Leslie Howard

Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 – June 1, 1943) was a British film actor. Born Leslie Howard Stainer to a Hungarian Jewish father and an English Jewish mother in Forest Hill, London, Howard's classic good looks won him his first screen role in a 1914 silent film, following which he served in World War I, his military career being cut short due to case of severe shell shock.

Related Topics:
April 3 - 1893 - June 1 - 1943 - British - Film - Actor - Hungarian - Jewish - English - Forest Hill, London - 1914 - Silent film - World War I - Shell shock

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Howard proceeded to play stiff-upper-lipped Englishmen in films such as Berkeley Square (1933, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), Pygmalion (1938) (in which he played Professor Higgins, and earned another Oscar nomination), and Pimpernel Smith (1941).

Related Topics:
Stiff-upper-lipped - Englishmen - Berkeley Square - 1933 - Best Actor - Academy Award - The Scarlet Pimpernel - 1934 - Pygmalion - 1938 - 1941

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In 1936, Howard appeared in the film The Petrified Forest. It was Howard who insisted that Humphrey Bogart appear in the film as gangster Duke Mantee. They had appeared in the play together on Broadway. Howard and Bogart became lifelong friends; the Bogarts named their daughter Leslie Howard after him.

Related Topics:
1936 - The Petrified Forest - Humphrey Bogart - Gangster - Broadway

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His blue-blood persona landed him the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939), but he was uncomfortable with Hollywood and returned to Britain to help with the war effort. He directed and starred in a number of World War II films, including The First of the Few (1942), a biopic of Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell, and Pimpernel Smith (1941), an updated version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. In 1943, he visited Lisbon (some say on a secret mission), and, on the return flight, his plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay, possibly because the Germans believed the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to be on board.

Related Topics:
Ashley Wilkes - Gone with the Wind - 1939 - Hollywood - World War II - The First of the Few - 1942 - Spitfire - R.J. Mitchell - Pimpernel Smith - 1941 - 1943 - Lisbon - Plane - Luftwaffe - Bay of Biscay - Germans - Prime Minister - Winston Churchill

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Howard was married to Ruth Martin in 1916. They had two children, a son, Ronald, and a daughter, Leslie Ruth. His younger brother, Arthur, was also an actor, primarily in British comedies.

Related Topics:
1916 - Ronald - Arthur

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