Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor.[1] For portraying Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee (1950), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Contents

1 Early life 2 Stage 3 Military service 4 Film 5 Personal life 6 Death 7 Complete filmography 8 References 9 External links

Early life[edit] Calhern was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Eugene Adolf Vogt and Hubertina Friese Vogt, both of whom were natives of Germany. He had one sibling, a sister.[2] His father was a tobacco dealer.[3] His family left New York while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he grew up. While Calhern was playing high school football, a stage manager from a touring theatrical stock company spotted him, and hired him as a bit player. (Another source says, " Grace George
Grace George hired his St. Louis high school football team as supers for a Shakespearean play.")[3] Stage[edit] Just prior to World War I, Calhern decided to move back to New York to pursue an acting career. He began as a prop boy and bit player with touring companies and burlesque companies. He became a matinee idol by virtue of a play titled Cobra. Calhern's Broadway credits include:[4][5]

Roger Bloomer (1923) The Song and Dance Man (1923–1924) Cobra (1924) In a Garden (1925–1926) Hedda Gabler (1926) The Woman Disputed (1926–1927) Up the Line (1926) The Dark (1927) Savages Under the Skin (1927) A Distant Drum (1928) Gypsy (1929) The Love Duel (1929) The Rhapsody (1930) The Tyrant (1930) Give Me Yesterday (1931) Brief Moment (1931–1932) The Inside Story (1932) Birthday (1934–1935) Hell Freezes Over (1935–1936) Robin Landing (1937) Summer Night (1939) The Great Big Doorstep (1942) Jacobowsky and the Colonel (1944–1945) The Magnificent Yankee (1946) The Survivors (1948) The Play's the Thing (1948) King Lear (1950–1951) The Wooden Dish (1955)

Military service[edit] Calhern's burgeoning career was interrupted by the war, and he served overseas in the 143rd Field Artillery of the United States Army
United States Army during World War I.[6] Film[edit]

Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern and Claire Windsor in The Blot
The Blot ( Lois Weber
Lois Weber Productions, 1921).

Calhern began working in silent films for director Lois Weber
Lois Weber in the early 1920s; the most notable being The Blot
The Blot in 1921. A 1921 newspaper article commented, "The new arrival in stardom is Louis Calhern, who, until Miss Weber engaged him to enact the leading male role in What's Worth While?, had been playing leads in the Morosco Stock company of Los Angeles."[7] In 1923 Calhern left the movies, but would return to the screen eight years later after the advent of sound pictures. He was primarily cast as a character actor in films while he continued to play leading roles on the stage. He reached his peak in the 1950s as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player. Among his most memorable screen roles were Ambassador Trentino in the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup (1933) and three that he appeared in at MGM in 1950: a singing role as Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill in the film version of the musical Annie Get Your Gun, the double-crossing lawyer and sugar-daddy to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe in John Huston's film noir The Asphalt Jungle, and his Oscar-nominated performance as Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee (re-creating his role from the Broadway stage). He was also praised for his portrayal of the title role in the John Houseman
John Houseman production of Julius Caesar (adapted from the Shakespeare play) in 1953, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Calhern also played the role of the devious George Caswell, the manipulative board member of Tredway Corporation in the 1954 production of Executive Suite. Calhern's other film roles included the grandfather in The Red Pony (1949), adapted from the novel by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck and starring Robert Mitchum, and the spy boss of Cary Grant
Cary Grant in the Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic Notorious (1946). A performance as Uncle Willie in High Society (1956), a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, turned out to be his final film. Personal life[edit] Calhern was married four times, to Ilka Chase
Ilka Chase (1900–1978) from 1926 to 1927, Julia Hoyt
Julia Hoyt (1897–1955) from 1927 to 1932, Natalie Schafer (1900–1991) from 1933 to 1942, and Marianne Stewart (1922–1992) from 1946 to 1955. All four marriages ended in divorce. He suffered from alcoholism.[2] According to Schafer, Calhern's inability to overcome this undermined their relationship. While he would consult doctors, she said Calhern refused to go to Alcoholics Anonymous because he was an atheist.[8] Death[edit] Calhern died of a sudden heart attack in Nara, Japan, while there to film The Teahouse of the August Moon.[9] He was replaced in the film by Paul Ford, who had played Calhern's role in the original stage version. Calhern was cremated and is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Complete filmography[edit]

