John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an

Honorary Academy Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scienc ...

in 1940, and three stars on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

in 1960.

Early life

Nagel was born in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...

. After graduating from Highland Park College, Nagel left for California to pursue a career in the relatively new medium of motion pictures. He began acting in plays at Neely Dickson's Hollywood Community Theater.

Film career

Nagel was immediately cast in film roles that cemented his ''unspoiled lover'' image. His first film was the 1918 retelling of ''Little Women'', which quickly captured the public's attention and set Nagel on a path to

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

stardom. His breakout role came in the 1920 film, '' The Fighting Chance'', opposite Swedish starlet Anna Q. Nilsson. In 1918, Nagel was elected to The Lambs, the theatrical club. In 1927, Nagel starred alongside Lon Chaney Sr.,

Marceline Day Marceline Day (born Marceline Newlin; April 24, 1908 – February 16, 2000) was an American motion picture actress whose career began as a child in the 1910s and ended in the 1930s. Early life Marceline Newlin was born in Colorado Springs, Color ...

, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran in the now lost

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

directed horror film, '' London After Midnight''. Unlike many other silent films stars, Nagel had little difficulty transitioning to sound films. His baritone voice was judged to be perfect for sound, so he appeared in about thirty films in only two years. He described the time as a "great adventure." He was working so steadily that one night when he and his wife planned to go to the movies, he was in films playing at Grauman's, Loew's, and Paramount's theaters. "We couldn't find a theater where I wasn't playing. So we'd go back home. I was an epidemic." He spent the next several decades being very well received in high-profile films as a character actor. He was also frequently heard on radio and made many notable appearances on television.

The Academy and SAG

On May 11, 1927, Nagel was among 35 other film industry insiders to found the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(AMPAS); a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Fellow actors involved in the founding included:

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

, Richard Barthelmess, Jack Holt, Milton Sills, and

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

. He served as president of the organization from 1932 to 1933.

Radio and television

Nagel was the announcer for '' Alec Templeton Time'', a musical variety program on NBC Radio in the summer of 1939. He was the host on ''Silver Theatre'', a summer replacement program that began June 8, 1937. From 1937 to 1947, he hosted and directed the radio program '' Silver Theater''. He then hosted the TV game show '' Celebrity Time'' from 1948 to 1952 and the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

program '' Broadway to Hollywood'' from 1953 to 1954. From September 14, 1955, to June 1, 1956, Nagel hosted '' Hollywood Preview'', a 30-minute show on the DuMont Television Network which featured Hollywood stars with clips of upcoming films. On April 22, 1961, again on television but in an acting role, he made a guest appearance on the popular courtroom drama '' Perry Mason'', portraying the character Nathan Claver, an art collector and murderer, in the episode "The Case of the Torrid Tapestry". On May 19, 1962 he guest-starred on the TV Western ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' as the vengeful Major Emerson Owen in S7E33's “The Prisoner”. In 1963, again on television in an acting role, for ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

'', "Here We Go Again" he made a guest appearance, as "Himself".

Personal life

Nagel married and divorced three times. His first wife, actress Ruth Helms, gave birth to a daughter, Ruth Margaret, in 1920. His second wife was actress Lynn Merrick. His third wife was Michael Coulson Smith, who gave birth to a son Michael. Nagel died in 1970 in New York City at the age of 72. A spokesman for the office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that Nagel's death was "due to natural causes", more specifically, a heart attack and emphysema. He added that no autopsy was planned.

Awards and honors

In 1940, Nagel was given an

for his work with the

Motion Picture Relief Fund The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

. For his contributions to film, radio, and television, Nagel was given three stars on the

at 1719 Vine Street (motion pictures), 1752 Vine Street (radio), and 1752 Vine Street (television).

Filmography

Silent

*''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

'' (1918) as Laurie Laurence *'' The Lion and the Mouse'' (1919) as Jefferson Ryder *'' Redhead'' (1919) as Matthew Thurlow *'' Romeo's Dad'' (1919, Short) *'' The Fighting Chance'' (1920) as Stephen Siward *'' Unseen Forces'' (1920) as Clyde Brunton *'' Midsummer Madness'' (1921) as Julian Osborne *''

Forbidden Fruit In Abrahamic religions, forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden that God commands mankind Taboo#In religion and mythology, not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the know ...

