Franchot Tone

Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor.

Related Topics:
February 27 - 1905 - September 18 - 1968 - American - Actor

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He was born Stanislas Pascal Franchot Tone in Niagara Falls, New York, eldest son of Dr. Frank Jerome Tone, the president of the Carborundum Company, and his wife, Gertrude Franchot.

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President of the Dramatic Club at Cornell University, he went to Hollywood in 1932, achieving fame in 1933, when he made seven movies in a single year. In 1935 he starred in Mutiny on the Bounty (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor), The Lives of a Bengal Lancer and Dangerous opposite Bette Davis.

Related Topics:
Cornell University - Hollywood - 1932 - 1933 - 1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty - Academy Award for Best Actor - The Lives of a Bengal Lancer - Dangerous - Bette Davis

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He was married October 11, 1935 in New Jersey to actress Joan Crawford; they were divorced in 1939. He married and divorced three more times: to fashion model turned actress Jean Wallace (1941–48, two sons; she next married Cornel Wilde), actress Barbara Payton (1951–52) (which resulted in his being physically assaulted by Payton's one-time lover, Tom Neal), and finally to the much younger actress Dolores Dorn (1956–59).

Related Topics:
October 11 - 1935 - New Jersey - Joan Crawford - 1939 - Jean Wallace - Cornel Wilde - Barbara Payton - Tom Neal

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He worked steadily through the 1940s without breaking through as a major star. In the 1950s he moved to television and returned to Broadway, where he had begun his career. He co-starred in the Ben Casey medical series from 1965 to 1966 as Casey's supervisor.

Related Topics:
1940s - 1950s - Television - Broadway - Ben Casey - 1965 - 1966

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He died of lung cancer in New York City at the age of 63. According to a biography of his ex-wife Joan Crawford, he stayed with Crawford at her apartment and she tended to him despite her own final illness. According to a visitor who asked who the man in the wheelchair was, Crawford replied: "Him? That's Franchot". His remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered.

Related Topics:
Lung cancer - New York City - Joan Crawford - Cremated

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Franchot Tone has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6558 Hollywood Blvd.

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