Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter.

Biography

He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

with the two forming

Tiffany Pictures Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overa ...

to film eight motion pictures that were released by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. He was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

for '' The Divorcee'' and ''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical film, musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Lui ...

''. Both were nominated for Best Picture, and the latter won. Known by his nickname Pop, Leonard was brought in late by MGM as a reliable director who could get its ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1940), starring

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was a British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homef ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

, onto the big screen. One of the more unusual credits in his filmography is the

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

thriller ''

The Bribe ''The Bribe'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Marguerite Roberts, based on a story written by Frederick Nebel. The film stars Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and Vincent Price. Plot I ...

'' (1949) with its sleazy settings, slippery characters, and steamy atmosphere. Robert Leonard died in 1968 in Beverly Hills, California of an aneurysm. He is interred at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...

, near his wife Gertrude Olmstead.

Legacy

On February 8, 1960, Robert Leonard received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

for his contribution to the motion picture industry, at 6370 Hollywood Blvd. Themasterkey 1914 newspaperad

Filmography

Director

* '' Sally Scraggs, Housemaid'' (1913) * '' The Ruby Circle'' (1914) * '' The Master Key'' (1914) * '' Christmas Memories'' (1915) * '' Judge Not'' (1915) * '' The Crippled Hand'' (1916) * '' The Plow Girl'' (1916) * '' The Love Girl'' (1916) * '' Little Eve Edgarton'' (1916) * '' The Eagle's Wings'' (1916) * '' Secret Love'' (1916) * '' On Record'' (1917) * '' A Mormon Maid'' (1917) * '' The Primrose Ring'' (1917) * '' At First Sight'' (1917) * '' Princess Virtue'' (1917) * '' The Bride's Awakening'' (1918) * '' Danger, Go Slow'' (1918) * '' Her Body in Bond'' (1918) * ''

Face Value The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority. The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Ho ...

'' (1918) * '' Modern Love'' (1918) * '' Big Little Person'' (1919) * '' The Miracle of Love'' (1919) * '' The Scarlet Shadow'' (1919) * ''

The Delicious Little Devil ''The Delicious Little Devil'' is a 1919 American silent film, silent comedy-drama film starring Mae Murray and Rudolph Valentino. A 35 mm print of the film is housed at the EYE Film Instituut Nederland,The Way of a Woman'' (1919) * '' What Am I Bid?'' (1919) * '' Stronger Than Death'' (1920) * '' April Folly'' (1920) * '' The Restless Sex'' (1920) * '' Heedless Moths'' (1921) * '' The Gilded Lily'' (1921) * '' Peacock Alley'' (1922) * '' Fascination'' (1922) * '' Broadway Rose'' (1922) * ''

Jazzmania ''Jazzmania'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring his then-wife Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, ...

'' (1923) * '' The French Doll'' (1923) * '' Fashion Row'' (1923) * '' Love's Wilderness'' (1924) * '' Mademoiselle Midnight'' (1924) * '' Circe, the Enchantress'' (1924) * '' Cheaper to Marry'' (1925) * '' Time, the Comedian'' (1925) * '' Bright Lights'' (1925) * '' Dance Madness'' (1926) * '' Mademoiselle Modiste'' (1926) * '' The Waning Sex'' (1926) * ''

A Little Journey ''A Little Journey'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and featuring Claire Windsor, William Haines and Harry Carey. It is based on a play by Rachel Crothers. No prints are thought to survive of this film. ...

'' (1927) * '' The Demi-Bride'' (1927) * '' Adam and Evil'' (1927) * '' Tea for Three'' (1927) * '' The Cardboard Lover'' (1928) * '' A Lady of Chance'' (1928) * '' Baby Mine'' (1928) * ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' (1929, silent) * ''

'' (1929, musical) * '' In Gay Madrid'' (1930) * '' Let Us Be Gay'' (1930) * '' The Divorcee'' (1930) * '' The Bachelor Father'' (1931) * '' Five and Ten'' (1931) * '' It's a Wise Child'' (1931) * '' Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)'' (1931) * '' The Son-Daughter'' (1932) * ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. It won the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. ''Strange Interlude'' is one of the few modern plays to make extensive use of a soliloquy technique, in ...

'' (1932) * '' Dancing Lady'' (1933) * '' When Ladies Meet'' (1933) * ''

Peg o' My Heart "Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (lyricist), Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The song was first performed publ ...

'' (1933) * '' Outcast Lady'' (1934) * '' After Office Hours'' (1935) * '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935) * '' Escapade'' (1935) * ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' (1935) (Uncredited fill-in director) * ''

'' (1936) * '' Small Town Girl'' (1936) * '' Piccadilly Jim'' (1936) * '' The Firefly'' (1937) * '' Maytime'' (1937) * '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1938) * '' Broadway Serenade'' (1939) * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1940) * ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (1940) * '' Third Finger, Left Hand'' (1940) * '' Ziegfeld Girl'' (1941) * '' When Ladies Meet'' (1941) * '' Stand by for Action'' (1942) * '' We Were Dancing'' (1942) * '' The Man from Down Under'' (1943) * '' Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1944) * '' Week-End at the Waldorf'' (1945) * '' The Secret Heart'' (1946) * '' Cynthia'' (1947) * '' B.F.'s Daughter'' (1948) * ''

In the Good Old Summertime IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

'' (1949) * ''

'' (1949) * '' Duchess of Idaho'' (1950) * '' Nancy Goes to Rio'' (1950) * '' Grounds for Marriage'' (1951) * ''

Too Young to Kiss ''Too Young to Kiss'' (also ''All Too Young'') is a 1951 American comedy film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Van Johnson and June Allyson. The film, in which the 34-year-old Allyson's Cynthia Potter masquerades as a 14-year-old child prodigy ...

'' (1951) * '' Everything I Have Is Yours'' (1952) * '' The Clown'' (1953) *'' The Great Diamond Robbery'' (1953) * '' Her Twelve Men'' (1954) * ''

Beautiful But Dangerous ''Beautiful but Dangerous'' (; ) is a 1955 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It is a biographical film about Italian opera soprano Lina Cavalieri. The film is a co-production between Italy and France. For this film, Gi ...

'' (1955) * '' The King's Thief'' (1955) (replaced

Hugo Fregonese Hugo Geronimo Fregonese (8 April 1908 – 11 January 1987) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema.''Cine Na ...

during filming) * '' Kelly and Me'' (1957)

Actor

* '' The Sea Urchin'' (1913) * '' Shon the Piper'' (1913) * '' Sally Scraggs, Housemaid'' (1913) * '' The Ruby Circle'' (1914) * '' Christmas Memories'' (1915) * '' The Crippled Hand'' (1916) * '' Married Flirts'' (1924) * '' Show People'' (1928) * '' The Firefly'' (1937) * '' Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (1945, cameo scene with

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

and Preston Foster)

References

External links

* *
Robert Z. Leonard
at Virtual History
Robert Z. Leonard portrait from the 1910s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Robert Z. 1889 births 1968 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Film producers from Illinois American male screenwriters Male actors from Chicago 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Film directors from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois American comedy film directors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Deaths from aneurysm Directors of Best Picture Academy Award winners Slapstick comedians