Fredric March

After he and his wife Florence Eldridge appeared in the heavily panned play, "Yr. Obedient Husband" in 1938, they ran an ad in New York newspapers; a cartoon borrowed from the New Yorker magazine, it showed a trapeze artist missing his partner. The caption read: "Oops! Sorry!".

His wife, actress Florence Eldridge , appeared with him in The Studio Murder Mystery , Les Misrables (1935) , Mary of Scotland , Another Part of the Forest , An Act of Murder , Christopher Columbus and Inherit the Wind . On television, she appeared with him in "Producers Showcase" {Dodsworth (#2.9)} .

Adopted two children with his wife, Florence Eldridge : Penelope ("Penny," born 1932) and Anthony (born 1934).

His stage name was a shortened version of his mothers maiden name (Marcher).

Won two Tony Awards as Best Actor , the first in 1947 for his performance in Ruth Gordon s "Years Ago", an award shared with Jos Ferrer for "Cyrano de Bergerac", and the second, ten years later, in 1957, for his landmark performance in Eugene ONeill s "Long Days Journey Into Night". He was also nominated in the same category in 1962 for Paddy Chayefsky s "Gideon".

In 1949, he was targeted for blacklisting by the House Un-American Activities Committee because of his supposed "leftist" politics.

Shares the distinction with actors Jos Ferrer , Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman of being the first winners of acting Tony Awards when the annual event was established in 1947

For a while after undergoing major surgery for prostate cancer in 1970, it seemed Marchs acting career was finished. However, he was able to give one final great performance in The Iceman Cometh .

For many years, he maintained his primary residence in New Milford, Connecticut. After his death, the property was subsequently leased to playwright Lillian Hellman as well as to Henry Kissinger.

Marlon Brando praised March as his favorite actor in his youth.

Although it was not used, he proposed the following epitaph for his tombstone: "This is just my lot.".

March and his second wife were both active supporters of the Democratic Party.

He and Basil Rathbone appeared together in two television adaptations of "A Christmas Carol", shown in the 1950s. In the first, "Shower of Stars" {A Christmas Carol (#1.4)} , March played Scrooge and Rathbone played Marleys Ghost. In the second, "Tales from Dickens" {A Christmas Carol} , March was the narrator, and Rathbone played Scrooge.

He was the first actor to receive an Academy Award for a horror film ( Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ). The next would not be until Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs .

Marchs daughter, Penny, remembered her father during her growing up years as fun, charming and very kind, writing in 1990, "I remember very well how handsome he looked back in the days when people really dressed up in the evening, and hed have on tails and an evening cape to go out and I got to pop up his beautiful top hat" (Letter, Penelope March Fantacci, 12 September 1990).

He and Humphrey Bogart played chess every day during breaks in the filming of The Desperate Hours .

Attended and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in economics.

Elected class president in his last year of grammar school, his senior year of high school and again in his senior year of college. In college, March was the manager of the football team and a member of the track team.

Served in the United States Army during World War I as an artillery lieutenant.

In 1937, he was listed as the fifth highest paid individual in America, earning $500,000.

In 1955, an informal poll of some 30 top stars, directors and producers was tabulated and announced. March was picked as Best Film Actor two to one, with runners-up Marlon Brando , William Holden , Ronald Colman and Spencer Tracy.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

William Holden was quoted as saying that Spencer Tracy and March were his acting ideals.

A Beverly Hills mansion built for March 1931 was the first home of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. It is now owned by Madonna.

March was a moderate smoker, emptying a pack of cigarettes a day; allowed himself one cigar a day after dinner, and was a mild drinker. He was an avid letter writer, and he kept up a large correspondence. Whenever he was asked by a newspaper or magazine for an article, he did not allow any publicity man to ghost it for him, but wrote it himself.

A 500-seat theater was named after him on October 15, 1971, at the University of Wisconsin branch in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Director John Frankenheimer called March "the finest human being Ive ever known, as well as the best actor I ever worked with," citing Marchs celebrated turns in The Iceman Cometh and Seven Days in May .

