David Niven

David Niven (March 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983), was an English actor who achieved the distinction of success in both the British and the Hollywood film industry.

Biography

He was born James David Graham Niven in London, England, the son of William Edward Graham Niven and French/British Henrietta Julia de Gacher, who was born in Wales. He was named David for his birth on St. David's Day. His father died during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 and his mother remarried Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt. After attending Stowe as a boy Niven trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark. He served for two years in Malta with the Highland Light Infantry. Niven often claimed that he was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland, which he believed sounded more romantic than London.

Related Topics:
London, England - French - British - Wales - St. David's Day - Gallipoli Campaign - 1915 - Stowe - Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - Malta - Highland Light Infantry - Kirriemuir - Angus - Scotland

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Arriving in Hollywood during the early 1930s, he first worked as an extra in westerns, then had a walk-on part in the 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty. He then landed a long term contract as a supporting player with independent film producer Samuel Goldwyn which firmly established his career and allowed him to progress to leading man status in many films such as the RKO comedy Bachelor Mother (1939) with Ginger Rogers.

Related Topics:
Westerns - 1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty - Samuel Goldwyn - RKO - Bachelor Mother - Ginger Rogers

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During World War II he served in the British army, rising to the rank of colonel in the British Commandos and landing at Normandy. He did, however, consent to play in two films during the War, both of strong propaganda value: The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1944).

Related Topics:
World War II - British army - Colonel - British Commando - Normandy - The First of the Few - The Way Ahead

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He resumed his career after the war with films such as Around the World in Eighty Days (as Phileas Fogg), The Guns of Navarone, The Pink Panther and as Sir James Bond in the unofficial series spoof Casino Royale. He won an Academy Award for his performance in Separate Tables (1958). Late in life, he gained critical acclaim for his memoirs of his acting career, The Moon's A Balloon (1971) and Bring On the Empty Horses (1975).

Related Topics:
Around the World in Eighty Days - Phileas Fogg - The Guns of Navarone - The Pink Panther - James Bond - Casino Royale - Academy Award - Separate Tables - 1958 - Memoir

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In 1940, Niven married Primula Susan Rollo (1918-1946), the aristocratic daughter of a British pilot; they had two sons, David Jr. and Jamie. She died at age 28 of a fractured skull and brain lacerations, after accidentally falling down a flight of stone steps during a hide-and-seek party at the home of Tyrone Power; she had mistakenly opened a door and stepped inside, apparently thinking it was a closet. She died one day later.

Related Topics:
Primula Susan Rollo - Tyrone Power

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Niven's second wife, whom he married in 1948, ten days after they met, was Hjordis Paulina Tersmeden (née Genberg, 1921-1997), a divorced Swedish fashion model and frustrated actress. They had two adopted daughters, Kristin and Fiona, one of whom has long been rumored to be Niven's child by another fashion model, Mona Gunnarson. The marriage was as tumultuous as Niven's previous marriage had been happy. Thwarted from an acting career, Hjordis Niven began having public affairs with other men and soon became an alcoholic. Bitter, estranged, and plagued by depression, she showed up drunk at Niven's funeral, after having been convinced to attend by family friend Rainier III of Monaco.

Related Topics:
Fashion model - Mona Gunnarson - Alcoholic - Rainier III of Monaco

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Niven died in Switzerland in 1983 of Motor neurone disease at the age of 73.

Related Topics:
Switzerland - Motor neurone disease

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