Clifton Webb ( Indianapolis , 19 as November as 1889 – Beverly Hills , 13 as October as 1966 ) was an actor , dancer and singer. Nominated for an Oscar for best actor in 1949 for the film “Modern Nanny.” A professional ballroom dancer, he sang and danced in some two dozen operettas.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Career as an actor
- 2 Death
- 2 Filmography
- 3 Awards and Recognitions
- 4 Sources
Biographical synthesis
He was born in a rural area near the city of Indianapolis . His parents were Jacob Grant Hollenbeck (grocer) and Parmalee. In 1892, he moved with his mother to New York . He had a private tutor, he studied painting. At 17 he was already a professional dancer. His elegant taste kept him on the lists of the best dresses in Hollywood for decades . His scrupulously private life kept him away from any kind of scandal. He had an intense, almost idyllic devotion to his mother, who was always his companion and who lived with him until her death at the age of 91.
Career as an actor
Young Clifton Webb
At 19, she was already a professional ballroom dancer. Changed his name to “Clifton Webb,” he sang and danced in about two dozen operettas before making his Broadway theater debut .
His first role was as Bosco in the play “The Purple Road”, released on April 7, 1913 and had 136 performances before its closing in August . Her mother was also part of the show on opening night.
In 1914 he participated with Al Jolson in the play “Dancing Around” by Sigmund Romberg . Having 145 performances, ending in February 1915. In 1915 he was part of the multistellar magazine Town Topics, by Ned Wayburn , he performed with Will Rogers . It closed after 68 shows. In 1916 he works on Cole Porter’s operetta “See America First”, retired after 15 performances. In 1917 during the First World War , he performed Jerome Kern’s play “Love o’Mike” 233 times .
The last play he worked on in the 1910s was the musical “Listen Lester”, which was the most performed of all, with 272 performances. In the 1920s he worked in at least eight plays on Broadway , with numerous other performances on the scene, including vaudeville , and with several appearances in silent movies .
Busy with cinema, touring, and vaudeville, he moved away from Broadway until 1923, with the musical Jack and Jill (Globe Theater). That year he worked on the Lynn Starling comedy “Meet the Wife”, alongside Humphrey Bogart . In 1925 he acted alongside vaudeville and silent film star Mary Hay . That same year, he participated in the film “New Toys” as the second protagonist. The movie was a financial success. Between 1913 – 1947 he acted in 23 plays on Broadway, mostly musicals, also starred in “The Importance of Being Ernesto”, by Oscar Wilde .
His Broadway credentials were impressive and his performances in London were praised by critics, but Hollywood was another story.
After “New Toys” and another silent film in 1925 “The Heart of a Siren”, he was classified as a character actor with the stereotype of a demanding and decadent snob.
In 1944 he was called upon by actor / director Otto Preminger to play a character in the 1944 film noir film “Laura.” His performance was met with praise and made him a rare movie star. He immediately signed a long-term contract with Fox. Two years later he returned to work with Tierney on “Razor’s Edge” (1946).
After his mother’s death, Webb’s life and career declined. Inconsolable after his loss, completed a final role as a Catholic priest in “Satan never sleeps” by Leo McCarey .
Death
He spent the last five years of his life confined to his home in Beverly Hills , California , dying of an acute myocardial infarction at the age of 76. He is buried in crypt 2350, corridor G-6, of the Abbey of the Psalms in Hollywood Forever Cemetery .
Filmography
Film Laura , 1944
- Polly with a Past (1920) (uncredited).
- Let Not Man Put Asunder (1924) (no credits).
- New Toys (1925).
- The Heart of a Siren (1925).
- The Still Alarm (1930).
- Laura (1944) ( 20th Century Fox ).
- Shrouded in Shadow (1946) (20th Century Fox).
- The Razor’s Edge (1946) (20th Century Fox).
- Modern Nanny (1948) (20th Century Fox).
- (Mr. Belvedere student (1949).
- Thirteen a Dozen (1950) (20th Century Fox).
- You can enter? (1950) (20th Century Fox).
- The Genie Has Fun (1951) (20th Century Fox).
- Elopement (1951) (20th Century Fox).
- Dreamboat (1952) (20th Century Fox).
- Stars and Stripes Forever (1952) (20th Century Fox).
- The Sinking of the Titanic (1953) (20th Century Fox).
- Mister Scoutmaster (1953) (20th Century Fox)
- We believe in love (1954) (20th Century Fox).
- The world belongs to women (1954) (20th Century Fox).
Film The Man Who Never Existed .
- The Man Who Never Existed (1956) (20th Century Fox).
- The Mermaid and the Dolphin (1957) (20th Century Fox).
- The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959) (20th Century Fox).
- Vacation for lovers (1959) (20th Century Fox).
- Satan Never Sleeps (1962) (20th Century Fox).
Awards and honours
- 1944: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film
- 1946: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film The Razor’s Edge.
- 1947: Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the film Razor’s Edge
- 1949: Nominated for an Oscar for best actor for the film Modern Nanny
