Dana Andrews | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Andrews in 1945 | |
| Born | Carver Dana Andrews (1909-01-01)January 1, 1909 NearCollins, Mississippi, U.S.A. |
| Died | December 17, 1992(1992-12-17) (aged 83) Los Alamitos, California, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1938–1985 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Steve Forrest (brother) |
| President of theScreen Actors Guild | |
| In office August 8, 1963 – June 3, 1965 | |
| Preceded by | George Chandler |
| Succeeded by | Charlton Heston |
Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known asfilm noir and later inWestern films. Aleading man during the1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles andcharacter parts into the1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir mysteryLaura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance asWorld War II veteran Fred Derry returning home inThe Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Andrews was born on a farmstead nearCollins, (county seat town ofCovington County), in southernMississippi, the third of 13 children of Charles Forrest Andrews, aBaptist minister, and his wife, Annis (née Speed).[1] The family subsequently relocated west toHuntsville, Texas, the birthplace of his younger siblings, including fellowHollywood actorSteve Forrest (born William Forrest Andrews, 1925-2013).[2]
Andrews attended college atSam Houston State University nearby in Huntsville[3] and studied business administration inHouston. During 1931, he traveled to theWest Coast toLos Angeles, California to pursue opportunities as a singer. He worked various jobs, such as at a gas refueling station in the nearby community ofVan Nuys. To help the struggling Andrews study music at night, "The station owners stepped in ... with a deal: $50 a week for full-time study, in exchange for a five-year share of possible later earnings", which he started repaying after signing with Goldwyn.[4] The founder of the Hollywood Community Theater,Neely Dickson, disputed the gas station story, saying it was invented bySamuel Goldwyn Studio publicists and that Andrews was discovered at her theater.[5]The Los Angeles Times also attempted to debunk the story.[6]
In 1938, Andrews was spotted in the playOh Evening Star andSamuel Goldwyn (c.1879/1882-1974), signed the promising actor to a contract, but felt he needed time to develop experience. Andrews continued at thePasadena Playhouse ofPasadena, California, working in over 20 productions and proposed to his second wife Mary Todd.[7] After twelve months, Goldwyn sold part of Andrews' contract to20th Century-Fox, where he was put to work on the first of twoB pictures; his first role was inLucky Cisco Kid (1940).[7] He then appeared inSailor's Lady (1940), developed by Goldwyn, but released by Twentieth Century-Fox.[8]
Andrews was loaned toEdward Small to appear in theWestern film / bio-picKit Carson (1940), before Goldwyn used him for the first time in a Goldwyn studio production of directorWilliam Wyler'sThe Westerner (1940), featuringGary Cooper.[9]
Andrews had supporting roles in subsequent Twentieth Century-Fox filmsTobacco Road (1941), directed byJohn Ford; then alsoBelle Starr (1941), co-starring withRandolph Scott andGene Tierney, billed third; andSwamp Water (1941), starringWalter Brennan andWalter Huston and directed byJean Renoir.
His next film for Goldwyn was theHoward Hawks directed comedyBall of Fire (1941), again teaming with Gary Cooper, with Andrews playing the villain, a gangster.
Back at Fox, Andrews was given his first lead, in theB-picture war movieBerlin Correspondent (1942). He was second lead toTyrone Power inCrash Dive (1943) and then appeared as alynching target in the 1943 film adaptation ofThe Ox-Bow Incident withHenry Fonda, giving a performance thatBosley Crowther of theNew York Times called "heart-wringing," writing that Andrews "does much to make the picture a profoundly distressing tragedy."[10]
Andrews then went back to Goldwyn forThe North Star (1943), directed byLewis Milestone. He worked on a government propaganda filmDecember 7th: The Movie (1943), then was used by Goldwyn again inUp in Arms (1944), supportingDanny Kaye.
Andrews was reunited with Milestone at Fox forThe Purple Heart (1944), then was inWing and a Prayer (1944) forHenry Hathaway.
