George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous characters. He is remembered for his roles as Jack Favell in ''
Rebecca'' (1940), Scott ffolliott in ''
Foreign Correspondent'' (1940, a rare heroic part), The Saran of Gaza in
''Samson and Delilah'' (1949), the most popular film of the year, Addison DeWitt in ''
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
'' (1950, for which he won an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
), Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert in ''
Ivanhoe'' (1952),
King Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
in ''
King Richard and the Crusaders
''King Richard and the Crusaders'' is a 1954 American historical drama film made by Warner Bros. The film stars Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders and Laurence Harvey, with Robert Douglas, Michael Pate and Paula Raymond. It was direct ...
'' (1954),
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...
in a two-parter episode of
''Batman'' (1966), and the voice of
Shere Khan in Disney's ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...
'' (1967). Fans of detective stories know Sanders as
Simon Templar
''The Saint'' is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books un ...
, ''The Saint'', (1939–41), and the suave crimefighter
The Falcon (1941–42).
Early life
Sanders was born on 3 July 1906 in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, at number 6 Petrovski Ostrov, to rope manufacturer Henry Sanders and horticulturalist Margaret ( Kolbe), who was born in Saint Petersburg, of mostly German, but also Estonian and Scottish ancestry (Sanders wrote of his mother's descent from "the Thomas Clayhills of
Dundee, who went to Estonia in 1626 to establish a business there"). Sanders referred to his parents as "well-off" and noted his mother's "forebears of solid social position and impeccable respectability", stating that "to the best of (his) knowledge, (his) father came in the mail".
A biography published in 1990 alleged that family members' "recent disclosures... indicate" that Sanders' father was the out-of-wedlock son of a Russian noblewoman of the Tsar’s court, and a prince of the
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The cu ...
who was married to a sister of the Tsar. At the time of Henry Sanders's birth, the Anglo-Russian Sanders family were living at Saint Petersburg; the mother, Dagmar, was a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Empress, and it was said to be through this connection Henry came to be adopted by the Sanders family.
In 1917, at the outbreak of the
Russian Revolution, Sanders and his family moved to Great Britain. Like his brother, he attended
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conven ...
and
Brighton College
Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
, a boys' independent school in
Brighton, then went on to
Manchester Technical College, after which he worked in textile research.
Sanders travelled to South America, where he managed a tobacco plantation. The Depression sent him back to Britain. He worked at an advertising agency, where the company secretary, aspiring actress
Greer Garson
Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...
, suggested that he take up a career in acting.
Career
Early British work
Sanders learned how to sing and got a role on stage in ''Ballyhoo'', which only had a short run, but helped establish him as an actor.
He began to work regularly on the British stage, appearing several times with
Edna Best
Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress.
Early life
Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama at ...
. He co-starred with
Dennis King
Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer.
Early years
Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...
in ''The Command Performance''.
Sanders travelled to New York to appear on Broadway in a production of
Noël Coward's ''
Conversation Piece
A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.[
]
Hollywood and 20th Century Fox
Some of these British films were distributed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, which was looking for an actor to play a villain in its Hollywood-shot film ''Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...
'' (1936). Sanders was duly cast as Lord Everett Stacy, opposite Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...
, in one of his first leads, as the hero; Sanders' smooth, upper-class English accent, his sleek manner, and his suave, superior, and somewhat threatening air made him in demand for American films for years to come. ''Lloyd's of London'' was a big hit, and in November 1936, Fox placed Sanders under a seven-year contract.
Character roles
Sanders returned to Hollywood, where RKO
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
wanted him to play the hero in a series of B-movies, ''The Saint
The Saint may refer to:
Fiction
* Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations:
** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...
''. ''The Saint in New York
''The Saint in New York'' is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1935. It was published in the United States by Doubleday in January 1935. A shorter version of the novel had pr ...
'' (1938) had already been made starring Louis Hayward
Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor.
Biography
Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...
in the title role, but when he decided not to return to the role, Sanders took over for ''The Saint Strikes Back
''The Saint Strikes Back'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by John Farrow. It marks the second cinematic incarnation of the antihero crimefighting character Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". George Sanders replaced Louis Hayward, who h ...
'' (1939).
