FURTHER READING: Tuesday’s Child – The Life And Death Of Imogen Hassall – Dane Leissner (Baltimore: Luminary Press, 2002).
Signe Hasso
(SIGNE LARSSON)
Born August 15, 1910
Died June 7, 2002
Garbo’s ‘replacement’. Signe Hasso was born in Stockholm on and lived with her mother, grandmother and two siblings in a one-room apartment. Her father and grandfather had died by the time she was four. By the age of 12 she was studying at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Her wholesome good looks soon attracted the attention of film-makers and in 1938 she received an award for her part in the film Karriär. One of her early champions was Harry Hasso, whom she married. Encouraged by the enthusiasm she moved to New York to learn English. By 1941 she was ready to appear on Broadway. Fate – in the form of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941 – intervened and she moved to the West Coast. She was given a part in a wartime propaganda film called Journey For Margaret (1942). She supplemented her income by becoming Hollywood correspondent for a Stockholm newspaper. Her marriage fell victim to the war and she was divorced in 1942. Her films included Assignment In Brittany (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), The Story Of Dr Wassell (1943), The Seventh Cross (1944) as Toni, Johnny Angel (1945) as Paulette Girard, The House On 92nd Street (1945) as Elsa Gebhardt, A Scandal In Paris (1946) as Therese de Pierremont, Where There’s Life (1947) as General Katarina Grimovich, A Double Life (1947), To The Ends Of The Earth (1948) as Ann Grant. After her performance in Crisis (1950), starring Cary Grant, Signe Hasso arrived in London to play Rebecca West in Ibsen’s Rosmersholm at the St Martin’s Theatre. “She decorated the stage admirably,” noted the Daily Telegraph’s Patrick Gibbs, who noticed “a certain artificiality in her acting”. In 1956 she appeared in the lead in Schiller’s Mary Stuart opposite Eva Le Gallienne’s Elizabeth at the Colonial Theater in Boston. In 1958 she appeared in Philip Mackie’s thriller The Key Of The Door at the Lyric, Hammersmith alongside Michael MacLiammoir. The critic W.A. Darlington found that she acted “decoratively if rather too melodramatically”. She continued to work regularly in the theatre and cinema and on television in America and Europe until the mid-Eighties. She also wrote articles and short stories, as well as songs in English, German and Swedish. In 1972 the King of Sweden appointed her a Knight First Class of The Royal Order of Vasa. She was married three times and had a son, who was killed in a car crash in 1957. She was on Broadway when she heard the news, playing Orinthia in Bernard Shaw’s The Apple Cart. She forced herself to carry on with the part.
CAUSE: Signe Hasso died aged 91 in Los Angeles, California, of pneumonia resulting from her treatment for lung cancer.
Henry Hathaway
Born March 13, 1898
Died February 11, 1985
Western cultist. Born in Sacramento, California, Henry Hathaway began his career as a child actor working for director Allan Dwan before moving behind the cameras and up the pecking order. He began directing B Westerns with Wild Horse Mesa (1932) and followed up with Heritage Of The Desert (1932), The Thundering Herd (1933), Under The Tonto Rim (1933), Sunset Pass (1933), Man Of The Forest (1933), Come On Marines (1934), The Lives Of A Bengal Lancer (1935), which won him his only Oscar nomination, Peter Ibbetson (1935), I Loved A Soldier (1936), The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1936), Go West Young Man (1936), Brigham Young – Frontiersman (1940), Ten Gentlemen From West Point (1942), China Girl (1942), Nob Hill (1945), 13 Rue Madeleine (1946), Call Northside 777 (1948), Rawhide (1951), The Desert Fox: The Story Of Rommel (1951), You’re In The Navy Now (1951), O. Henry’s Full House (1952) and Niagara (1953), the film that made Marilyn Monroe a star. Hathaway told Marilyn he wanted her to wear her own clothes for the film and was amazed and disbelieving when she told him she didn’t own any. It was only when he visited her apartment and saw her “closet … and in the back was one black suit [which she wears in the famous bell pealing scene when she is murdered] … She said she’s bought it for Johnny Hyde’s funeral. ‘That’s why I have to borrow clothes from the studio when I have to go out. I don’t have any of my own,’ she told me.” Hathaway was not looking forward to the assignment. He had heard Marilyn could be ‘difficult’, but was delighted to discover that she was a joy to work with. “Joe [DiMaggio] was there to keep her happy,” he recalled. He also made 23 Paces To Baker Street (1956) (London, Hollywood, is never the same as London, England – Van Johnson’s flat in Portman Square has a view that overlooks the Savoy Hotel, in reality two miles away), North To Alaska (1960), Of Human Bondage (1964), The Sons Of Katie Elder (1965), True Grit (1969), Raid On Rommel (1971) and Hangup (1974). Hathaway was known to be exceptionally rude to his fellow workers.
