Kenneth Neil Hawks (August 12, 1898 – January 2, 1930) was an American film director and producer.

Life and career

Hawks served in the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He then graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1919. He soon moved to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

with brother Howard Hawks; He became a writer, editor and supervisor at Fox Films Corporation in 1926. He began directing films for Fox in 1929. He was supervising producer of the Fox documentary film '' True Heaven'' (1929). On January 2, 1930, while directing filming of aerial scenes for the film '' Such Men Are Dangerous'', he was killed in a mid-air plane crash over the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

along with 9 others: pilot Walter Ross Cook, cameraman George Eastman, assistant director Ben Frankel, assistant director Max Gold, Tom Harris, Harry Johannes, Otho Jordan, pilot Halleck Rouse, and cinematographer Conrad Wells (also known as Abraham Fried). The planes that crashed into each other were identical Stinson SM-1F Detroiters; sun glare was listed as probable cause. His body was recovered and after cremation his ashes were scattered over the site of his death.

Family

He was the brother of director Howard Hawks and producer

William Hawks William Bellinger Hawks (January 29, 1901 – January 10, 1969) was an American film producer. Career Hawks attended Yale University, where he was a member of Scroll and Key and graduated in 1923. In his early career, Hawks was a stockbroker. ...

. Kenneth met actress

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

in 1927; the couple married on February 26, 1928 at her home, Moorcrest. Kenneth gave Astor a new Packard as a wedding gift. They soon moved to a home on Lookout Mountain in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Filmography as director

* '' Masked Emotions'' (1929) * '' Big Time'' (1929) * '' Such Men Are Dangerous'' (1930)

References

External links

*
Wedding day photo of Mary Astor and Kenneth Hawks

Parker v. Granger case details plane crash that killed Kenneth Hawks

Kenneth Hawks

basicfamouspeople Mary Astor

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawks, Kenneth 1898 births 1930 deaths People from Goshen, Indiana Yale University alumni United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Film directors from Indiana Accidental deaths in California Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1930 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States