Brian James Davis (August 5, 1914 – July 15, 1993), better known as David Brian, was an American actor. He is best known for his role in '' Intruder in the Dust'' (1949), for which he received critical acclaim and a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nomination. Brian's other notable film roles were in ''

The Damned Don't Cry ''The Damned Don't Cry'' is a 1950 American film noir crime-drama directed by Vincent Sherman and featuring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Steve Cochran. It tells of a woman's involvement with an organized crime boss and his subordinates. The s ...

'' (1950), ''

This Woman Is Dangerous ''This Woman Is Dangerous'' is a 1952 American film noir crime drama by Warner Bros. starring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Dennis Morgan in a story about a gun moll's romances with two different men. The screenplay by Geoffrey Homes and Georg ...

'' (1952), ''

Springfield Rifle The term Springfield rifle may refer to any one of several types of small arms produced by the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the United States armed forces. In modern usage, the term "Springfield rifle" most commonly refer ...

'' (1952), '' Dawn at Socorro'' (1954), and '' The High and the Mighty'' (1954). On February 8, 1960, Brian was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.

Early years

Brian was born Brian Davis in New York City. After school at City College, he found work as a doorman, then entered show business with a song-and-dance routine in vaudeville and in night clubs. He did a wartime stint with the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

during World War II and returned to acting on the New York stage after the war.

Film

Persuaded by

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pic ...

to try his hand at film acting, Brian joined her in Hollywood and, in 1949, signed a contract with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

The New York City native appeared in such films as '' Flamingo Road'' (1949) and ''

The Damned Don't Cry! ''The Damned Don't Cry'' is a 1950 American film noir crime-drama directed by Vincent Sherman and featuring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Steve Cochran. It tells of a woman's involvement with an organized crime boss and his subordinates. The sc ...

'' (1950) with

, and ''

Beyond the Forest ''Beyond the Forest'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by King Vidor, and featuring Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian, and Ruth Roman. The screenplay is written by Lenore Coffee based on a novel by Stuart Engstrand. The film marks Davi ...

'' (1949) with

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

. He also had a role in the film ''

'' (1952), which starred

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

, and in the John Wayne movie '' The High and the Mighty'' (1954) as Ken Childs. Brian was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''

Intruder in the Dust ''Intruder in the Dust '' is a 1948 novel about an African American farmer accused of murdering a Caucasian man. Nobel Prize–winning American author William Faulkner. Overview The novel focuses on Lucas Beauchamp, a black farmer accused of m ...

'' (1949).

Television

In the 1950s and 1960s, Brian was active in television with guest roles in dozens of shows ranging from dramatic to comedic, from '' Rawhide'' to ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marr ...

''. In 1954 and 1955, he portrayed the lead character on the TV show ''

Mr. District Attorney ''Mr. District Attorney'' is a radio programming, radio crime drama produced by Samuel Bischoff that aired on NBC and American Broadcasting Company, ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The serie ...

''. Brian has a star in the television section of the

. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.

Personal life

Brian was married to Bonita Fiedler; they divorced in 1948. In 1950, she filed a paternity suit against him, seeking his support for a son born to her. The suit claimed that Brian had admitted to being the baby's father. Brian's attorney, on the other hand, said that Brian did not think he was the child's father. At the time of the suit, Brian was married to Adrian Booth, an actress known as Lorna Gray. On August 11, 1951, a jury found in Brian's favor after another man testified to having been intimate with the mother "several times during the year before the child was born". Brian's marriage to Booth also had legal problems. In 1949, columnist

Jimmie Fidler Jimmie Fidler (August 26, 1898 – August 9, 1988) was an American columnist, journalist and radio and television personality. He wrote a Hollywood gossip column and was sometimes billed as Jimmy Fidler. Born James Marion Fidler in St. Loui ...

reported that Booth's "recent marriage to actor David Brian has been set aside by an L.A. judge because of illegalities in his divorce from a former mate".

Death

Brian died July 15, 1993, of heart disease and cancer in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

.Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . pp. 68–70.

Filmography

Film

DavidBrianHighandMightyTrailerScreenshot1954

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brian, David 1914 births 1993 deaths American male dancers American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from New York City People from Greater Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American dancers Male Western (genre) film actors City College of New York alumni United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II