'' (1921) as Actor in play 'Forbidden Fruit' (uncredited) *'' What Every Woman Knows'' (1921) as John Shand *'' The Lost Romance'' (1921) as Allen Erskine, M.D *'' Sacred and Profane Love'' (1921) as Emilie Diaz, a pianist *'' Fool's Paradise'' (1921) as Arthur Phelps *'' Saturday Night'' (1922) as Richard Prentiss *''

Hate Hatred or hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Ha ...

'' (1922) as Dick Talbot *'' The Ordeal'' (1922) as Dr. Robert Acton *'' Nice People'' (1922) as Scotty White *'' The Impossible Mrs. Bellew'' (1922) as John Helstan *'' Singed Wings'' (1922) as Peter Gordon *'' Grumpy'' (1923) as Ernest Heron *'' Bella Donna'' (1923) as Nigel Armine *'' Lawful Larceny'' (1923) as Andrew Dorsey *'' The Rendezvous'' (1923) as Walter Stanford *'' Name the Man'' (1924) as Victor Stowell *'' Three Weeks'' (1924) as Paul Verdayne *'' The Rejected Woman'' (1924) as John Leslie *''

Tess of the d'Urbervilles ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman'' is the twelfth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a Book censorship, censored and Serialized novel, serialised version, published by the British illustrated newsp ...

'' (1924) as Angel Clare *'' Sinners in Silk'' (1924) as Brock Farley *'' Married Flirts'' (1924) as Perley Rex *'' The Snob'' (1924) as Herrick Appleton *'' So This Is Marriage'' (1924) as Peter Marsh *'' Excuse Me'' (1925) as Harry Mallory *'' Cheaper to Marry'' (1925) as Dick Tyler *'' Pretty Ladies'' (1925) as Maggie's Dream Lover *'' Sun-Up'' (1925) as Rufe *'' Lights of Old Broadway'' (1925) as Dirk de Rhonde *'' The Only Thing'' (1925) as Harry Vane - the Duke of Chevenix *'' Dance Madness'' (1926) as Roger Halladay * '' Memory Lane'' (1926) as Jimmy Holt *'' The Exquisite Sinner'' (1926) as Dominique Prad *'' The Waning Sex'' (1926) as Philip Barry *'' There You Are!'' (1926) as George Fenwick *'' Tin Hats'' (1926) as Jack Benson *'' Heaven on Earth'' (1927) as Edmond Durand *'' Slightly Used'' (1927) as Major John Smith *'' Quality Street'' (1927) as Dr. Valentine Brown *'' The Girl from Chicago'' (1927) as Handsome Joe *'' London After Midnight'' (1927) as Arthur Hibbs *'' If I Were Single'' (1927) as Ted Howard *'' Tenderloin'' (1928) as Chuck White *'' The Crimson City'' (1928) as Ralph Blake *'' Glorious Betsy'' (1928) as Jérôme Bonaparte *'' Diamond Handcuffs'' (1928) as John *'' The Michigan Kid'' (1928) as Michigan Kid / Jim Rowen *'' The Mysterious Lady'' (1928) as Karl von Raden *'' The Kiss'' (1929) as André

Sound

*'' Caught in the Fog'' (1928) as Bob Vickers *'' State Street Sadie'' (1928) as Ralph Blake *'' The Terror'' (1928) as Narrator of Spoken Credit Titles (uncredited) *''

Red Wine Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grape varieties - (red grapes.) The color of the wine can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, through to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines. The juice fro ...

'' (1928) as Charles H. Cook *'' The Redeeming Sin'' (1929) as Dr. Raoul de Boise *'' Kid Gloves'' (1929) as Kid Gloves *'' The Idle Rich'' (1929) as William van Luyn *'' The Thirteenth Chair'' (1929) as Richard Crosby *'' The Hollywood Revue of 1929'' (1929) as Himself - Master of Ceremonies *'' The Sacred Flame'' (1929) as Col. Maurice Taylor *''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

'' (1929) as Roger Towne *'' The Ship from Shanghai'' (1930) as Howard Vazey *'' Second Wife'' (1930) as Walter Fairchild *'' Redemption'' (1930) as Victor Karenin *'' The Divorcee'' (1930) as Paul *'' One Romantic Night'' (1930) as Dr. Nicholas Haller *'' Numbered Men'' (1930) as 26521 *'' A Lady Surrenders'' (1930) as Winthrop Beauvel *'' Du Barry, Woman of Passion'' (1930) as Cosse de Brissac *'' Today'' (1930) as Fred Warner *''

Free Love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...

