Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

[klind65]

Anyone familiar with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.? What is your impression of him? Any anecdotes about him? Has anyone read his biographies?

 

[dhermann1]

BIG fan of him. My favorite Fairbanks Jr movie is the very politically incorrect, but terrific "Gunga Din". Very classy man. I would have a hard time deciding which, the father or the son, I was a bigger fan of, tho. Doug Fairbanks Sr was a real superstar as well.

 

[skyvue]

Fairbanks Sr.'s 1917 book, LAUGH AND LIVE, is available in e-book form for free here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12887

I think it's a sort of combination memoir/self-help/advice book.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I fell in love with Fairbanks Sr. when I was seven years old and saw "The Mark Of Zorro" on TV -- and I still think he's the most dynamic screen personality ever. Nobody today even comes close.

Fairbanks Jr. I came to appreciate much later, when I learned about his career during WW2. It would have been very easy for him to spend the war making training films and selling bonds, as many of his colleagues did, but his real-life Navy service went far beyond what most actors of his time were willing to contribute.

As an actor, he deserves credit for not trying to be his father all over again -- I think my favorite picture of his would be "The Rage of Paris," a comedy where he plays opposite Danielle Darrieux (who is still alive and well and acting in her 90s) -- he's the very epitome of frustrated suavity in this picture, and it's quite unlike anything his dad ever did.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

I picked up his autobiography at our local library sale. It is called "Salad Days."
Haven't read it yet but it looks like an interesting look at Hollywood from the inside. And the dude married Joan Crawford when she was hot - before the whole "wire hangers" thing.

 

[Fletch]

Hot's an understatement. Early-talkie-era Crawford was what we today would call sex on legs.

 

[scotrace]

Crawford was what we today would call sex on legs.

Which is also an understatement!

 

[Widebrim]

Fairbanks, Jr. is one of my favorite "action" actors, and my favorite film of his is also Gunga Din. (The Corsican Brothers is a good romp, too.) Salad Days is an interesting read, and I recommend it to those who want to know more about DF,J.

 

[Tomasso]

And the dude married Joan Crawford when she was hot

Me thinks she ran hot for quite a long time.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Me thinks she ran hot for quite a long time.

Yep

Alfred Steele (14 January 1956 - 6 April 1959) (his death)
Phillip Terry (21 July 1942 - 25 April 1946) (divorced) 1 child
Franchot Tone (11 October 1935 - 11 April 1939) (divorced)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (3 June 1929 - 12 May 1933) (divorced)
James Welton (1923 - 1924) (divorced)


and many many more....

 

[C-dot]

Might we compare notes, Carlisle Blues?

• Actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr (1929-33, divorced)
• Actor Franchot Tone (1935-39, divorced)
• adopted daughter, Christina
• Actor Phillip Terry (1942-46, divorced)
• adopted son, Christopher
• adopted "twins," Cathy and Cynthia
• Pepsi Magnate Alfred Steele (1955-59, his death)

From all the biographies I've read on her - And I've read a few - She was never married to James Welton.

And, as Bette Davis once said: "She's slept with every male star at MGM, except Lassie." lol

 

[dhermann1]

Ahemmm . . . . getting back to Doug Fairbanks . . . .

 

[C-dot]

Ahemmm . . . . getting back to Doug Fairbanks . . . .

Pardon me, I'm sure

I remember him on The Love Boat as Mr Norman, and I believe he was on the Pat Boone and Red Skelton Show. He was also in this fab documentary about Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr's mansion "Pickfair," though for the life of me I can't remember what it's called...

 

[dhermann1]

I have to confess after reading the previous couple of posts I read 2 or 3 bios of Joan Crawford and looked at all 82 pics of her on IMDB. INNNteresting woman.
But . . . getting back to what's his name. I once saw him recite Kipling's poem "If" (If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . . etc.) on the Today Show, and was very impressed. He just exuded class. In later life I think he dabbled in dilplomacy, and was one of those society dudes about town.

 

[Lily Powers]

...And, as Bette Davis once said: "She's slept with every male star at MGM, except Lassie." lol

It's my understanding however, that Lassie was quite a discreet dog.

A book I read some time back brought up the suggestion that MGM arranged for Doug Fairbanks Jr. to marry Joan because it would clean up Joan's image.

Even though Fairbanks Jr., while married to Joan, was named in the alienation of affection suit drawn up Jorgen Dietz, Joan had been named in two such suits before their 1929 marriage.

Joan in the early days is just so much fun to watch on screen - softer and freer than the thick-browed, iconic Joan of later years . "Our Modern Maidens," a silent, is one of my favorites - sometimes you can catch it on TCM now and then.

 

[Tomasso]

Even though Fairbanks Jr., while married to Joan, was named in the alienation of affection suit

And years later he was named a co-respondent in the Duchess of Argyll divorce. He was thought to have been the headless man.

 

[Flivver]

Fairbanks Sr. is one of my all-time favorite actors. To me, he portrays the "all-American boy" image of the first third of the 20th century.

I'm not as much of a fan of Fairbanks Jr., although in fairness to him, his father was a tough act to follow.

 

[NicknNora]

I liked him in the 1938 comedy Young at Heart with Paulette Goddard, Billie Burke, Roland Young and Janet Gaynor. I also liked him in Sinbad the Sailor, Gunga Din and The Prisoner of Zenda.

 

[Naphtali]

We have a perfect venue to identify how good an actor Mr. Fairbanks, Jr., is. "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937; Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll) had Fairbanks portraying Rupert of Hentzau. He was perfect, stealing every scene he was in. The motion picture was remade, scene-for-scene, in 1952 (Stewart Granger, Debora Kerr). The fine actor, James Mason, portrayed Hentzau. The difference is astonishing, Fairbanks being so far superior in his portrayal it is embarrassing for Mason. I have no idea why he was not among the dominant action stars of his era.

 

[dhermann1]

Just getting back to Senior, if you haven't seen him as the original Zorro, or the Thief of Baghdad, or many others, you're in for a real treat. He did about three talkies before he died, but the best one is called Reaching for the Moon, from 1930, also featuring a very young Bing Crosby. He was just a fabulous presence on the screen, which was why he was one of the very first real super stars.