LESLIE HOWARD BIOGRAPHY
Leslie
Howard was born in London,
England on April 3, 1893, the son of a London Stockbroker.
He worked as a bank clerk after graduating from London's
Dulwich School. Serving briefly in World War
I, Howard was mustered out for medical reasons in
1918, deciding at that time to act for a living. He
worked in England and the US in the 1920's specializing
in playing disillusioned intellectuals. He played
such a character in the Petrified
Forest, 1936 which
co-starred Humphrey
Bogart as gangster, Duke Mantee. He was instrumental
in starting Bogart's career because he insisted that
he get the role in the film that he did so well on
stage. Howard played romantic leads well in
such films as The
Animal Kingdom and Intermezzo. His
performance as Sir Percy Blakeney in The
Scarlet Pimpernel is considered the best
on film. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal
of Henry Higgins in the 1938, Pygmalion with Wendy
Hiller and also nominated for his performance
in Berkeley Square, 1933. He was chosen to
play the undecided southern gentleman, Ashley Wilkes
in Gone
with the Wind and reluctantly took the part
since like Clark
Gable, Howard only played Ashley Wilkes if David
O. Selznick, the Producer, would allow him to
direct Intermezzo. Howard was truly manly and had
the steel to be an action hero and wit to play intellectuals
and fops. He died in a plane crash in 1943. For further
information on Howard's death go to this site: The
Assassination of Ashley Wilkes.
- Born:
April 3, 1893, London, England
- Died:
June 1, 1943, Bay of Biscay.
- Married
to: Ruth Martin (1916 - 1943: until his death)
- 1
son, Ronald (1918)
- 1
daughter, Leslie Ruth (1924)
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| Leslie
Howard's home in Beverly Hills, California courtesy of Seeing
Stars.com |
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