Francis McDonald (August 22, 1891 – September 18, 1968) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

whose career spanned 52 years.

Early years

Born on August 22, 1891, in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

, McDonald was the son of John Francis McDonald and Catherine Ashlue McDonald. He was educated at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Stage and film

McDonald's started acting professionally in stock theater with the Forepaugh Stock Company in Cincinnati. Following eight months with it, he worked one season with a stock company in Seattle, after which he performed for three seasons with a troupe in San Diego and Honolulu. He concluded his tenure in stock theater as juvenile leading man with the American Stock Company in Spokane, Washington. By 1913 McDonald began to perform in the rapidly expanding film industry, initially working for Marion Leonard's Monopole Company in Hollywood. He was cast in over 280 films between 1913 and 1965, including ''

The Temptress ''The Temptress'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Greta Garbo, Antonio Moreno, Lionel Barrymore, and Roy D'Arcy. It premiered on October 10, 1926. The film melodrama was based on a novel by V ...

'' in 1926 with

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

. After he was designated "Hollywood's Prettiest Man," McDonald sought a tougher image by shaving his mustache and seeking roles of villains. McDonald was one of Cecil B. DeMille's favorite character actors. DeMille gave him credited supporting roles in six of his films: '' The Plainsman'' (1936), '' The Buccaneer'' (1938), ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

'' (1939), '' North West Mounted Police'' (1940), '' Samson and Delilah'' (1949), and ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1956).

Television

McDonald performed in over two dozen television series during the 1950s and early 1960s, including in six episodes of '' The Roy Rogers Show'', five episodes of ''

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'', and four episodes each of '' Broken Arrow'', ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'', and '' Perry Mason''. Among his four ''Perry Mason'' roles are his portrayals of Captain Noble in the episode "The Case of the Crooked Candle" (1957) and of Salty Sims in "The Case of the Petulant Partner" (1959). He also portrays "Winkler" in a 1960 episode of ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

''.

Personal life and death

McDonald married actress Mae Busch on December 12, 1915. They divorced on November 24, 1923. He died on September 18, 1968, and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * Male actors from Kentucky American male film actors American male silent film actors American male television actors Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery People from Bowling Green, Kentucky 1891 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors Male Western (genre) film actors Western (genre) television actors {{US-screen-actor-1890s-stub