Cornel Wilde

Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker.

Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited appearances in films. By the 1940s he had signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, and by the mid-1940s he was a major leading man. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in 1945's ''A Song to Remember''. In the 1950s he moved to writing, producing and directing films, and still continued his career as an actor. He also went into songwriting during his career.

Early life

Wilde was born in 1912 in Privigye, Kingdom of Hungary (now Prievidza, Slovakia),''List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States, S.S. Noordam, Passengers Sailing from Rotterdam, May 4, 1920'', New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957. iProvo, Utah, 2010. although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City. His Hungarian Jewish parents were Vojtech Béla Weisz (anglicized to Louis Bela Wilde) and Renée Mary Vid (Rayna Miryam). He was named for his paternal grandfather, and upon arrival in the United States at the age of seven in 1920, his name was Anglicized to Cornelius Louis Wilde.

A talented linguist and an astute mimic, he had an ear for languages which became apparent later in his acting career. Wilde attended the City College of New York as a pre-med student, completing the four-year course in three years and winning a scholarship to the Physicians and Surgeons College at Columbia University. Wilde entered Columbia University, class of 1933, as one of the youngest undergraduates. He fenced for the Columbia Lions fencing team. He won the National Novice Foils Championship held at the New York Athletic Club in 1929.

He qualified for the United States fencing team for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, but quit the team before the games in order to take a role in the theater. In preparation for an acting career, he and his new wife Marjory Heinzen (later to be known as Patricia Knight) shaved years off their ages, three for him and five for her. As a result, most publicity records and subsequent sources wrongly indicate a 1915 birth for Wilde.

Career

Theatre

After studying at Theodora Irvine's Studio of the Theatre, Wilde began appearing in plays in stock and in New York. He made his Broadway debut in 1935 in ''Moon Over Mulberry Street''. He also appeared in ''Love Is Not So Simple'', ''Daughters of Etreus'', and '' Having Wonderful Time''.

He did the illustrations for ''Fencing'', a 1936 textbook on fencing and wrote a fencing play, ''Touché'', under the pseudonym of Clark Wales in 1937.Ingram, Frances ''Cornel Wilde: Gentle Swashbuckler'', Classic Images, February 5, 2009 He toured with Tallulah Bankhead in a production of ''Antony and Cleopatra''; during the run he married his co-star Patricia Knight.

Acting jobs were sporadic over the next few years. Wilde supplemented his income with exhibition fencing matches; his wife also did modelling work. Wilde wrote plays, some of which were performed by the New York Drama Guild.

Wilde was hired as a fencing teacher by Laurence Olivier for his 1940 Broadway production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' and was given the role of Tybalt in the production. Although the show only had a small run, his performance in this role netted him a Hollywood film contract with Warner Bros.

Early films

Warner Bros.

Wilde had an uncredited bit part in '' Lady with Red Hair'' (1940), then got a small part in '' High Sierra'' (1941), which included a scene with Humphrey Bogart. He also had small roles in ''Knockout'' (1941) and '' Kisses for Breakfast'' (1941).

20th Century Fox

Wilde was then signed by 20th Century Fox who gave him a good role in a B picture ''The Perfect Snob'' (1941). It was followed by a war movie ''Manila Calling'' (1942).

He was the romantic male lead in '' Life Begins at Eight-Thirty'' (1942), supporting Monty Woolley, and supported Sonja Henie in '' Wintertime'' (1943).

''A Song to Remember'' and stardom

In 1945, Columbia Pictures began a search for someone to play the role of Frédéric Chopin in ''A Song to Remember''. They eventually tested Wilde, and agreed to cast him in the role after some negotiation with Fox, who agreed to lend him to Columbia and one film a year for several years. Part of the deal involved Fox borrowing Alexander Knox from Columbia to appear in ''Wilson'' (1944). ''A Song to Remember'' was a big hit, made Wilde a star and earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Columbia promptly used him in two more films, both swashbucklers: as Aladdin in '' A Thousand and One Nights'' with Evelyn Keyes and as the son of Robin Hood in '' The Bandit of Sherwood Forest'' (made 1945, released 1946).

Back at Fox, he played the male lead in '' Leave Her to Heaven'' (1945), with Gene Tierney and Jeanne Crain, an enormous hit at the box office. So too when it was released was ''Bandit''.

In 1946, Wilde was voted the 18th-most popular star in the United States, and in 1947 the 25th-. Fox announced him for ''Enchanted Voyage''. It ended up not being made; instead he was reunited with Crain in Fox's musical '' Centennial Summer'' (1946).

Suspension

In January 1946, Wilde was suspended by Fox for refusing the male lead in '' Margie'' (1946). This suspension was soon lifted so Wilde could play the male lead in the studio's big budget version of '' Forever Amber'' (1947). Filming started, then was halted when the studio decided to replace Peggy Cummins, the female star. In October 1946, Wilde refused to return to work unless he was paid more; his salary was $3,000 a week, with six years to run – he wanted $150,000 per film for two films per year. The parties came to an agreement and filming resumed. Wilde also appeared with Maureen O'Hara in '' The Homestretch'' (1947).

He was in a comedy at Columbia with Ginger Rogers, '' It Had to Be You'' (1947). At Fox he turned down a role in ''That Lady in Ermine'' (1948). Not wanting to go on suspension again he agreed to make '' The Walls of Jericho'' (1948), from the same director as ''Leave Her to Heaven'' but less popular. '' Road House'' (1948), for Fox, was a highly regarded noir and a decent-sized hit. He then left Fox, which he later regarded as a mistake.

Freelance

At Columbia, Wilde was in ''Shockproof'' (1949), another noir, with his then-wife Patricia Knight. They appeared together in ''Western Wind'', a play at the Cape Playhouse.

Wilde made ''Swiss Tour'', aka ''Four Days Leave'' (1949), an independent film in Switzerland. He returned to Fox for ''Two Flags West'' (1950), then went to RKO for '' At Sword's Point'' (filmed in 1949, but not released until 1952), a swashbuckler with Maureen O'Hara.

He played a trapeze artist in '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) for Cecil B. de Mille, an enormous hit, though Wilde was one of several stars in the movie.

At Columbia, he was in '' California Conquest'' (1952), a Western for producer Sam Katzman. He went over to Warner Bros. for '' Operation Secret'' (1952), then was back at Fox for '' Treasure of the Golden Condor'' (1952).

He focused on adventure stories: '' Saadia'' (1953) for MGM, '' Star of India'' (1954) for United Artists. He had a part in the all-star executive drama '' Woman's World'' (1954) for Fox, then went back to action and adventure with '' Passion'' (1954) for RKO.

Producer and director

In the 1950s Wilde and his second wife, Jean Wallace, formed their own film production company, Theodora, named after Theodora Irvine. Their first movie was the film noir ''The Big Combo'' (1955), a co production with Security Pictures that was released through Allied Artists. Wilde and Wallace played the leads. That year he also directed an episode of '' General Electric Theatre''.

That same year, he appeared in an episode of '' I Love Lucy'' as himself and starred in '' The Scarlet Coat'' (1956) for MGM.

''Storm Fear''

Wilde produced and starred in another for Theodora with Wallace, '' Storm Fear'' (1956) from a script by Horton Foote. This time Wilde also directed "to save money".

Theodora announced Wilde would play Lord Byron, but the film was never made. Other announced projects included ''Curly'' and ''Second Act Curtin''.

Wilde was meant to appear as Joshua in de Mille's ''The Ten Commandments'' but was not in the final film – he turned down the role, saying it was too small and the pay was too little (John Derek

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