Roland Young
Born(1887-11-11)11 November 1887
London, England
Died5 June 1953(1953-06-05) (aged 65)
New York City, U.S.
EducationUniversity College London
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active19081953
Spouses
Marjorie Kummer
(m. 1921; div. 1940)
    Dorothy Patience May DuCroz
    (m. 1948)

    Roland Young (11 November 1887 5 June 1953) was an English-born actor. He began his acting career on the London stage, but later found success in America and received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the film Topper (1937).

    In 1960, Young was posthumously honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in the television and motion pictures industries.[1]

    Early life

    Born in London, England, Young was the son of an architect, and early indications were that he would pursue the father's career.[2] He was educated at Sherborne School, Sherborne, Dorset and University College London before being accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where his fellow classmate was Gordon Richards.[3]

    Career

    Young made his first stage appearance in London's West End in Find the Woman in 1908, and in 1912 he made his Broadway debut in Hindle Wakes.[2] He appeared in two comedies written for him by Clare Kummer, Good Gracious Annabelle! (1916) and A Successful Calamity (1917) before he served with the United States Army during World War I.[1] He returned to New York when the war ended, and married Kummer's daughter Majorie in 1921 after they costarred in Kummer's Rollo's Wild Oat.[4] For the next few years, he alternated between New York and London. He made his film debut in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Watson opposite John Barrymore as Holmes.

    He signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made his talkie debut in The Unholy Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. He was loaned to Warner Bros. to appear in Her Private Life (also 1929), with Billie Dove and Fox Film Corporation, winning critical approval for his comedic performance as Jeanette MacDonald's husband in Don't Bet on Women (1931). He was again paired with MacDonald Annabelle's Affairs (1931), a talkie version of Good Gracious Annabelle!. He appeared in Cecil B. de Mille's The Squaw Man, and played opposite Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Guardsman (both 1931). He appeared with Evelyn Brent in Columbia's The Pagan Lady (also 1931) and Pola Negri in RKO's A Woman Commands (1932). His final film under his MGM contract was Lovers Courageous (1932), opposite Robert Montgomery. He had a starring role in a risqué comedy for Fox entitled Pleasure Cruise (1933) alongside Genevieve Tobin.

    Freelance performer

    Young began to work as a freelance performer and found himself in constant demand. He appeared with Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin and Maurice Chevalier in One Hour With You (1932) and with Kay Francis in Street of Women (1932). Alexander Korda invited him to return to Britain to make his British film debut in Wedding Rehearsal (1932). He returned to Hollywood and appeared in a diverse group of films that included comedies, murder mysteries, and dramas, and also worked on Broadway. Among his films of this period were Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), David Copperfield (1935) (playing Uriah Heep), and the H.G. Wells fantasy The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936).

    In 1937, he achieved one of the most important successes of his career in Topper, as a bank president haunted by the ghosts of his clients, played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. It was one of the most successful films of the year, and Young was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Topper's wife was played by Billie Burke, who wrote in her memoir that Young "was dry and always fun to work with". They also appeared together in The Young in Heart (1938), and both of the Topper sequels, Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941). He continued to play supporting roles in comedies such as Yes, My Darling Daughter, with Fay Bainter and Priscilla Lane, but over the next few years the importance of his roles again decreased. He achieved another success as Uncle Willie in The Philadelphia Story (1940) with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. His last starring role was in the final instalment of the Topper series, Topper Returns in 1941, with Billie Burke, Joan Blondell and Carole Landis.

    Later life and career

    He continued working steadily through the 1940s, playing small roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard and Greta Garbo in her final film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). In 1945, he began his own radio show and appeared in the film adaption of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. By the end of the decade his film career had declined, and his final films, including The Great Lover (1949), in which he played a murderer opposite Bob Hope, and Fred Astaire's Let's Dance (1950), were not successful.

    In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre.

    Recognition

    Young has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film at 6523 Hollywood Blvd. and another for television at 6315 Hollywood Blvd. Both were dedicated 8 February 1960.[1]

    Personal life

    Young was married twice, to Marjorie Kummer from 1921 until 1940, and to Patience DuCroz from 1948 until his death at home in New York City at 65 in 1953.[5]

