Tay Garnett | |
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| Born | William Taylor Garnett (1894-06-13)June 13, 1894 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 3, 1977(1977-10-03) (aged 83) Sawtell, California, U.S. |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1920–1975 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
William Taylor "Tay"Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He made nearly 50 films in various genres during his 55-year career,The Postman Always Rings Twice andChina Seas being two of the most commercially successful.[1][2] In his later years, he focused mainly on television.[3][4]
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Garnett graduated fromLos Angeles High School.[3][1] He studiedcommercial art at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology before returning to California to open an advertising agency. In 1917, he joined theU.S. Navy'sAviation Corps and trained soldiers to fly at California bases duringWorld War I.[5][6][1]
After the war, Garnett entered the film industry as a gagwriter, primarily forMack Sennett andHal Roach,[1][7] but also forFatty Arbuckle,Mabel Normand, andChester Conklin.[8] For Roach, Garnett wroteDon't Park There (1924);[9] forBilly Bevan,[citation needed]Galloping Bungalows (1924);[10] and for Sennett,Off His Trolley (1924)[citation needed] andThe Plumber (1924).[11] He co-wroteBroken Chains (1922) forSam Goldwyn;[12]The Hottentot (1922) forThomas Ince;[citation needed] andThat's My Baby (1926) forWilliam Beaudine.[13]
Garnett directed some shorts, such asFast Black (1924),[14]Riders of the Kitchen Range (1925), andAll Wool (1925),[9] and wrote the comedy shortsHoneymoon Hardships (1925),[15]Hold Tight (1925),Three Wise Goofs (1925),[16]No Sleep on the Deep (1925),Salute (1925),On the Links (1925),[citation needed]Who's Your Friend (1925),[10][16]The Funnymooners (1926),Puppy Lovetime (1926),Smith's Visitor (1926), andA Beauty Parlor (1926). WithStan Laurel (in his pre-Laurel and Hardy days), he made the filmsA Mandarin Mixup (1924),Detained (1924),[citation needed] andWest of Hot Dog (1924). They co-wroteSomewhere in Wrong (1925),Twins (1925),Pie-Eyed (1925),The Snow Hawk (1925),Navy Blue Days (1925),The Sleuth (1925), andDr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925).[17][18]
He adapted a 1919 play forUp in Mabel's Room (1926), which starredMarie Prevost,[19] and co-wroteFrank Capra'sThe Strong Man (1926)[18] andEdward Sedgwick'sThere You Are! (1926).[20] ForCecil B. De Mille, he wroteThe Cruise of the Jasper B (1926),Rubber Tires (1927),The Wise Wife (1927),Turkish Delight (1927),[10][11] andSkyscraper (1928). In 1927, he also wroteGetting Gertie's Garter,[1][21]Long Pants,White Gold,[21][18] andNo Control.[16] Garnett joinedPathé around 1927[5] and wroteThe Cop andPower in 1928.[22][10][21]
Garnett directed and wroteCelebrity (1928), his first feature as director;[23][5]The Spieler (1928),The Flying Fool (1929),[16]Bad Company (1931),[24][25] andPrestige (1931).[26] Pathé merged withRKO in 1928;[27] under the new name, Garnett directedOh, Yeah! (1929),Her Man (1930) starringHelen Twelvetrees,[5]Officer O'Brien (1930),[10][16] andPanama Flo (1932).[28] WithUniversal Studios, Garnett worked onThe Penalty of Fame (1932),S.O.S. Iceberg (1933),[29] andDestination Unknown (1933).[1][30] WithParamount Studios, he directed the successfulOne Way Passage (1932).[31] Garnett enjoyed further success in 1935 after moving toMGM and directingChina Seas (1935). With Columbia Studios, he madeShe Couldn't Take It (1935).[16][2][32]
In 1935, Garnett announced the creation of his own production company and subsequently left on a year-long cruise on his yacht. TheAthene carried a small number of people, including Garnett's friendsPolly Ann Young andRegis Toomey, and his wife Helga. During his trip, he shot footage of the outdoors for his future productions.[33][5][34] He returned to Hollywood in October 1936[35][36] and signed with20th Century Fox, where he madeProfessional Soldier (1936),Love Is News (1937), andSlave Ship (1937). He also worked onStand-In (1937) forWalter Wanger.[37][5]
Garnett's first film as a producer as well as a director wasJoy of Living (1938) at RKO. He continued working with Wanger, producing and directing three of his films in the late 1930s:Trade Winds (1938),Eternally Yours (1939), andSlightly Honorable (1939).[38][5][39] He provided a story for Columbia Studios'Cafe Hostess (1940)[38] and directed Universal'sSeven Sinners (1940), which starredMarlene Dietrich andJohn Wayne.[1][40] He produced but not direct RKO'sUnexpected Uncle (1941) andWeekend for Three (1941),[16][41] and directed their 1942 filmMy Favorite Spy.[42] He also directedUnited Artists'Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941)[43][44] and Columbia'sThe Boy from Stalingrad (1942).[citation needed]
