Kenneth Neil Hawks (August 12, 1898 – January 2, 1930) was an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

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 warf ...

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 ...

. He then graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1919. He soon moved to

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

with brother

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

; 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 Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

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 The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

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. 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 Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958. One ...

as a wedding gift. They soon moved to a home on Lookout Mountain in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Filmography as director

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

References

External links

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

Kenneth Hawks

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