Kenneth MacKenna (born Leo Mielziner Jr.; August 19, 1899 – January 15, 1962) was an American actor and

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 ...

Family

MacKenna was born as Leo Mielziner Jr. in Canterbury, New Hampshire, to portrait artist Leo Mielziner (December 7, 1868 - August 11, 1935), the son of a prominent Reform

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

( Moses Mielziner) and Ella Lane McKenna Friend (March 18, 1873 – February 2, 1968). In Mary C. Henderson's book about his brother,

Jo Mielziner Joseph Mielziner (March 19, 1901 – March 15, 1976) was an American theatrical scenic, and lighting designer born in Paris, France. He was described as "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Broadway", and worked on both stage p ...

, ''Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design'' (2001), she states, "Kenneth MacKenna was the classic example of the first born son. On reaching manhood, he felt that it was his duty to take care of his entire family: mother, father and sibling. Responsible, intelligent and clear-headed he was constantly setting up strategies for his family as if he knew instinctively what was best—and he was usually right." (p. 92).MacKenna's devotion to his wife, Mary Philips, and to his brother, Jo, as well as to Jo's adopted son, Michael Mielziner, continued until his death and then beyond. His own professional success as a story director with MGM allowed him to help support his brother's career, give generously to others, and contribute to the theatre, even after his own death. Mielziner was a five-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner. MacKenna and his wife, Mary Philips, both actors, were also long-time supporters of the arts. As angels for the first production of ''

South Pacific 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 ...

'', MacKenna first brought the book to

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

, suggesting its production as a stage musical. The Rodgers had been long-time friends with the MacKennas/Mielziners.

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

, who starred in that production, created an embroidered signature scarf of all the stars in that first production of ''South Pacific'' and presented it as a gift of thanks to the MacKennas. This scarf was later given as a gift to Lucille Hackett (née Bardorf), cousin and beloved "sister" to Philips. MacKenna's role as an angel and his position as a director with MGM can be further researched through the Mielziner papers at the New York Public Library and through the library at MGM. Philips had a successful career as a stage and film star during the golden age of the theatre. In September 1924,

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

had appeared in the Broadway play ''Nerves'' with MacKenna and Philips. They all became good and lifelong friends. Philips was later married to Bogart (1928–1938), but the marriage ended in divorce. MacKenna married Philips in 1938. It was the second and final marriage for both. MacKenna was first married to actress

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

on January 17, 1931. They divorced in February 1934. He married Philips in August 1938 and they remained married until his death from cancer. As his wife, long-time friend, and companion, Philips described Kenneth as her true soulmate and felt as though her own life had come to an end when Kenneth died. MacKenna died on January 15, 1962, in Santa Monica, California, at age 62. He and Philips were buried 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 ...

Biography

MacKenna was involved with bonds and stocks until he was discovered by William Brady and became a member of the cast of ''At 9:45''. He debuted on Broadway in ''Opportunity'' (1920). While in New York, he also directed and produced plays for the Theater Guild. Starting in 1931, he directed a few films in Hollywood, then resumed his

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

career in the mid-1930s. Soon

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 ...

hired him as a story editor in New York. Later, back in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, he was made department head. He returned to acting in the late 1950s both on stage and in film. Dore Schary, head of production at MGM in the 1950s, called MacKenna "intelligent and well educated — had good humor — and was incorruptible. He had served in World War I and had gone back into action in World War II. We liked and trusted each other in fast friendship." One of MacKenna's last roles was portraying fictional Judge Kenneth Norris in the film ''

Judgment at Nuremberg ''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic legal drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, and written by Abby Mann. It features Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietr ...

'', which was released less than a month before MacKenna's death.

