after all the other workers had left and began to leaf through the discarded rushes. She would cut them together and after a time director John M. Stahl, Mayer’s favourite, began to look at her work. “Sometimes he’d take a whole sequence that I had cut and put it in the picture. Then gradually, I got round to making his first cut – and that’s how I got to be an editor.” Still, in those days before Moviola (introduced in 1924), the work was by hand and painstaking. Booth was fanatical in guarding her privacy and in this regard was seen as a kindred spirit by Greta Garbo. She cut Garbo’s film Mysterious Lady (1928) and was always allowed on Garbo’s closed sets. When Stahl left MGM he asked Booth to go with him but she refused because “MGM was like a home to me”. She worked closely with Irving Thalberg and admired his courage. “He knew when something was wrong [and went] in and face[d] it. That’s a weakness of today. People do not want to face issues. They want to wait and think it will right itself and it never does.” In the Thirties she was editing films like The Barretts Of Wimpole Street (1934), Mutiny On The Bounty (1935) for which she was nominated for an Oscar and Romeo And Juliet (1936). Following Thalberg’s death Booth became a supervising editor and never went back to the cutting room. She worked from the projection theatre. Booth spent 30 years at MGM and was feared by many. In the late Sixties she joined Rastar, Ray Stark’s company and in 1977 she was awarded an honorary Oscar. Late in life, she opined, “I was pretty difficult at the start, wasn’t I ?” No one disagreed.
CAUSE: She died in Los Angeles aged 104 of complications following a stroke.
Chili Bouchier
(DOROTHY IRENE BOUCHER)
Born September 12, 1909
Died September 9, 1999
The British ‘It Girl’. Chili (after the song ‘I Love My Chili Bom-Bom’) Bouchier was born in London and first worked in Harrods, although she was sacked “for allowing myself to be seduced by a senior member of staff”. Unusually for an entertainer of the early twentieth century, Bouchier appeared in films before she appeared on the stage. In 1927 she made her foray into films with A Woman In Pawn. By the time of her retirement she had appeared in over 60 movies including Shooting Stars (1928) in which she played a bathing beauty with an inordinate number of close-ups, Dawn (1928), Chick (1928) playing a vamp, You Know What Sailors Are (1928), Brown Sugar (1931) as Ninon de Veaux, Carnival (1931) as Simonetta Steno, Summer Lightning as Sue Brown, To Be A Lady as Diana Whitcombe, Get Off My Foot (1935), Mr Cohen Takes A Walk (1935), The Ghost Goes West (1936) as Cleopatra, Faithful (1936) as Pamela Carson, Mayfair Melody (1937) as Carmen, Mr Satan (1938) as Jacqueline Manet, The Mind Of Mr Reeder (1939) as Elsa Weford, The Case Of Charles Peace (1948) as Katherine Dyson, Old Mother Riley’s New Venture (1949) as Cora and Dead Lucky (1960) as Mrs. Winston. On September 8, 1930, she appeared as Phyllis in Open Your Eyes at the Piccadilly Theatre and was rarely off the stage for the rest of her life. In 1933 she lost the part of Nell Gwyn to Anna Neagle, who was the lover of the director. She was married to Harry Milton, her co-star in Chick, in June 1929. They divorced in 1936 after his affair with Jessie Matthews, and Bouchier sank into depression. A relationship with band leader Teddy Joyce that lasted until his death in 1940 did not help, because he was insanely jealous. Bouchier was the first British actress that Hollywood took an active interest in, although Jack Warner was ultimately unable to find a suitable vehicle for her and she returned to London. In 1946 she married actor Peter de Greef (b. 1921); they divorced in 1955. Her third marriage was in 1977 to Australian film director Bluey Hill (d. 1986), 23 years after they moved in together.