 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lewis Stone" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Lewis Stone | |
|---|---|
 Portrait inPhotoplay, 1923 | |
| Born | Lewis Shepard Stone (1879-11-15)November 15, 1879 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 12, 1953(1953-09-12) (aged 73)[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1911–1953 |
| Employer | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1924–1953)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | [2][3] Hazel Elizabeth Woof (m. 1930; his death) |
| Children | 3[2] |
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popularAndy Hardy film series.[1] He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor in 1929 for his performance as Russian CountPahlen inThe Patriot. Stone was also cast in seven films withGreta Garbo, including in the role of Doctor Otternschlag in the 1932 dramaGrand Hotel.
Stone was born inWorcester, Massachusetts, in 1879, the youngest of four children of Philena (née Ball) and Bertrand Stone.[5] His father, according to the federal census of 1880, supported the family as aboot cutter.[5] After obtaining his public education in Worcester, Lewis joined the United States Army during theSpanish–American War, serving as a lieutenant and later being deployed toChina to train troops.[1] He returned to the United States, and following his discharge from the army began his career as a writer and actor.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lewis Stone" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In the early-1900s Stone was considered by the critics to be the most popular leading man in stock in America. For eight years, he held the role as leading man with theOliver Morosco Stock Company in Los Angeles.[6]
In 1912, Stone found success in the popular playBird of Paradise, which starredLaurette Taylor. The play was later filmed in1932 and1951.
For the summer of 1913 Stone appeared atElitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado, as the leading man for the season. The proprietor of the theatre,Mary Elitch Long, recalled an event when Stone heard of a nearby family in need and he "went to a neighborhood grocery and, placing $25.00 on the counter, told the storekeeper to see to it that the bereaved little family wanted for nothing; and to let him know when more money was needed and to say nothing about it."[6]
His career was interrupted by a return to the Army inWorld War I, serving as a major in thecavalry.[1]
Before leaving for the war he made his feature film debut inHonor's Altar in 1916.[1] He showed up inFirst National's 1920Nomads of the North to good effect playing a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. He portrayed the title role in the 1922 silent film version ofThe Prisoner of Zenda.
From 1920 to 1927, he lived in Los Angeles at 212 S. Wilton Place. The home is now Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument #925 and is in theWilton Historic District.[7]
In 1924, Stone joined the newly formedMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio as a contract player, where he remained until his death in 1953.[1]
Stone was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor in 1929 forThe Patriot. He played the character that gives the film its title, but he was not the top-billed star. He appeared in seven films withGreta Garbo, spanning both the silent and early sound period. In 1932, he portrayed Dr. Otternschlag in the Garbo filmGrand Hotel, in which he utters the famous closing line "Grand Hotel. People coming. Going. Nothing ever happens."
He played a larger role in the 1933 Garbo filmQueen Christina. His appearance in the successful prison filmThe Big House furthered his career. He played adventurers in thedinosaur epicThe Lost World (1925) withWallace Beery andThe Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) withBoris Karloff, and a police captain inBureau of Missing Persons (1933).
.png)
In 1937, Stone first appeared in the role which became his most famous, that of wise and kindly Judge James Hardy in theAndy Hardy film series, starringMickey Rooney.[1] Stone appeared as the judge in 14 of the 16 Hardy movies, beginning withYou're Only Young Once (1937).Lionel Barrymore had portrayed the judge in the first Hardy movie, and Stone died before the making of the last one,Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958), so Judge Hardy's death was written into the script. During the heyday of the series, Stone also appeared with Rooney in the short subjectAndy Hardy's Dilemma, which promoted charitable donations to theCommunity Chest.
DuringWorld War II, the 60-plus year-old Stone was a lieutenant colonel in the California National Guard.[1]
Stone was under contract to MGM for 29 years, the studio's longest-contracted actor, as well as the actor with the longest contract at any Hollywood movie studio.[1] The week before his death, he and longtime MGM contract player Lionel Barrymore received gold keys to their dressing rooms. Stone appeared in approximately 100 films for MGM from 1924 to 1953.[1]
Stone owned a beach house in the beachfrontVenice neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 1930 the oil drilling boom in the Venice Beach-Del Ray oil field caused him to file a lawsuit to stop the drilling in order to prevent property damage and public nuisance. "The court ruled for Stone even though derricks ringed the beach ..."[8]
In the 1930s he owned a 104-foot luxury schooner yacht namedSerena. In 1937 the yacht was sold to Robert Paine Scripps (the father ofCharles Scripps) and converted to a research vessel named theE. W. Scripps.[9]
Stone campaigned for the reelection of PresidentHerbert Hoover in 1932.[10]
Stone died inHancock Park, Los Angeles, on September 12, 1953, aged 73.[1] He reportedly suffered a heart attack while chasing away some neighborhood kids[1] who were throwing rocks at his garage or trampling his meticulously kept prized garden. Another published report[which?] states that on that date Stone and his third wife were watching television when they heard a racket in the back yard. When he investigated, Stone found lawn furniture once again floating in the pool and glimpsed three or perhaps four teenage boys running toward the street. Stone gave chase despite his wife's warning not to exert himself. Upon reaching the sidewalk, Stone suddenly collapsed. A gardener, Juan Vergara, witnessed the chase and summoned aid.
A photo published in newspapers of the dayshowed Stone lying on the sidewalk immediately after the incident.[citation needed] The photo was later included inKenneth Anger's book of scandals titledHollywood Babylon.
Lewis Stone was later honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6524 Hollywood Blvd.[citation needed]
