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1-6 of 6
- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Boles was an American actor who worked prolifically in both leading and supporting roles for 28 years. He was born in Greenville, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas, where he had studied medicine, in 1917. Boles' parents wanted their son to continue with a career in the medical field, but after being selected to perform in an opera, he discovered his real love for acting and singing. In the meantime, he taught French and singing in a New York high school and worked as an interpreter for a group of students touring Europe. He's also notable for acting as a U.S. spy during World War I, in Bulgaria, Germany, and Turkey.
Boles moved to Hollywood in the 1920s to continue acting in stage musicals and operettas, which eventually led to MGM hiring him to appear in The Sixth Commandment (1924). After a three-year hiatus from Hollywood to focus on stage work, Boles returned to star opposite Gloria Swanson in the hit The Love of Sunya (1927). He wasn't able to show off his singing skills until the arrival of sound pictures not long after. He starred in a few lavish musicals in the early days of sound movies, notably The Desert Song (1929), Rio Rita (1929), and Song of the West (1930). In 1930, Boles signed a contract with Universal Pictures and starred in such musicals as King of Jazz (1930) and One Heavenly Night (1930) for the studio.
Boles continued to work in a number of both musical and non-musical parts throughout the 1930s. Notable roles include Victor Moritz in Frankenstein (1931); an engaged attorney who falls in love with Irene Dunne in The Age of Innocence (1934); another leading part opposite Swanson, this time as her bickering beau in Music in the Air (1934); a wealthy bachelor who adopts Shirley Temple in Curly Top (1935); Temple's Confederate officer father in The Littlest Rebel (1935); manipulator Rosalind Russell's husband in Craig's Wife (1936); and Barbara Stanwyck's husband in Stella Dallas (1937).
In 1943, Boles played the role of a colonel in the star-studded Thousands Cheer (1943). By this point, his acting career had declined. Boles' final part was in 1952, starring opposite Paulette Goddard in Babes in Bagdad (1952). He retired from the film industry shortly thereafter, and found a new career in the oil business.
Boles married Marcelite Dobbs in 1917, and the couple had two daughters: Frances and Janet. They remained married until he died of a heart attack on February 27, 1969 at the age of 73.- Actor
- Stunts
Character actor and stuntman Jack Woody had a career that sounded like one of the movies he appeared in. He was born Frank Bryan Woody in Elkhorn, Kansas, a town that he left upon enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War I.
He started his career in film as a stuntman in the early 1930s and one day shocked the world when it was announced that he was marrying movie starlet Helen Twelvetrees. The stormy relationship lasted 5 years, as the two traveled the world together for their respective film careers. They had one child, Jack Bryan Woody Jr., before being divorced in 1936. Their marriage served as the basis for the plot of I'm Still Alive (1940).
In 1937, Woody returned to stunt work where he was frequently found doing the stunts for Humphrey Bogart and doubling for other actors in fight scenes. He had a knack for escaping serious injury and death. Woody was hit in the neck by a ricocheting bullet on the set of Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937). A year later he was shot in the face by a blank charge while doubling J. Carrol Naish wrestling over a gun on Hotel Imperial (1939). Both accidents barely interrupted his work.
During World War II, Woody re-enlisted in the Marines as a veteran sergeant and spent years in combat before returning to stunt work after the war's conclusion.
Like most stuntmen, Woody found steady work for numerous years until suffering an accident significant enough to end his career. Woody was severely injured in the movie Samson and Delilah (1949) when the temple demolition sequence went wrong, and Woody ended up breaking both kneecaps and his legs. It was after this injury that Woody decided it was time for a career change.
In the late 1940s, Woody shifted his focus to his side career as a hunting and fishing guide in the Lone Pine Hills of California's Sierra Nevada. The now-aged Woody grew a beard and looked like an old prospector. While Woody was on one of his regular guide trips, director Andre De Toth recognized Woody and he thought he would be perfect for a role in a Randolph Scott movie that De Toth was scouting for shooting locations. Woody gladly accepted De Toth's offer and he began an acting career that featured roles with some of the biggest stars of the western genre including Randolph Scott and Gary Cooper while also appearing in roles in dramas like House of Wax (1953).- Additional Crew
- Writer
Marius Barbeau was born on 5 March 1883 in St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada. He was a writer, known for People of the Potlatch (1944), Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? (1952) and False Faces (1963). He was married to Marie Ernestine Larocque . He died on 27 February 1969 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.- Suey Chan was born on 23 October 1894 in Hong Kong, China. He was an actor, known for Alcoa Theatre (1957) and Goodyear Theatre (1957). He died on 27 February 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Publicist
Joe Astor was born on 13 December 1886 in Hull, Humberside, England, UK. He was a publicist. He was married to Rene. He died on 27 February 1969 in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, UK.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Jorge M. Dada was born on 3 December 1885 in Jerusalem, Israel. He was a writer and producer, known for Behind the Bars (1937), Mexicana (1935) and Tricks of Life (1934). He died on 27 February 1969 in Mexico, D.F., Mexico.