When asked which he preferred making, movies or live theater, he remarked, "Pictures are physically tiring; the theater is mentally tiring. Pictures last, the theater is built on sand. But I am grateful for my theater experience.".

He singled out The Best Years of Our Lives as his favorite movie role and "Long Days Journey into Night" as his favorite stage play. He considered work in television "an awful experience".

In 1938, he came in second in an audience poll for the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind .

While pursuing his acting career, March--not wanting to overlook any means of keeping a little cash in his pocket--did some modeling. He immortalized shoes, shaving cream and cravats and posed for such famous artists as Charles Dana Gibson and Howard Chandler Christy and for Arrow shirt advertisements.

Because he considered 12 his lucky number, he shortened Frederick to Fredric, shortened his mothers maiden name from Marcher to March, and as of New Years Day, 1924, Fredric March was born.

He entered the banking business in New York in 1920, working at what was then known as First National City Bank (now Citibank) when a ruptured appendix nearly killed him. While he was recuperating, his landlady (a former actress) related anecdotes from her days in the theater and he was so enchanted that he decided to pursue his real dream and become an actor.

Early in Marchs career, director John Cromwell , persuaded him to change his last name. His first wife wanted him to use his middle name and her first name: McIntyre Ellis. But he could not abide a name like that, being too used to Fred. Finally, they settled on his idea, Fredric March.

The final Hyde make-up in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was so extreme that it almost permanently disfigured him. After filming was completed, he was hospitalized for three weeks. His co-star Rose Hobart said, "Fredric March was lucky he wasnt ruined for life.".

March also appeared with his wife, Florence Eldridge , in Mary of Scotland .

It seems that nobody but Jesse L. Lasky wanted to make The Adventures of Mark Twain . He fought for years to convince Warner Bros. to back a screen biography of the noted writer. Director Irving Rapper was not interested in making the film until he learned his friend March was first choice to star. March had been suggested by Twains only living daughter, Clara Clemens Gabrilowitch, who informed Lasky that she would not help with the picture unless March played her father. But even with such a stirring endorsement, March had his doubts. He only accepted the role after the makeup department shot a test in which he played Twain at 65. When a picture of March in makeup was released to the papers, Twains daughter thought somebody had discovered another archival photo of her father.

March kept in shape by swimming, playing tennis and horseback riding. He also enjoyed golf, reading, photography and travel.

In 1943, March made tours for the USO covering nearly 40,000 miles. His other contributions to the war effort included volunteering at the Stage Door Canteen and fundraising activities.

In 1959, he was accorded the honor of reading the Gettysburg Address to a joint session of Congress on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy called on him to do a dramatic reading at a White House dinner, and "at home" for 30 past Nobel Prize winners.

In 1965, both Marches got recruited by the State Department to tour eight Near Eastern countries, presenting recitations of poetry and excerpts from plays in which they had appeared in the American theater. They were the first husband-and-wife acting team to go abroad under the auspices of the State Departments division of cultural presentations.

In 1975, Marjorie Main , Larry Parks and Richard Conte died within days of March. March died on April 14, 1975, and was cremated and buried under a favorite tree on his farm in Connecticut.

In 1947, the highest awards for giving the best performances of the year in two distinct mediums went to the same actor - Fredric March. An Oscar for The Best Years of Our Lives and a Tony for "Years Ago".

His performance in the title role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was an inspiration for the Marvel comics character Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk.

After 1958, he worked mostly on stage.

He was of English, German and Scottish heritage.

March turned own the role of Willie Loman in the original theatrical version of "Death of a Salesman" although he did do the film adaptation.

Keep interested in others; keep interested in the wide and wonderful,world. Then in a spiritual sense, you will always be young.

I have earnestly endeavored to perform my own share without fuss or,temperament. An actor has no more right to be temperamental than a bank,clerk. Possibly, a very sane bringing up as a child has helped me to,retain my sense of proportion in these matters.