    Filmography

    Year Film Role Director Notes
    1922Sherlock HolmesDr. WatsonAlbert Parker
    1924GritHoudini HartFrank TuttleLost film
    1926CamilleLord KyneRalph BartonShort
    1928Walls Tell TalesShort
    1929Her Private LifeCharterisAlexander Korda
    The Unholy NightLord MontagueLionel Barrymore
    Wise GirlsDuke MerrillE. Mason Hopper
    1930The Bishop Murder CaseSigurd ArnessonNick Grinde
    Madam SatanJimmy WadeCecil B. DeMille
    New MoonCount StrogoffJack Conway
    1931Don't Bet on WomenHerbert DrakeWilliam K. Howard
    The ProdigalDoc aka Somerset GreenmanHarry A. Pollard
    Annabelle's AffairsRoland WimbletonAlfred L. Werker
    The Squaw ManSir John ApplegateCecil B. DeMille
    The Pagan LadyDr. HeathJohn Francis Dillon
    1931The GuardsmanThe CriticHarold S. Bucquet
    1932Lovers CourageousJeffreyRobert Z. Leonard
    A Woman CommandsKing AlexanderE. J. Babille
    One Hour with YouProfessor OlivierErnst Lubitsch
    This Is the NightGerald GrayFrank Tuttle
    Street of WomenLinkhorne 'Link' GibsonArchie Mayo
    Wedding RehearsalThe Marquis of BuckminsterAlexander Korda
    They Just Had to Get MarriedHillary HumeEdward Ludwig
    1933A Lady's ProfessionLord Reginald WithersNorman Z. McLeod
    Pleasure CruiseAndrew PooleFrank Tuttle
    Blind AdventureThe BurglarErnest B. Schoedsack
    His Double LifePriam FarrelWilliam C. deMille
    1934Here is My HeartPrince Nicholas/NickiFrank Tuttle
    1935David CopperfieldUriah HeepGeorge Cukor
    Ruggles of Red GapGeorge Earl of BurnsteadLeo McCarey
    1936The Unguarded HourBunnySam Wood
    One Rainy AfternoonMaillotRowland V. Lee
    Give Me Your HeartTubbs BarrowArchie Mayo
    1937The Man Who Could Work MiraclesGeorge McWhirter FotheringayLothar Mendes
    GypsyAlan BrooksRoy William Neill
    Call It a DayFrank HainesArchie Mayo
    King Solomon's MinesCommander John GoodGeoffrey Barkas
    TopperMr. Cosmo TopperNorman Z. McLeodAcademy Award nomination - Best Supporting Actor
    Ali Baba Goes to TownSultanDavid Butler
    1938Sailing AlongAnthony GulliverSonnie Hale
    The Young in Heart'Sahib' CarletonRichard Wallace
    Topper Takes a TripMr. Cosmo TopperNorman Z. McLeod
    1939Yes, My Darling DaughterTitus JaywoodWilliam Keighley
    Here I Am a StrangerProf. DanielsRoy Del Ruth
    The Night of NightsBarry Keith-TrimbleLewis Milestone
    1940He Married His WifeBill CarterRoy Del Ruth
    Star DustThomas BrookeWalter Lang
    IreneMr. SmithHerbert Wilcox
    Private AffairsAmos BullertonAlbert S. Rogell
    DulcyRoger ForbesS. Sylvan Simon
    The Philadelphia StoryWilliam Q. Tracy (Uncle Willie)George Cukor
    No, No, NanetteMr. 'Happy' Jimmy SmithHerbert Wilcox
    1941Topper ReturnsCosmo TopperRoy Del Ruth
    The Flame of New OrleansCharles GiraudRené Clair
    Two-Faced WomanO.O. MillerGeorge Cukor
    1942The Lady Has PlansRonald DeanSidney Lanfield
    They All Kissed the BrideMarshAlexander Hall
    Tales of ManhattanEdgarJulien Duvivier
    1943Forever and a DayHenry Barringer[1]
    1944Standing Room OnlyIra CromwellSidney Lanfield
    1945And Then There Were NoneDetective William Henry BloorRené Clair
    1948Bond StreetGeorge Chester-BarrettGordon Parry
    You Gotta Stay HappyRalph TutwilerH.C. Potter
    1949The Great LoverC.J. DabneyAlexander Hall
    1950Let's DanceEdmund PohlwhistleNorman Z. McLeod
    1951St. Benny the DipMatthewEdgar G. Ulmer
    Lux Video TheatreSumnerTV
    1953That Man from TangierGeorgeRobert Elwyn

    Partial list of stage appearances

    See also

    Bibliography

    • Actors and Others (Pascal Covici, 1925)
    • Not For Children: Pictures and Verse (Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1930)
    • Thorne Smith: His Life and Times (Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1934)

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "Roland Young". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
    2. 1 2 Halasz, George (27 May 1928). "Quit Architecture for the Stage". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 93. Retrieved 12 September 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    3. "Gordon Richards, 70, Actor On Broadway and in Films". The New York Times. 17 January 1964.
    4. (7 February 1921). Roland Young and Clare Kummer's Daughter Married, New York Herald
    5. "Roland Young Dies in Home Here at 65". New York Times. 7 June 1953. p. 84. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
    • Shipman, David, The Great Movie Stars, The Golden Years, Bonanza Books, New York, 1970. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 78-133803
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