CAUSE: He died from a heart attack in Hollywood, California, aged 86.
Rondo Hatton
Born April 22, 1894
Died February 2, 1946
Pug ugly. Although by no means the most handsome actor in the world, Charles Laughton still needed make-up to portray ugly characters such as Quasimodo. Sadly, Rondo Hatton had no need for cosmetics. He was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, and grew up a handsome young man. Then he was struck down with acromegaly, a disease that affects the pituitary gland and results in distorted bones. Nevertheless, his illness meant that he became a star of sorts. He made his film début in Hell Harbor (1930) and went on to appear in In Old Chicago (1937) as Rondo, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939) as first ‘Ugly Man’ contestant, Chad Hanna (1940), Sleepy Lagoon (1943) as a hunchback, The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Gabe Hart, The Pearl Of Death (1944) as The Creeper, The Princess And The Pirate (1944), The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946) as Mario. Unbelievably, Hollywood decided to make a film about Hatton’s deformity. Perhaps mercifully, he died before The Brute Man (1946) could be released.
CAUSE: He died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California, aged 51.
Jeremy Hawk
(CEDRIC JOSEPH LANGE)
Born May 20, 1918
Died January 15, 2002
Reliable straight man. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of Douglas Lange, a South African film star who performed under the name Douglas Drew, and June Langley. When the boy was two, his parents divorced, and he returned to Britain with his mother, June, who married a Yorkshire wool merchant, John Moore. At Harrow School, he developed an interest in the theatre because of his friendship with Terence Rattigan, the cricket team captain. Although he worked in his stepfather’s wool business for a short time on leaving school, Lange was determined to become an actor and trained at RADA. He liked the name Jeremy and added it to it his nickname, ‘Hawk’ because of his noticeable nose, Jeremy Hawk. After the Second World War broke out, Hawk became a regular in the New Faces revue at London’s Comedy Theatre (1940), which established him as a comedy performer. He then appeared as Albert in Ladies In Retirement (St Martin’s Theatre, 1941) and, after serving with the Army in North Africa and Italy, and entertaining the troops with ENSA, continued to appear in West End comedies for almost 50 years. He played Dr Sanderson, the comedian Sid Field’s foil, in the long-running Harvey (Prince of Wales Theatre, January 1949). Hawk was chosen by Granada Television to host Criss Cross Quiz (1957–62), which became the third most popular programme nationwide in the year in which it began. Hawk’s appearances in The Benny Hill Show had led to his acting in Hill’s first film, the Ealing Studios comedy Who Done It? (1955), in which the star played an ice-rink sweeper who sets himself up as a private eye. Previously, Hawk had taken small roles on screen and subsequently played an instructor in Dentist In The Chair (1960), a professor in Dentist On The Job (1961), Admiral Saintsbury in Mystery Submarine (1963), a bank manager in the crime drama The Trygon Factor (1963) and an elderly priest in Stealing Heaven (1988). Hawk also appeared in the 1957 Boulting Brothers comedy Lucky Jim as Bill Atkinson. His last role was as the queen’s second bishop in the acclaimed film Elizabeth (1998). His television roles were character parts in series such as The New Avengers (1976), The Professionals (1978), the sitcom
Sorry! (1987) and Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1992), but he became a celebrity again after appearing in a Seventies commercial for Cadbury’s Whole Nut chocolate, which featured a catchy tune about “Nuts, whole hazelnuts”. He also guest-starred in 2point4 Children (1996), the BBC sitcom that featured Belinda Lang – his daughter from his second marriage, to the actress Joan Heal. Hawk was married three times.
CAUSE: He died in Reading, Berkshire, of natural causes, aged 83.