What's Worth While?
What's Worth While? (1921) - "Squire" Elton Too Wise Wives
Too Wise Wives (1921) - Mr. David Graham The Blot
The Blot (1921) - The Professor's Pupil as Phil West Woman, Wake Up (1922) - Monte Collins The Last Moment (1923) - Harry Gaines Stolen Heaven (1931) - Steve Perry The Road to Singapore (1931) - Dr. George March Blonde Crazy
Blonde Crazy (1931) - Dapper Dan Barker Okay, America! (1932) - Mileaway Russell Night After Night (1932) - Dick Bolton They Call It Sin
They Call It Sin (1932) - Ford Humphries Afraid to Talk (1932) - Asst. District Attorney John Wade 20,000 Years in Sing Sing
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) - Joe Finn Frisco Jenny
Frisco Jenny (1932) - Steve Dutton The Woman Accused (1933) - Leo Young Strictly Personal (1933) - Magruder The World Gone Mad (1933) - Christopher Bruno Diplomaniacs (1933) - Winkelreid Duck Soup (1933) - Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) - De Villefort Jr. The Man with Two Faces (1934) - Stanley Vance The Affairs of Cellini
The Affairs of Cellini (1934) - Ottaviano Sweet Adeline (1934) - Major Day The Arizonian
The Arizonian (1935) - Sheriff Jake Mannen Woman Wanted (1935) - Smiley The Last Days of Pompei (1935) - Prefect The Gorgeous Hussy
The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) - Sunderland Her Husband Lies
Her Husband Lies (1937) - Joe Sorrell The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - Major Dort Fast Company (1938) - Elias Z. "Eli" Bannerman Juarez (1939) - Le Marc 5th Ave Girl
5th Ave Girl (1939) - Dr. Kessler Charlie McCarthy, Detective (1939) - Arthur Aldrich I Take This Woman (1940) - Dr. Duveen Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) - Dr. Brockdorf Heaven Can Wait (1943) - Randolph Van Cleve Nobody's Darling
Nobody's Darling (1943) - Curtis Farnsworth The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) - Don Andre - The Viceroy Up in Arms
Up in Arms (1944) - Colonel Ashley Notorious (1946) - Captain Paul Prescott Arch of Triumph (1948) - "Col." Boris Morosov The Red Pony
The Red Pony (1949) - Grandfather The Red Danube
The Red Danube (1949) - Colonel Piniev Nancy Goes to Rio
Nancy Goes to Rio (1950) - Gregory Elliott Annie Get Your Gun (1950) - Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody The Asphalt Jungle
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - Alonzo D. Emmerich A Life of Her Own
A Life of Her Own (1950) - Jim Leversoe Devil's Doorway
Devil's Doorway (1950) - Verne Coolan Two Weeks with Love
Two Weeks with Love (1950) - Horatio Robinson The Magnificent Yankee (1950) - Oliver Wendell Holmes It's a Big Country
It's a Big Country (1951) - Narrator (uncredited) The Man with a Cloak
The Man with a Cloak (1951) - Charles Francois Thevenet A Letter from a Soldier (1951 short) - Narrator (uncredited) Invitation (1952) - Simon Bowker Washington Story (1952) - Charles W. Birch We're Not Married!
We're Not Married! (1952) - Frederick C. "Freddie" Melrose The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) - Col. Zapt The Bad and the Beautiful
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) - Georgia Lorrison's Father (voice, uncredited) Confidentially Connie (1953) - Opie Bedloe Julius Caesar (1953) - Julius Caesar Remains to Be Seen (1953) - Benjamin Goodman Latin Lovers (1953) - Grandfather Eduardo Santos Main Street to Broadway (1953) - Himself Executive Suite (1954) - George Nyle Caswell Rhapsody (1954) - Nicholas Durant Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) - James A. Michener The Student Prince (1954) - King Ferdinand of Karlsberg Betrayed (1954) - Gen. Ten Eyck Athena (1954) - Grandpa Ulysses Mulvain The Prodigal
The Prodigal (1955) - Nahreeb Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle (1955) - Jim Murdock Forever, Darling
Forever, Darling (1956) - Charles Y. Bewell High Society (1956) - Uncle Willie

References[edit]

^ Obituary Variety, May 16, 1956. ^ a b Dennis, Ken (Summer 2011). "Louis Calhern: Distinguished Gentleman". Films of the Golden Age (65): 58–68.  ^ a b "Greetings". Mexico Evening Ledger. Mexico, Missouri. February 18, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved February 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  ^ "Louis Calhern". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 13 February 2016.  ^ Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern at the Internet Broadway Database
Internet Broadway Database ^ "Actor Favors Showing German War Pictures". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. June 12, 1921. p. 44. Retrieved February 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  ^ "Star Studies". Oregon, Portland. The Oregon Daily Journal. January 16, 1921. p. 44. Retrieved February 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  ^ Natalie Schafer
Natalie Schafer Rare 1989 TV Interview, Gilligan's Island, Astrology. YouTube.  ^ Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. P. 195

External links[edit]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis Calhern.

Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern on IMDb Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern at AllMovie Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern at the Internet Broadway Database
Internet Broadway Database

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Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award

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WorldCat Identities VIAF: 39564839 LCCN: n85376581 ISNI: 0000 0000 8374 4689 GND: 141802057 SUDOC: 06113290X BNF: cb139301183 (data) MusicBrainz: 1b9bdd69-24fe-4801-a966-a0c8abd5a6aa BNE: XX1295517 SN