One of his roles was as a detective infatuated with a presumed murder victim, played byGene Tierney, inLaura (1944), produced at Fox and directed byOtto Preminger. He co-starred withJeanne Crain in the movie musicalState Fair (1945), a huge hit, and was reunited with Preminger for the film noirFallen Angel (1945). Andrews made another war movie with Milestone,A Walk in the Sun (1945), then was loaned toWalter Wanger for a western,Canyon Passage (1946), directed byJacques Tourneur and co-featuringSusan Hayward.
Andrews' second film with William Wyler, also for Goldwyn, became his best known:The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). It was both a popular and critical success. Upon release, the topical film about American society's problems in re-integrating military veterans after World War II outgrossed the longstanding box office success ofGone with the Wind (1939) in the U.S. and Britain.[11] In 2007, the film ranked number 37th onAFI's Top 100 Years...100 Movies.
Andrews appeared inBoomerang! (1947), directed byElia Kazan;Night Song (1947), at RKO; andDaisy Kenyon (1947) for Preminger. In 1947, he was voted the 23rd most popular actor in the U.S.[12]
Andrews starred in the anti-communistThe Iron Curtain (1948), reuniting him withGene Tierney, thenDeep Waters (1948). He made a comedy for Lewis Milestone at Enterprise Pictures,No Minor Vices (1948), then traveled to England forBritannia Mews (1949). Andrews was inSword in the Desert (1949), then Goldwyn cast him inMy Foolish Heart (1949) withSusan Hayward. He played a fast-fisted police officer in the film noirWhere the Sidewalk Ends (1950), also with Tierney and Preminger. Around this time,alcoholism began to damage Andrews's career, and on two occasions it nearly cost him his life behind the wheel.[citation needed]
Edge of Doom (1950), another film noir for Goldwyn, was a flop. Andrews was then loaned to RKO to makeSealed Cargo (1951), in which his brother Steve Forrest has an uncredited role. (In a "Word of Mouth" commentary forTurner Classic Movies, Forrest stated, "I'd have given my eye teeth to have worked with him.") Back at Fox, Andrews was inThe Frogmen (1951), then Goldwyn cast him inI Want You (1951), an overwrought attempt to repeat the success ofThe Best Years of Our Lives, during theCold War eraKorean War.[13]
From 1952 to 1954, Andrews was featured in the radio seriesI Was a Communist for the FBI, about the experiences ofMatt Cvetic, anFBI informant who infiltrated theCommunist Party of the United States of America.
Andrews' film career waned in the 1950s.Assignment: Paris (1952) was not widely seen. He madeElephant Walk (1954) inCeylon, a film better known forVivien Leigh's nervous breakdown and replacement by Elizabeth Taylor.Duel in the Jungle (1954) was an adventure tale,Three Hours to Kill (1954) andSmoke Signal (1955) were Westerns,Strange Lady in Town (1955) was aGreer Garson vehicle, andComanche (1956) another Western.
By the mid-1950s, Andrews was acting almost exclusively in B-movies. However, his acting in two late-cycle film noirs forFritz Lang during 1956,While The City Sleeps,Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, and ahorror film,Curse of the Demon (1957), and a noir,The Fearmakers (1958), forJacques Tourneur, are well regarded. Around this time, he also appeared inSpring Reunion (1957),Zero Hour! (1957) andEnchanted Island (1958).
In 1952, Andrews toured with his wife, Mary Todd, inThe Glass Menagerie, and in 1958, he replacedHenry Fonda (his former co-star inThe Oxbow Incident andDaisy Kenyon) onBroadway inTwo for the Seesaw.[8]
Andrews began appearing on television on such shows asPlayhouse 90 ("Right Hand Man", "Alas, Babylon"),General Electric Theatre,The Barbara Stanwyck Show,Checkmate,The DuPont Show of the Week,The Twilight Zone ("No Time Like the Past"),The Dick Powell Theatre,Alcoa Premiere,Ben Casey, andTheatre of Stars.
Andrews continued to make films likeThe Crowded Sky (1960) andMadison Avenue (1961). He then went to Broadway forThe Captains and the Kings, which had a short run in 1962.
In 1963, he was elected president of theScreen Actors Guild.