Jack Hawkins
Born September 14, 1910
Died July 18, 1973
Stolid Englishman. Born in Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, London, John Edward Hawkins began acting as soon as he became a teenager and his first film was Birds Of Prey (1930) as Alfred. He quickly achieved a reputation as a first-class actor in films such as The Lodger (1932) as Jack Martin, Death At Broadcasting House (1934) as Herbert Evans, Murder Will Out (1939) as Stamp, The Fallen Idol (1948) as Detective Ames, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) as Lord George Murray, The Elusive Pimpernel (1951) as the Prince Of Wales, No Highway as Dennis Scott, Mandy as Searle, The Cruel Sea (1953) as Captain Ericson, Front Page Story (1954) as Grant, and Land Of The Pharaohs (1955) as Pharaoh Khefu. In 1954 21-year-old Ivy Nicholson had the chance to become a big star. She was tested by Howard Hawks for a role in his million-dollar epic Land Of The Pharaohs. Her instructions read: “You’re quarrelling, and he slaps you. Just react naturally, as you would if you’d really been slapped.” Jack Hawkins appeared with her and when he faked the slap, Ivy let out a bloodcurdling scream and sank her teeth deep into his arm. The test was suspended and poor old Ivy was sent home with the words, “We don’t think you’re up to the part.” She was never heard of again. Her replacement fared rather better. Her name was Joan Collins. Hawkins starred in The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) as Major Warden, Ben-Hur (1959) as Quintus Arrius, Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) as General Allenby, for which he was criticised by the real-life Allenby family, Zulu (1964) as Swedish missionary Reverend Otto Witt, Lord Jim (1965) as Captain Marlowe and Masquerade (1965) as Colonel Drexel. In 1966 he lost his voice following surgery for cancer of the larynx. However, he continued acting and his voice was dubbed by, among others, Charles Gray. Hawkins appeared in Poppies Are Also Flowers (1966) as General Bahar, Shalako (1968) as Sir Charles Baggett, Monte Carlo Or Bust (1969) as Count Levinovitch, Oh! What A Lovely War (1969) as Emperor Franz Josef, Kidnapped (1971) as Captain Hoseason, Nicholas And Alexandra (1971) as Count Fredericks, Young Winston (1972) as Mr Welldon and Theatre Of Blood (1973) as Solomon Psaltery. In 1932 he married actress Jessica Tandy in Winchmore Hill, London. Their daughter, Susan, was born in 1934 and they were divorced in 1940. On October 31, 1947, Hawkins married actress Doreen Lawrence. They had three children: Nicholas (b. St George’s Hospital, London, 1948), Andrew (b. St George’s Hospital, London, June 10, 1950) and Caroline (b. 1954).
CAUSE: Hawkins died of cancer at 12.10am in St Stephen’s Hospital, Fulham Road, London, aged 62. He left £13,019.
Howard Hawks
Born May 30, 1896
Died December 26, 1977
Master film-maker. Born in Goshen, Indiana, the son of wealthy lumberman Frank Winchester Hawks (b. Goshen, Indiana, October 16, 1864), Howard Winchester Hawks was the eldest in a family of five children. He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University, developing an enthusiasm for racing, a passion that continued into his seventies. After seeing service in World War I he moved to Hollywood where he took a variety of jobs before selling a tale to Fox with the condition that he be allowed to direct. The Road To Glory (1926) was an aptly named film since it set him on the road to fame, money and success. On March 30, 1928, he married the perpetually sick Athole Shearer (b. November 20, 1900, d. March 17, 1984), Norma’s big sister. They had two children: David (b. 1929) and Barbara (b. May 20, 1936). Hawks turned down a key role at MGM because of Louis B. Mayer’s often malign influence and remained for the most part a freelance director. His films included: Fig Leaves (1926), Paid To Love (1927), Trent’s Last Case (1929), The Dawn Patrol (1930), Scarface (1932), Viva Villa! (1934), Barbary Coast (1935), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Sergeant York (1941), The Outlaw (1943), To Have And Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Red River (1948), I Was A Male War Bride (1949), O. Henry’s Full House (1952), Monkey Business (1952), The Big Sky (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Land Of The Pharaohs (1955), Rio Bravo (1959), El Dorado (1967) and Rio Lobo (1970). Following his divorce, he married screenwriter Nancy ‘Slim’ Gross (b. 1917). Gary Cooper gave the bride away. Their daughter Kitty was born on February 11, 1946, but the Hawkses divorced in 1948. Following the split with his fiancée Marian Marshall (who later married Robert Wagner), Hawks married New York model Dee Hartford (b. 1927) on February 20, 1953. Their son Gregg was born in 1953 but Hawks underwent his third divorce in 1960. (His ex-wife married Stuart Cramer, who was married to Jean Peters, who had been married to Howard Hughes.) He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1974.