'' (1930) as Stephen Ferrier *'' The Right of Way'' (1931) as Charley 'Beauty' Steele *'' East Lynne'' (1931) as Robert Carlyle *'' Bad Sister'' (1931) as Dr. Dick Lindley *''

Three Who Loved ''Three Who Loved'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by George Archainbaud from a screenplay by Beulah Marie Dix based on a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Martin Flavin. The film revolves around a love triangle ( Betty C ...

'' (1931) as John Hanson *'' Son of India'' (1931) as William Darsay *'' The Reckless Hour'' (1931) as Edward 'Eddie' Adams *'' The Pagan Lady'' (1931) as Ernest Todd *'' Hell Divers'' (1931) as Lieutenant D.W. "Duke" Johnson *'' The Man Called Back'' (1932) as Dr. David Yorke *'' Divorce in the Family'' (1932) as Dr. Shumaker *'' Kongo'' (1932) as Kingsland *'' Fast Life'' (1932) as Burton *''

The Constant Woman ''The Constant Woman'' (1933), also known as ''Auction in Souls'' and ''Hell in a Circus'', is an American Pre-Code film directed by Victor Schertzinger. It is based on the 1913 Eugene O'Neill play ''Recklessness''. Plot Marlene Underwood is a ...

'' (1933) as Walt Underwood *'' Ann Vickers'' (1933) as Lindsey Atwell *'' Dangerous Corner'' (1934) as Robert Chatfield *'' The Marines Are Coming'' (1934) as Capt. Edward 'Ned' Benton *'' One Hour Late'' (1934) as Stephen Barclay *'' Death Flies East'' (1935) as John Robinson Gordon *'' One New York Night'' (1935) as Kent *'' Ball at Savoy'' (1936) as John Egan, posing as Baron Dupont *'' The Girl from Mandalay'' (1936) as John Foster *'' Wedding Present'' (1936) as Roger Dodacker *'' Yellow Cargo'' (1936) as Alan O'Connor *'' Navy Spy'' (1937) as Alan O'Connor *'' The Gold Racket'' (1937) as Alan O'Connor *'' Bank Alarm'' (1937) as Alan O'Connor *'' The Mad Empress'' (1939) as Maximilian *'' One Million B.C.'' (1940) as Narrator *'' I Want a Divorce'' (1940) as David Holland, Sr. *'' Forever Yours'' (1945) as Dr. Randall *'' Eighteenth Century Life in Williamsburg, Virginia'' (1944) as Narrator *'' The Adventures of Rusty'' (1945) as Hugh Mitchell *'' Stage Struck'' (1948) as Police Lt. Williams * '' The Vicious Circle'' (1948) as Karl Nemesch *'' All That Heaven Allows'' (1955) as Harvey *'' Hidden Fear'' (1957) as Arthur Miller *'' A Stranger in My Arms'' (1959) as Harley Beasley *'' The Man Who Understood Women'' (1959) as G.K. Brody

In popular culture

In the '' M*A*S*H'' episode " Abyssinia, Henry" – which featured

McLean Stevenson Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in the television series '' M*A*S*H'', which earned him a Golden Globe Awa ...

's final appearance on the show – Lt. Col. Blake finds out that his mother-in-law used his brown double-breasted suit to attend a costume party dressed as Conrad Nagel.

Radio appearances

References

External links

* * *
Silent Ladies and Gents

Photographs of Conrad Nagel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagel, Conrad 1897 births 1970 deaths American people of German descent Academy Honorary Award recipients Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders Presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences American male film actors American male silent film actors American male radio actors American male television actors Male actors from Des Moines, Iowa People from Keokuk, Iowa American vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors Members of The Lambs Club Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players American television hosts