A-picture leading man
Sanders was borrowed by United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
to play the lead in an A film, ''The Moon and Sixpence
''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...
'' (1942), based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
.
RKO had canceled its ''Saint'' series and replaced it with '' The Falcon'' in 1941. George Sanders was assigned the leading role of Gay Laurence, debonair man about town always involved in murder cases. ''Saint'' author Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.[Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...](_blank)
.)
In July 1942, Fox suspended Sanders for refusing the lead in ''The Undying Monster
''The Undying Monster'', also known as ''The Hammond Mystery'', is a 1942 American mystery horror film directed by John Brahm and written by Lillie Hayward and Michel Jacoby, based on Jessie Douglas Kerruish's 1922 novel of the same name.Meehan ...
'' (1942). "I like to be seen in pictures that at least seem to be slightly worthwhile."[GEORGE SANDERS, OR FROM SINNER TO SAINT By THEODORE STRAUSS. New York Times 27 Sep 1942: X3.] In September, they suspended him again for refusing an "unsympathetic role" in ''The Immortal Sergeant'' (he was replaced by Morton Lowry). In November, Fox and Sanders came to terms, with the studio offering him a raise in pay and the lead in a film, ''School for Saboteurs'', which became ''They Came to Blow Up America
''They Came to Blow Up America'', also known as ''School for Sabotage'' and ''School for Saboteurs'', is a 1943 American war spy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring George Sanders and Anna Sten. It is based on the World War II Operation P ...
''.
RKO called him back for '' This Land Is Mine'' (1943). They bought an original story for him, ''Nine Lives'', but it does not appear to have been made. He was lent to Columbia for ''Appointment in Berlin
''Appointment in Berlin'' (also known as ''Assignment in Berlin'') is a 1943 American war drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring George Sanders, Marguerite Chapman and Onslow Stevens. The film's plot follows an R.A.F. officer who inf ...
'' (1943).
In February 1943, Fox announced it was developing three film projects for Sanders – ''The Porcelain Lady'', a murder mystery, plus biopics of the Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfe ...
and Bethune. Fox originally announced him to play the role of the detective in '' Laura'' (1944) alongside Laird Cregar, but neither ended up being in the final film. In 1947, George Sanders portrayed King Charles II in Fox's lavish production of the scandalous historical bodice-ripper, '' Forever Amber''.
Sanders signed a new three-film contract with RKO, starting with ''Action in Arabia
''Action in Arabia'' (also known as ''Danger in Damascus'' and ''International Zone'') is a 1944 drama film directed by Leonide Moguy and starring George Sanders and Virginia Bruce. The film was based on the novel ''The Fanatic of Fez'' by M. V. ...
'' (1944). The film superficially looked expensive but it was actually a low-budget feature, embellished by spectacular location footage filmed in 1933 for an unfinished production about Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...
.
''All About Eve'' and beyond
For his role as the acerbic, cold-blooded theatre critic Addison DeWitt in ''All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
'' (1950), Sanders won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He was a leading man in '' Black Jack'' (1950), but was back to supporting/villain roles in ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale
''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a musical, produced by David Merrick, music and lyrics by Harold Rome, and book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand ...
'' (1951). He signed a three-picture deal with MGM, for which he did ''The Light Touch
''The Light Touch'' is a 1951 film starring Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli, and George Sanders, written and directed by Richard Brooks.
Plot
Art thief Sam Conride (Stewart Granger) steals a Renaissance-era painting on loan to an Italian museum by ...
'' (1951) and '' Ivanhoe'' (1952), playing Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert and dying in a duel with Robert Taylor after professing his love for Jewish maiden Rebecca, played by Elizabeth Taylor. It was a huge success.
Sanders went to Italy to appear opposite Ingrid Bergman in '' Journey to Italy'' (1954). Back in Hollywood, he made several movies for MGM: ''Jupiter's Darling
''Jupiter's Darling'' is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical romance film released by MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman woman Amytis, Howard Keel as Hannibal, the Carthaginian mi ...
'' (1955), '' Moonfleet'' (1955), ''The Scarlet Coat
''The Scarlet Coat '' is a 1955 American historical drama and swashbuckler in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, directed by John Sturges. It stars Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, George Sa ...
