Ernest Bretaigne Windust (January 20, 1906 – March 19, 1960) was a United States-based French-born theater, film, and television director.

Early life

He was born in Paris, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer Elizabeth Amory Day from New York City. The family escaped to London during World War I, and it was there that he developed an interest in theater. They returned to Paris following the war, but Windust's parents divorced in 1920, and he and his mother moved to the United States. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and then

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, where he became a member and later president of the

Theatre Intime Theatre Intime is an entirely student-run dramatic arts not-for-profit organization operating out of the Hamilton Murray Theater at Princeton University. Intime receives no direct support from the university, and is entirely acted, produced, direc ...

players.

Career

Planning to become an actor, Windust co-founded with Charles Leatherbee the University Players in 1928 on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferri ...

. The company lasted five years and included later luminaries

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical ''South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals. Early years Logan w ...

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players. In 1933, she caught the attention of film director John M. Stahl and had ...

, Mildred Natwick,

Eleanor Phelps Eleanor Phelps (September 8, 1907 – September 29, 2001) was an American theater, film, radio, and television actress. She appeared in 17 Broadway theater productions. Before going off to Vassar for college, Phelps attended Bryn Mawr School ...

, Barbara O'Neil,

Myron McCormick Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American actor of stage, radio and film. Early life and education Born in Albany, Indiana, in 1908, Walter Myron McCormick was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCormick ...

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

, and Aleta Freel. Windust directed more often than he acted. Though he began his association with the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...

in Manhattan as an assistant stage manager in 1929, he maintained his position as a director of the University Players in the off-season when they performed on Cape Cod through mid-1932. He quit the Theatre Guild briefly during the winter season of 1931-32 to direct the University Players through its 18-week winter season in Baltimore. Windust's first major credit as a professional theatre director was the 1932 West End production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

's ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

''. He directed

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunk ...

'' and '' Amphitryon 38'' (which he translated from the original French) and appeared with them in '' Idiot's Delight'', his last work as an actor. Windust's first major

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

hit was '' Life with Father'', the

Russel Crouse Russel Crouse (20 February 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio, Crouse was the son of Sarah (n� ...

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

play based on the memoirs of

Clarence Day, Jr. Clarence Shepard Day Jr. (November 18, 1874 – December 28, 1935) was an American author and cartoonist, best known for his 1935 work ''Life with Father''. Early life and family background Day was born in New York City to Clarence Shepard D ...

, a distant relative on Windust's mother's side. (At 3,224 performances, it held the record for the longest-running Broadway production for many years. It remains the longest running non musical show in Broadway history.) In quick succession, he followed with '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' and ''Strip for Action'', giving him three hits running on Broadway at the same time. Windust cemented his Broadway career by directing the musical hit ''Finian's Rainbow'' (1947). In 1947, Windust relocated to Hollywood, where he worked as the dialogue director on ''

Stallion Road ''Stallion Road'' is a 1947 American Drama Western film directed by James V. Kern, written by Stephen Longstreet, and starring Ronald Reagan, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Peggy Knudsen, Patti Brady and Harry Davenport. It was released by Warner ...

'' starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. His film directing career included two 1948

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

vehicles, the melodramatic ''

Winter Meeting ''Winter Meeting'' is a 1948 American drama film directed by Bretaigne Windust and starring Bette Davis and Jim Davis. The screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by Grace Zaring Stone (under the pseudonym Ethel Vance), was written by ...

'' and the screwball comedy ''

June Bride ''June Bride'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay, which was based on the unproduced play ''Feature for June'' by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for ...

''. The latter part of his career was spent working in the television division of

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, directing episodes of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', '' Leave It to Beaver'', and '' Bachelor Father'', in addition to the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

1957 special ''

The Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

'', later released as a feature film.

Death

On March 19, 1960, Windust was taken to the

New York-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the N ...

for an operation. There he died at the age of 54.

Selected filmography

Director

* ''

'' (1948) * ''

'' (1948) * '' Perfect Strangers'' (1950) * ''

Pretty Baby Pretty Baby may refer to: * ''Pretty Baby'' (1950 film), a comedy film featuring Dennis Morgan and Betsy Drake * ''Pretty Baby'' (1978 film), a drama film featuring Brooke Shields ** ''Pretty Baby'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film ...

'' (1950) * '' The Enforcer'' (1951) * ''

The Pied Piper Of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

'' (1957) * '' The Thin Man'' (3 episodes, 1958) * ''

'' (2 episodes, 1959) * '' Markham'' (4 episodes, 1959) * ''

'' (3 episodes, 1959) * '' Leave It To Beaver'' (1 episode, 1960) * '' Star Time'' (3 episodes, 1959–1960) * '' Bachelor Father'' (10 episodes, 1959-1960) * '' The Jim Backus Show'' (1 episode, 1960)

Producer

* ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

'' (7 episodes, 1954–1955) * '' Star Time'' (2 episodes, 1959–1960)

Broadway credits

* ''

The Hasty Heart ''The Hasty Heart'' is a 1949 war drama film, an Anglo-American co-production starring Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, and Richard Todd and directed by Vincent Sherman. The film is based on the 1945 play of the same name by John Patrick. ''Th ...

'' (1945) * ''

State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condit ...

'' (1946) * ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was r ...

'' (1947)

References

External links

* * *
Windust biography at the ''New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Windust, Bretaigne 1906 births 1960 deaths Film directors from Paris Princeton University alumni French people of English descent French emigrants to the United States French television directors French television producers French theatre directors