In 1965, Andrews resumed his film work withsupport roles inThe Satan Bug andIn Harm's Way. Although he had the lead in films such asCrack in the World (1965),Brainstorm (1965), andTown Tamer (1965), he was increasingly cast in supporting roles:Berlin, Appointment for the Spies (1965),The Loved One (1965),Battle of the Bulge (1965), andJohnny Reno (1966). He occasionally played leads in low-budget films likeThe Frozen Dead (1966),The Cobra (1967) andHot Rods to Hell (1967), however, by the late 1960s he had evolved into acharacter actor, as inThe Ten Million Dollar Grab (1967),No Diamonds for Ursula (1967), andThe Devil's Brigade (1968).
By the end of the decade, Andrews returned to television to play the leading role of college president Tom Boswell on the NBC daytime soap operaBright Promise from its premiere on September 29, 1969, until March 1971.[14]
Andrews spent the 1970s in supporting roles of Hollywood films such asThe Failing of Raymond (1971),Innocent Bystanders (1972),Airport 1975 (1974),A Shadow in the Streets (1975),The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant (1975),Take a Hard Ride (1975),The Last Tycoon (1976),The Last Hurrah (1977), andGood Guys Wear Black (1978)
He also appeared regularly on TV in such shows asIronside,Get Christie Love!,Ellery Queen,The American Girls,The Hardy Boys, andThe Love Boat.
It was at this time, the 1970s, that Andrews became involved in thereal estate business, telling one newspaper reporter, for example, that he owned "a hotel that brings in $200,000 a year."[9]
Andrews's final roles includedBorn Again (1978),Ike: The War Years (1979),The Pilot (1980),Falcon Crest (1982–83) andPrince Jack (1985).
Andrews married Janet Murray on December 31, 1932.[15] Murray died two and a half years later in October 1935 as a result ofpneumonia.[15] Their son, David, was later a radio announcer and musical director who died early from aintracerebral hemorrhage in February 1964 at the age of 30.[16] Four years after the death of his first wife Janet Murray, on November 17, 1939, Andrews married stage actress Mary Todd[17] (1916–2003). She appeared in 1976 onTheBob Braun Show, a local televisiontalk show onWCPO-TV (channel 9) inCincinnati, Ohio.[18][1] The couple had three children: Katharine, Stephen, and Susan, in addition to son David from Andrews' first marriage.[1]
Andrews struggled with alcoholism, but eventually won the battle and worked actively later with theNational Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, using his experience as a teaching tool.[9] Several years later, during 1972, he appeared in a television public service advertisement concerning the subject of alcohol abuse.[1] During the last years of his life, Andrews also suffered fromsenility/dementia factors ofAlzheimer's disease, which was increasingly occurring in the older American population at a time when Alzheimer's research was in its infancy. He spent his final years living at the John Douglas French Center for Alzheimer's Disease inLos Alamitos, (Orange County, California.[1]
On December 17, 1992, Andrews died ofcongestive heart failure andpneumonia, at the age of 83 years.[19] His wife Mary Todd Andrews died a decade later in January 2003 at the age of 86 years, noted in the entertainment magazineVariety the following month.[20]
| Year | Program | Episode | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | "No Time Like the Past" | Paul Driscoll |
| 1969 | Family Affair | "Wings Of An Angel" | Harv Mullen |
| 1971 | Night Gallery | "The Different Ones" | Paul Koch |
| 1978 | The Hardy Boys | "Assault on the Tower" | Townley |
| 1978 | The American Girls | "The Cancelled Czech" | Phillips |
| 1982 | The Love Boat | "Command Performance/Hyde and Seek/Sketchy Love" | Mr. Paul Gerber[21] |
| 1982 | Falcon Crest | "The Candidate" and "Deliberate Disclosure" | Elliot McKay |
| Year | Program | Episode | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Lux Radio Theatre | "The Luck of the Irish" | [22] |
| 1952–1954 | I Was a Communist for the FBI | Various episodes | [23][24] |
| 1952 | Hallmark Playhouse | "The Secret Road" | [25] |
| 1953 | Theater of Stars | "The Token" | [26] |
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