Charles Bickford (January 1, 1891–November 9, 1967) was an American actor. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For the 1967 version, see Johnny Belinda (1967 film). ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1630 Incorporated 1636 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor Kenneth Reeves (D) Area  - City  7. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State California County Los Angeles County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Early Life and Career

Bickford was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the first minute of 1891. The fifth of seven children, Charles was an intelligent but very independent and unruly child. He was tried and acquitted when he was only nine years old of the attempted murder of a motorist who had accidentally driven over his dog. In his late teens he drifted aimlessly around the United States for a time but eventually graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1630 Incorporated 1636 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor Kenneth Reeves (D) Area  - City  7. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

Before breaking into acting, he worked as a lumberjack, investment promoter, and for a short time ran a pest extermination business. He eventually joined a road company and travelled throughout the United States for more than a decade where he appeared in various productions. During an appearance in a Broadway play called, "Outside Looking In," he was noticed by legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and offered a contract with MGM studios. He soon began working with MGM head Louis B. Mayer on a number of projects. Broadway theatre[1] is the most prestigious form of professional theatre in the U.S., as well as the most well known to the general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

He became a star after playing Greta Garbo's lover in Anna Christie (1930), but never developed into a romantic lead. Always of independent mind, strong-willed and quick with his fists, Bickford would frequently argue and sometimes come to blows with Mayer. During the production of DeMille's Dynamite, he punched out his director and eventually found himself blacklisted from MGM productions on several different occasions. Understandably, his association with MGM was short-lived, and Bickford became an independent actor for several years. Later, he would sign with Twentieth Century Fox studios where it was anticipated he would play leading man roles. However, Bickford was mauled by a lion while filming East of Java in 1935. While he recovered from this attack, he would lose his contract with Fox as well as his leading man status due to extensive neck scarring coupled with his advancing age. Greta Garbo (September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990) was a Swedish-born actress during Hollywoods silent film period and part of its Golden Age. ... Anna Christie is a play in four acts by Eugene ONeill. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ... A blacklist is a list or register of people who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, or mobility. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their...

Success as a Character Actor

With the possibility of leading man status gone, Bickford sought character actor roles. Here he would find his greatest success, both in films and later in television. He would establish himself as a highly sought after, powerful character actor, whose screen appearances commanded attention throughout the remainder of his career. His burly frame and craggy, intense features, coupled with a gruff but powerful voice lent themselves to his being cast in a wide variety of roles in high qualify productions. Most often he played lovable father figures, stern businessmen, heavies, ship captains or authority figures of some sort. During the 1940s he would be nominated three times for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Throughout the remainder of his career he would continue to act in generally prestigious projects right up until his death. Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of film or theatre professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Final Years

In his final years, Bickford played rancher John Grainger, owner of the "Shiloh Ranch" on The Virginian NBC television series. He died in Los Angeles of a blood infection at age 76, just days after filming a 1967 Virginian episode. He had a son, Rex and a daughter, Doris. The Virginian was a Western-themed television series which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Partial filmography

• Dynamite (1929)
• Pride of the Marines (1936)
• High, Wide, and Handsome (1937)
• Of Mice and Men (1939)
• Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
• The Song of Bernadette (1943)
• Mr. Lucky (1943)
• Wing and a Prayer (1944)
• Duel in the Sun (1946)
• The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
• Johnny Belinda (1948)
• Jim Thorpe, All American (1951)
• A Star Is Born (1954) with Judy Garland and James Mason
• The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
• Not as a Stranger (1955)
• The Big Country (1958)
• The Unforgiven (1960)
• Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
• A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)

High, Wide, and Handsome (2006) is a film comedy about NASCAR racing that is currently in production. ... Of Mice and Men is a novella by John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, which tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression (1929-1941). ... Reap the Wild Wind is a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post. ... DVD cover for the film The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported eighteen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. ... Mr. ... The Wing and a Prayer ,known as well by its second title The story of carrier X, was a B/W war film produced in WW2, 1943-44, and was about the heroic crews of the Navy Bombers. ... Duel in the Sun is a 1946 Western film which tells the story of a half-Hispanic girl who goes to live with her Anglo relatives, becoming involved in prejudice and forbidden love. ... The Farmers Daughter is a 1947 movie which tells the story of a Minnesota farmgirl who ends up working as a maid for a Congressman and his politically-connected mother. ... Johnny Belinda is a 1948 film which tells the story of a deaf mute woman who is raped, becomes pregnant, and then is ruled unfit to care for the child. ... A Star Is Born is a 1954 musical remake of the original 1937 film, directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason. ... Superscript text Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an Oscar-nominated American film actress, considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywoods Golden Era of musical film, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale from The... James Neville Mason (May 15, 1909 – July 27, 1984) was a three-time Academy Award nominated English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. ... The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell is a film directed by Otto Preminger in 1955. ... Not as a Stranger was a 1954 novel written by Morton Thompson. ... The Big Country was a 1958 American movie starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors. ... The Unforgiven is an American western film released in 1960. ... Days of Wine and Roses is an Academy Award-winning 1962 film directed by Blake Edwards, executive produced by Martin Manulis, and with the original music by Henry Mancini. ... A Big Hand for the Little Lady (released in the UK as Big Deal at Dodge City) is a 1966 western film, made by Eden Productions Inc. ...

External links

• Charles Bickford at the Internet Movie Database
• Find-A-Grave profile for Charles Bickford