'' (1955), and ''The King's Thief
''The King's Thief'' is a 1955 swashbuckling CinemaScope adventure film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who replaced Hugo Fregonese during filming. Released on August 5, 1955, the film takes place in London at the time of Charles II and stars A ...
'' (1955) (again as Charles II).
In 1955, he was announced as hosting and occasionally appearing in ''The Ringmaster'', a TV series about the circus.
Sanders played the lead in '' Death of a Scoundrel'' (1956) and the TV series ''The George Sanders Mystery Theater
''The George Sanders Mystery Theater '' is the title of a 30-minute American television mystery drama series hosted by character actor George Sanders which aired Sundays on NBC in the summer of 1957, replacing the first half of '' Caesar's Hour'' ...
'' (1957).
He worked one last time with Power on ''Solomon and Sheba
''Solomon and Sheba'' is a 1959 American epic historical romance film directed by King Vidor, shot in Technirama (color by Technicolor), and distributed by United Artists. The film dramatizes events described in The Bible—the tenth chapter of ...
'' (1959); Power died during filming and was replaced by Yul Brynner.
Sanders was top-billed in ''Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
'' (1963), then appeared in ''The Cracksman
''The Cracksman'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.Personal letter from Delia Derbyshire to Associated British Picture Corporation, dated 25 April 1963.
Plot
Charlie Drake plays honest but naive locksmith Ernest Wr ...
'' (1963), ''Dark Purpose
''Dark Purpose'' is a 1964 film directed by George Marshall and starring Shirley Jones, Rossano Brazzi, and George Sanders.
Plot
American secretary Karen Williams travels to Italy with her employer, art appraiser Raymond Fountaine, to assess ...
'' (1964), and ''The Golden Head
''The Golden Head'' is a 1964 American- Hungarian comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and James Hill and starring George Sanders, Buddy Hackett, Jess Conrad, Lorraine Power and Robert Coote.
Plot
The children of a British policeman holidayi ...
'' (1964). Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
and Sanders appeared together in ''The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964). Sanders had earlier inspired Sellers's character Hercules Grytpype-Thynne
Hercules Grytpype-Thynne was a character from the British 1950s comedy radio programme ''The Goon Show''. He was voiced by Peter Sellers. In the episode "Who Is Pink Oboe?", Valentine Dyall filled-in for the role in Sellers' absence.
Grytpype-T ...
in the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio comedy series ''
The Goon Show
''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...
'' (1951–60).
Sanders declared bankruptcy in 1966 due to some poor investments.
Final films
He had a supporting role in
John Huston's ''
The Kremlin Letter
''The Kremlin Letter'' is a 1970 American neo-noir DeLuxe Color espionage thriller in PanavisionSeymour, Gene. "100 Greatest Spy Movies: A Special Collector's Edition from the Editors of American History. 2009. Weider History Group. directed b ...
'' (1969), in which his first scene showed him dressed in drag and playing the piano in a gay bar in San Francisco. In 1969, he announced he was leaving show business.
Novels
Two ghostwritten crime novels were published under his name to cash in on his fame at the height of his wartime film series. The first was ''Crime on My Hands'' (1944), written in the first person, and mentioning his Saint and Falcon films.
Singing
![George Sanders in The Picture of Dorian Gray trailer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/George_Sanders_in_The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_trailer.jpg)
During the production of ''The Jungle Book'', Sanders was unavailable to provide the singing voice for his character Shere Khan during the final recording of the song, "
That's What Friends Are For
"That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.
It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by Dionn ...
". According to
Richard Sherman,
Bill Lee, a member of
The Mellomen The Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s. The group was founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith in 1948. They recorded under a variety of names, including Big John and the Buzzards, the Crackerj ...
, was called in to substitute for Sanders.
[ Sherman, Richard. ''The Jungle Book'' ]audio commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
, Platinum Edition, Disc 1. 2007.
Personal life
On 27 October 1940, Sanders married Susan Larson (born Elsie Poole). The couple divorced in 1949. From later that year until 1954, Sanders was married to
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor.
Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...
, with whom he starred in the film ''
Death of a Scoundrel'' (1956). On 10 February 1959, Sanders married
Benita Hume
Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1925 and 1955.
Life and career
She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958 ...