Broadway stage

* 1920: ''Opportunity'' as Jimmy Dow * 1920: ''Immodest Violet'' as Arthur Bodkin * 1922: ''The Nest'' as Max Hamelin * 1922: ''The Endless Chain'' as Kenneth Reeves * 1922: ''The World We Live In'' as Commander-in-Chief of Yellow Ants and as Felix * 1923: ''The Mad Honeymoon'' as Wally Spencer * 1923: ''The Crooked Square'' as Robert Colby * 1923: ''Windows'' as Johnny March * 1923: ''Dumb-bell'' as Ted Stone * 1924: ''We Moderns'' as Richard * 1924: ''Catskill Dutch'' as Peetcha * 1924: ''Nerves'' as Jack Coates * 1924: ''The Far Cry'' as Dick Clayton * 1925: ''The Sapphire Ring'' as Dr. Erno Nemeth * 1925: ''Oh, Mama'' as Georges La Garde * 1926: ''The Masque of Venice'' as Jack Cazeneuve * 1926: ''What Every Woman Knows'' as John Shand * 1928: ''The Big Pond'' as Pierre Dimarande * 1928: ''A Play without a Name'' as John Russell * 1930: '' Man Trouble'' as Graham * 1934: ''By Your Leave'' as David MacKenzie * 1934: ''Wife Insurance'' as Gregory Landon * 1934: '' Merrily We Roll Along'' as Richard Niles * 1935: ''Othello'' as Iago * 1935: ''Macbeth'' as Macduff * 1936: ''Aged 26'' as Charles Armitage Brown * 1937: ''Penny Wise'' as Gordon * 1959: ''The Highest Tree'' as Aaron Cornish Produced & directed * 1936: ''Co-respondent Unknown''

Films (directing)

* 1931: '' Always Goodbye'' Fox Film Corp. * 1931: ''The Spider'' Fox Film Corp. * 1931: ''

Good Sport ''Good Sport'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Kenneth MacKenna and written by William Hurlbut. The film stars Linda Watkins, John Boles, Greta Nissen, Minna Gombell, Hedda Hopper and Alan Dinehart. The film was releas ...

'' Fox Film Corp. * 1932: '' Careless Lady'' Fox Film Corp. * 1933: '' Walls of Gold'' Fox Film Corp. * 1934: '' Sleepers East'' Fox Film Corp.

Film appearances (acting)

* 1925: '' Miss Bluebeard'' as Bob Hawley * 1925: '' A Kiss in the Dark'' as Johnny King * 1926: '' The American Venus'' as Horace Niles * 1927: '' The Lunatic at Large'' as William Carroll / Henry Carroll * 1929: '' Pleasure Crazed'' as Captain Anthony Dean * 1929: '' South Sea Rose'' as Dr. Tom Winston * 1930: '' Sin Takes a Holiday'' as Gaylord Stanton * 1930: ''Forever Yours'' (film left unfinished by

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 ...

) * 1930: '' Men Without Women'' as Chief Torpedoman Burke * 1930: '' Crazy That Way'' as Jack Gardner * 1930: '' The Three Sisters'' as Count d'Amati * 1930: '' Temple Tower'' as

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who ...

* 1930: ''

The Virtuous Sin ''The Virtuous Sin'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier and starring Walter Huston, Kay Francis, and Kenneth MacKenna. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the 19 ...

'' as Lieutenant Victor Sablin * 1930: ''Forever Yours'' * 1931: '' The Man Who Came Back'' (1931) as Captain Trevelyan * 1931: ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

'' (1931) as Cashier (uncredited) * 1931: ''

'' (1931) as Rental Agent (uncredited) * 1932: ''

Those We Love ''Those We Love'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Robert Florey. It was adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from the play by George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, ...

'' as Freddie Williston * 1933: '' Sensation Hunters'' as Jimmy Crosby * 1960: '' High Time'' (1960) as President Byrne of Pinehurst * 1961: ''

'' as Judge Kenneth Norris * 1962: ''

13 West Street ''13 West Street'' is a 1962 American neo-noir crime film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger, whose own production company produced the film. It is based on the 1957 novel ''The Tiger Among Us'' by Leigh Brackett, w ...

'' as Paul Logan (final film role)

Selected television appearances

* ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1961) (Season 6 Episode 22: "The Horseplayer") as Bishop Cannon

References

Notes

* Mary C. Henderson, ''Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design'' (2001)

External links

Mielziner Family Papers collection
* *
photo gallery of Kenneth MacKenna
NY Public Library, Billy Rose Collection
Kenneth MacKenna collection
at University of Wisconsin {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenna, Kenneth 1899 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male actors American bisexual male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American people of German-Jewish descent Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Deaths from cancer in California Film directors from New Hampshire Male actors from New Hampshire People from Canterbury, New Hampshire