Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.

Early life

Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

when he was 11 years old. He attended Knoxville High School And the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, both in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, graduating from the university at the age of 19 with two degrees in engineering. An early fascination in automobiles led Brown to a job with the Stevens-Duryea Company, then to his own Brown Motor Car Company in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He later abandoned the car dealership after developing an interest in motion pictures around 1913. He was hired by the Peerless Studio at

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, and became an assistant to the French-born director

Maurice Tourneur Maurice Félix Thomas (; 2 February 1876 – 4 August 1961), known as Maurice Tourneur (), was a French film director and screenwriter. Life Born Maurice Félix Thomas in the Épinettes district (17th arrondissement of Paris), his father was a w ...

Career

After serving as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and flight instructor in the United States Army Air Service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

,Hollywood's Forgotten Master Gets His Due

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

. Retrieved December 1, 2021.Clarence Brown, Director of Garbo, Gable, Dies at 97
''

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'' via

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. Retrieved December 1, 2021.Clarence Brown, FILMMAKER, UT Knoxville, 1910

. Retrieved December 1, 2021.Clarence Brown, American filmmaker

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

. Retrieved December 1, 2021.Classic Director Spotlight -Clarence Brown
www.storyenthusiast.com. Retrieved December 1, 2021. Brown was given his first co-directing credit (with Tourneur) for '' The Great Redeemer'' (1920). Later that year, he directed a major portion of '' The Last of the Mohicans'' after Tourneur was injured in a fall. Brown moved to Universal in 1924, and then to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, where he remained until the mid-1950s. At MGM he was one of the main directors of their major female stars, he directed Joan Crawford six times and Greta Garbo seven. Brown was nominated five times for six films (see below) for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

as a director, but he never received an Oscar. However, he won Best Foreign Film for '' Anna Karenina'', starring Garbo at the 1935 Venice International Film Festival. Brown's films gained a total of 38 Academy Award nominations and earned nine Oscars. Brown himself received five Academy Award nominations for six films and in 1949, he won the British Academy Award for the film version of

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

's '' Intruder in the Dust''. In 1957, Brown was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. Brown retired a wealthy man due to his real estate investments, but refused to watch new movies. He feared they might cause him to restart his career. The Clarence Brown Theater, on the campus of the

, is named in his honor. He holds the record for most nominations for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

without a win, with six.

Personal life

Clarence Brown was married four times. His first marriage was to Paula Herndon Pratt in 1913, which lasted until their divorce in 1920. The couple produced a daughter, Adrienne Brown. His second marriage was to Ona Wilson, which lasted from 1922 until their divorce in 1927. He was engaged to Dorothy Sebastian and Mona Maris, although he did not marry either of them, with Maris later saying she ended their relationship because she had her "own ideas of marriage then." He married his third wife, Alice Joyce, in 1933 and they divorced in 1945. His last marriage was to Marian Spies in 1946, which lasted until his death in 1987.

Death

Brown died at the Saint John's Health Center in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

from kidney failure on August 17, 1987, at the age of 97. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2. McFarland & Company (2016) On February 8, 1960, Brown received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1752 Vine Street, for his contributions to the motion pictures industry.

Selected filmography

Director

*'' The Law of the Land'' (1917) *'' The Great Redeemer'' (1920) *'' The Last of the Mohicans'' (1920) *'' The Foolish Matrons'' (1921) *'' The Light in the Dark'' (1922) *'' Don't Marry for Money'' (1923) *'' The Acquittal'' (1923) *'' The Signal Tower'' (1924) *''

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'' (1924) *'' The Eagle'' (1925) *'' The Goose Woman'' (1925) *'' Smouldering Fires'' (1925) *'' Flesh and the Devil'' (1926) *'' Kiki'' (1926) *'' A Woman of Affairs'' (1928) *'' The Trail of '98'' (1929) *'' Navy Blues'' (1929) *'' Wonder of Women'' (1929) *'' Anna Christie'' (1930) – Academy Award nomination for Best Director *'' Romance'' (1930) – Academy Award nomination for Best Director *'' Inspiration'' (1931) *'' Possessed'' (1931) *'' A Free Soul'' (1931) – Academy Award nomination for Best Director *'' Emma'' (1932) *'' Letty Lynton'' (1932) *'' The Son-Daughter'' (1932) *'' Looking forward'' (1933) *'' Night Flight'' (1933) *'' Sadie McKee'' (1934) *'' Chained'' (1934) *'' Anna Karenina'' (1935) *'' Ah, Wilderness!'' (1935) *'' Wife vs. Secretary'' (1936) *'' The Gorgeous Hussy'' (1936) *'' Conquest'' (1937) *'' Of Human Hearts'' (1938) *'' Idiot's Delight'' (1939) *'' The Rains Came'' (1939) *'' Edison, the Man'' (1940) *'' Come Live with Me'' (1941) *'' They Met in Bombay'' (1941) *'' The Human Comedy'' (1943) – Academy Award nominations for Best Director and for Best Picture *'' The White Cliffs of Dover'' (1944) *'' National Velvet'' (1944) – Academy Award nomination for Best Director *'' The Yearling'' (1946) – Academy Award nomination for Best Director *'' Song of Love'' (1947) *'' Intruder in the Dust'' (1949) *'' To Please a Lady'' (1950) *'' Angels in the Outfield'' (1951) *'' When in Rome'' (1952) *'' Plymouth Adventure'' (1952)

Actor

*'' The Signal Tower'' (1924) – Switch Man *'' Ben-Hur'' (1925) – Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited) *'' Navy Blues'' (1929) – Roller Coaster Rider (uncredited) *'' Possessed'' (1931) – Man on Merry-Go-Round (uncredited) (final film role)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Brownlow, Kevin. "Clarence Brown" in ''The Parade's Gone By'' New York: Knopf (1968) * Estrin, Allen. "The Hollywood Professionals, Vol. 6: Frank Capra, George Cukor, Clarence Brown", AS Barnes (1980) * Bastarache, A.J. ''An Extraordinary Town, How one of America's smallest towns shaped the world – A Historical Marketing Book'' by A. J. Bastarache. * Young, Gwenda. 'Clarence Brown: From Knoxville to Hollywood and Back'. ''Journal of East Tennessee History, pp. 53–73 (2002) * * Young, Gwenda. Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2018 * Neely, Jack
"Clarence Brown: The Forgotten Director"
'' Metro Pulse'' (March 2008)

External links

*
"An Extraordinary Town – Clinton, Massachusetts" (a book on Brown's birthplace, with an extensive section on Brown)
extraordinarytown.com
Information available on the actual dates and nominations, plus commentary on the nominations for multiple roles/films in 1929/1930
, oscars.org
Clarence Brown profile
virtual-history.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Clarence 1890 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American film editors American male screenwriters Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Deaths from kidney failure in California Film directors from Massachusetts Film directors from Tennessee Film producers from Massachusetts Film producers from Tennessee Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Clinton, Massachusetts Mass media people from Knoxville, Tennessee Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from Tennessee United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I MPAPAI members