CAUSE: Aged 81, he died in Palm Springs, California, following a fall.
Sir Nigel Hawthorne, CBE
Born April 5, 1929
Died Boxing Day, 2001
Erudite actor. Film success for Nigel Hawthorne came late in life. He personified the civil service for many (including Margaret Thatcher) in the television sitcoms Yes, Minister (February 25, 1980–December 17, 1984) and Yes, Prime Minister (January 9, 1986–January 28, 1988) in which he excelled as the officious Sir Humphrey Appleby. Co-star Derek Fowlds remembers, “Together with Paul Eddington, the three of us were together for seven, eight years. We were really good mates. We had many happy hours doing those shows … they were very special times.” Yet in his posthumously published autobiography Hawthorne claims that he and Eddington were not very close at all. “I wouldn’t have said we were great friends. I used to get the feeling that he never thought either Derek or I were quite up to it.” Born in Coventry, Nigel Barnard Hawthorne was the elder of two sons and four children of Dr Charles Barnard Hawthorne and (Agnes) Rosemary Rice. In August 1932 the family sailed for South Africa. It was in Cape Town that Hawthorne first became interested in acting and appeared in a school production of The Pirates Of Penzance. However, his first job on leaving school was as a clerk in the motor department of an insurance company. He then enrolled at the University of Cape Town where he again became involved with acting and also radio presenting in the campus’ small broadcasting studio. His first professional gig came in the second year at university in a production of Home Of The Brave. His studies had begun to suffer as he spent more time concerned with the theatre and eventually left without completing his degree. On his 21st birthday he joined the Hofmeyr Theatre as assistant stage manager at a salary of £3 per week. Fearing that he would not learn very much in the confines of South Africa, Hawthorne decided that he needed to return to Britain. He arrived on April 6, 1951 and landed a job almost immediately, earning £7 a week. He spent the next twenty or so years appearing in various plays on tour and in the West End before learning that Richard Attenborough was casting for a film about the early life of Winston Churchill. The producer/writer was Carl Foreman and he was singularly unimpressed by Hawthorne when he presented himself at audition. The next day Hawthorne returned sporting an obviously fake beard and was delighted and not a little amazed when he was given the role of a Boer sentry in Young Winston (1972). His other films included S*P*Y*S (1974) as Croft, The Hiding Place (1975) as Pastor De Ruiter, Sweeney 2 (1978) as Dilke, The Sailor’s Return (1978) as Mr Fosse, Watership Down (1978) as Campion, The Knowledge (1981) as Mr Burgess, History Of The World: Part I (1981) as Citizen Official, The World Cup: A Captain’s Tale (1982), The Plague Dogs (1982) (voice) as Dr Robert Boycott, Gandhi (1982) as Kinnoch, Firefox (1982) as Pyotr Baranovich, King Of The Wind (1989) as Achmet, En Håndfull Tid (1989) as Ted Walker, Relatively Speaking (1990) as Philip Carter, Freddie As F.R.O.7 (1992) as Brigadier G, Demolition Man (1993) as Dr Raymond Cocteau, Richard III (1995) as
George, Duke of Clarence, Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996) as Malvolio, Murder In Mind (1997) as Dr Ellis, Amistad (1997) as Martin Van Buren, The Object Of My Affection as Rodney Fraser, At Sachem Farm (1998) as Uncle Cullen (which he also executive produced), Atatürk: Founder Of Modern Turkey (1999) as Sir Percy Loraine, The Winslow Boy as Arthur Winslow, The Big Brass Ring (1999) as Kim Mennaker, A Reasonable Man (1999) as Judge Wendon and The Clandestine Marriage (1999) as Lord Ogleby, a film on which he was also associate producer. Hawthorne caused a storm at the National Theatre in 1992 for his portrayal of “mad” King George III in Alan Bennett’s excellent The Madness Of George III. Yet when the film came to be made in 1994 its title was changed to The Madness Of King George lest unintelligent Americans think it was the third film in a series. Hawthorne had two long-standing relationships – one of 27 years with Bruce Palmer (d. 1992 of AIDS) and one of 22 years with Trevor Bentham, a screenwriter 14 years his junior. Although Hawthorne was, like many actors, “out” in the profession the public were unaware of his homosexuality. In 1994 he was outed by the gay magazine The Advocate, less than a week before he was due to fly to Los Angeles for the Oscar ceremony where he had been nominated for his performance in The Madness Of King George.
Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries Page 87