AtMGM, Garnett directedThe Cross of Lorraine (1943) andBataan (1943), followed bySince You Went Away (1944) andSee Here, Private Hargrove (1944). He had some big hits with twoGreer Garson films,Mrs. Parkington (1944) andThe Valley of Decision (1945), then made his best-known filmThe Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), starringJohn Garfield andLana Turner.[1][10] At Paramount, he madeWild Harvest (1947);A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), which starredBing Crosby andRhonda Fleming;[45][10] and theMickey Rooney filmThe Fireball (1950), which he also co-wrote. He went back to MGM to direct one ofLoretta Young's last theatrical films,Cause for Alarm!, in 1951, and the adventure filmSoldiers Three (1951).[46][3] For RKO, then under the ownership ofHoward Hughes, Garnett directedThe Racket (1951)[47] andOne Minute to Zero (1952). Garnett travelled to England and Spain to makeThe Black Knight (1954),[10][48] then worked on the documentarySeven Wonders of the World (1956). In 1960, he directedA Terrible Beauty in Ireland.[1] He directed a feature,Guns of Wyoming (1963), withRobert Taylor.[49] Garnett wrote, produced and directedThe Delta Factor (1970). His last two films wereChallenge to Be Free (1975) andTimber Tramps (1975).[50][51][10]
Garnett started directing television shows in the late 1950s with He began working in TV withFour Star Theatre[52] andMain Street to Broadway (1953).[16] When he returned from the UK, he increasingly focused on television,[3][4] directing such shows asScreen Directors Playhouse, which he also co-wrote,[53][54]Alcoa Theatre,Goodyear Theatre,Overland Trail,[citation needed]The Loretta Young Show, andThe Untouchables.[52] Other shows he worked on includedThe Deputy,Whispering Smith,87th Precinct,The Tall Man,Please Don't Eat the Daisies,The Beachcomber,The Loner,The Legend of Jesse James,[55] andRiverboat,[56] He also directedWagon Train,Naked City,Death Valley Days,Rawhide,Bonanza,[52]Laramie,[57]Frontier Circus,[citation needed] andGunsmoke.[55][1][52]
While he primarily worked on films and television, Garnett occasionally worked in other areas of the art world. In 1930, he wrote a stage play calledAll That Glitters withZelda Sears.[58] In 1942, he created theNBC Red comedy-detective radio programThree Sheets to the Wind (1942), which starred John Wayne as Dan O'Brien, an American private eye posing as a drunk on a luxury liner sailing from England in 1939, and Helga Moray, which ran for six months at 11:30pm Sunday nights.[59][60][61] The show was intended by Garnett to be the pilot for a film, though the film was never made. A demonstration episode of the radio show withBrian Donlevy in the leading role exists. Wayne, not Donlevy, played the role throughout the series run onNBC.[62] He published his autobiography,Light Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights, in 1973 and was writing a textbook at the time of his death.[2] During his career, he also did some government films.[49][6][63]
His star on theHollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled in February 1960.[3]
Garnett married three actresses. First wasPatsy Ruth Miller inBeverly Hills on 8 September 1929.[6][64] She filed for divorce which was granted 18 September 1933 on grounds of desertion[65][6] while she was inVienna, Austria, and Garnett in London, England.[66] While in London,[citation needed] Garnett met British author and actress Helga Moray whom he married on his yacht, theAthene, in November 1934.[5][67][34][6] They had a second ceremony on 31 March 1935 inYuma, Arizona, USA to safeguard her American citizenship.[68] Their son, William John "Bill" Garnett, was born in January 1942.[69] Six months later, Moray filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty.[70][71][6] Garnett then married 24-year-oldMari Aldon in London, England, on 13 August 1953. Their daughter Tiela Aldon Garnett was born in Los Angeles, USA on 25 October 1955.[72][6][73]
Garnett died ofleukemia at theWadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital inSawtelle, California, USA at the age of 83.[63][6] His ashes were scattered on hisPaso Robles ranch.[citation needed]
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