Louis Calhern
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Louis Calhern |
Bucks County Playhouse productions
Kind Lady - 1940
The Affairs of Anatol - 1940
The Firebrand - 1940
The Royal Family - 1940
Internet Movie Database - Louis Calhern
Internet Broadway Database - Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern
(1895 - 1956)
Louis Calhern was an imposing figure; tall, with a kindly face framed with a mane of white hair, a distinguished looking white mustache, with a velvety smooth voice, and a very debonair air about him. His aristocratic looks worked well for him on stage and in films. He could play a leading man or a villain and both convincingly. He was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in New York City. As a youngster his family moved to St. Louis where he grew up. He was discovered while playing high school football, by a touring stock company and hired as an actor. His love of acting led him to New York where he began as a prop boy and bit player with touring companies and burlesque companies. This was interrupted by a stint in the military during World War I. Upon return from France he felt it best to change his German name and he came up with Louis (for St. Louis) and Calhern (a combination of Carl & Henry, his given names). The next few decades he worked on and off in theatre on stage. He worked in films also during this period. Among his best roles were: "The Magnificent Yankee" (1950) in which he played Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes; "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) in which he played the criminal mastermind Alonzo Emmerich; "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950) in which he played Buffalo Bill and my personal favorite "We're Not Married" (1952) in which he played Freddie Melrose, a jilted husband who gets sweet revenge. His other film credits include: "What's Worth While" (1921) as 'Squire' Elton, his film debut; "The Road to Singapore" (1931) with Hope & Crosby, as Dr. George March; "Okay, America!" (1932) as Mileaway Russell; "Night After Night" (1932) as Dick Bolton; "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" (1933) as Joe Finn; "Duck Soup" (1933) with the Marx Brothers, as Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania; "The World Gone Mad" (1933) as Christopher Bruno; "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1934) as Raymond de Villefort Jr.; "Sweet Adeline" (1934) as Maj. James Day; "Man with Two Faces" (1934) as Stanley Vance; "The Last Days of Pompeii" (1935) as Prefect; "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937) as Maj. Dort; "Juarez" (1939) as LeMarc; "5th Avenue Girl" (1939) Dr. Hugo Kessler; "Charlie McCarthy, Detective" (1939) as Arthur Aldrich; "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (1940) as Brockdorf; "Heaven Can Wait" (1943) as Randolph Van Cleve; "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (1944) as The Viceroy; "Notorious" (1946) as Paul Prescott; "Arch of Triumph" (1948) as 'Colonel' Boris Morosov; "The Red Pony (1949) as Grandfather; "Two Weeks With Love" (1950) as Horatio Robinson; "The Man with a Cloak" (1951) as Charles Theverner; "Invitation" (1952) as Simon Bowker; "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1952) as Col. Zapt; "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) as Narrator; "Julius Caesar" (1953) in the title role; "Remains to Be Seen" (1953) as Benjamin Goodman; "Executive Suite" (1954) as George Nyle Caswell; "The Student Prince" (1954) as King of Karlsberg; "Men of the Fighting Lady" (1954) as James A. Michener; "Betrayed" (1954) as Gen. Ten Eyck; "The Blackboard Jungle" (1955) as Jim Murdock; "The Prodigal" (1955) as Nahreeb, High Priest of Baal; "High Society" (1956) as Uncle Willie and "Forever Darling" (1956) with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, as Charles Y. Bewell, his last film. He was married four times: to Ilka Chase from June 1926 to divorce in February 1927; to Julia Hoyt from June 1927 to divorce in 1932; Natalie Schaefer from April 1933 to divorce in 1942 and to Marianne Stewart from November 1946 to divorce in July 1955. He died on May 12, 1956 of a heart attack in Tokyo, Japan while filming "The Teahouse of the August Moon."