, widow of
Ronald Colman. She died of bone cancer in 1967, aged 60, the same year that Sanders's brother Tom Conway died of liver failure. Sanders had become distant from his brother because of Conway's drinking problem.
Sanders' autobiography ''
Memoirs of a Professional Cad'' was published in 1960 and gained critical praise for its wit. Sanders suggested the title ''A Dreadful Man'' for his biography, later written by his friend
Brian Aherne
William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States.
His first Broadway appearance in '' The Barretts of ...
and published in 1979. Sanders's fourth and last marriage on 4 December 1970 was to
Magda Gabor
Magdolna "Magda" Gabor (June 11, 1915 – June 6, 1997) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite, and the elder sister of Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor.
Early life
The eldest daughter of a jeweler, Jolie (1896–1997), and a soldier, Vilmos G ...
, the elder sister of his second wife. This marriage lasted only 32 days, after which he began drinking heavily.
Final years and death
![George sanders black swan 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/George_sanders_black_swan_2.jpg)
Even before his dementia, Sanders had grown increasingly reclusive and depressed due to a string of tragedies including the deaths of his third wife, his mother, and his brother Tom in the space of a year, followed by a failed sausage investment, which cost him millions, dementia diagnosis, and a quick divorce from his fourth wife. According to Aherne's biography, he also had a minor stroke. Sanders could not bear the prospect of losing his health or needing help to carry out everyday tasks, and became deeply depressed. About this time, he found that he could no longer play his grand piano, so he dragged it outside and smashed it with an axe. His last girlfriend, Lorraine Chanel, with whom he had an on-off relationship in the last four years of his life, persuaded him to sell his beloved house in Majorca, Spain, which he later bitterly regretted. From then on, he drifted.
On 23 April 1972, Sanders checked into a hotel in
Castelldefels
Castelldefels () is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and a suburban town of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 65,954 ( IDESCAT, 2017).
Geography and location
It i ...
, a coastal town near Barcelona, where he phoned his friend
George Mikell
George Mikell (born Jurgis Mikelaitis; 4 April 1929 – 12 May 2020) was a Lithuanian-Australian actor and writer best known for his performances as Schutzstaffel (SS) officers in '' The Guns of Navarone'' (1961) and '' The Great Escape'' (196 ...
. He died from
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...
two days later after swallowing the contents of five bottles of the barbiturate
Nembutal. He left behind two suicide notes, one of which read:
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
wrote in ''
Bring on the Empty Horses
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
'' (1975), the second volume of his memoirs, that in 1937, his friend George Sanders had predicted that he would commit suicide from a
barbiturate overdose
Barbiturate overdose is poisoning due to excessive doses of barbiturates. Symptoms typically include difficulty thinking, poor coordination, decreased level of consciousness, and a decreased effort to breathe (respiratory depression). Complicati ...
when he was 65, and that in his 50s, he had appeared to be depressed because his marriages had failed and several tragedies had befallen him.
Sanders has two stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, for films at 1636 Vine Street and television at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.
References
Bibliography
* Aherne, Brian. ''A Dreadful Man: The Story of Hollywood's Most Original Cad, George Sanders''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1979. .
* McNally, Peter. ''Bette Davis: The Performances that made her Great''. Jefferson North Carolina: McFarland, 2008. .
* Niven, David. ''The Moon's A Balloon''. London: Dell Publishing, 1983. .
* Sanders, George. ''Memoirs of a Professional Cad: The Autobiography of George Sanders''. London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1960. .
* VanDerBeets, Richard. ''George Sanders: An Exhausted Life''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Madison Books, 1990. .
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
, -
!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", Husband of a Gabor Sister
!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", Acting roles
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, George
1906 births
1972 suicides
20th Century Studios contract players
20th-century English male actors
20th-century English male singers
20th-century English singers
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
barbiturates-related deaths
Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
British expatriate male actors in the United States
drug-related suicides in Spain
emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom
English autobiographers
English male film actors
English male non-fiction writers
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Estonian descent
English people of German descent
English people of Scottish descent
male actors from Saint Petersburg
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
people educated at Bedales School
people educated at Brighton College
people from Brighton
RKO Pictures contract players
singers from Saint Petersburg
writers from Saint Petersburg