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Biography for Mary
Astor
Date of Birth:
3 May 1906, Quincy, Illinois, USA
Date of Death:
25 September 1987, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart
attack)
Birth Name:
Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke
Nickname:
The Cameo Girl
Rusty
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Mini Biography
Mary Astor was born, Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke, on May 3, 1906 in
Quincy, Illinois to a German immigrant father, Otto Ludwig Langhanke,
and an American mother from Illinois, Helen Marie Vasconcellos, of
Portuguese and Irish ancestry. Her parents were very ambitious for her
as they recognized Mary's beauty and knowing if they played their cards
right, they could make her famous. They understood that they wanted
something better for their daughter than they had, so they made it
happen by pushing Mary into various beauty contests. Luck was with Mary
and her parents because one contest came to the attention of Hollywood
moguls who signed her at the age of 14. Her first movie was a bit part
in The Scarecrow (1920). It wasn't much, but it was a start. Throughout
1921-1923 she continued her career with bit or minor roles in a number
of motion pictures. In 1924, Mary landed a plum assignment with a role
as Lady Margery Alvaney opposite the great John Barrymore in the film
Beau Brummel (1924). This launched her career to stardom as it did with
a lively affair with Barrymore. However the affair ended before she
could star with him again in the classic Don Juan (1926). Mary was, now,
the new cinematic darling with each film packing the theaters. By the
end of the twenties, the sound revolution had taken a strong hold on the
industry and Mary was one of those lucky actresses who made the
successful transition to "talkies" because of her voice and strong
screen presence. Mary's career took off to greater heights. Films such
as Red Dust (1932), Convention City (1933), Man of Iron (1935), and The
Prisoner of Zenda (1937), kept her star at the top. In 1938, Mary turned
out five feature films which kept her busy and in the spotlight.
Afterwards, she churned out films at a lesser rate. In 1941, she won the
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Sandra Kovac in The
Great Lie (1941). That same year she appeared in the celebrated film The
Maltese Falcon (1941), but her star soon began to fall. Because of her
three divorces, the death of her first husband, Kenneth Hawks who died
in a plane crash, alcoholism, a suicide attempt, and a persistent heart
condition, Mary got smaller roles in movies. In the whole of the 1950s
she appeared in only five productions. Her final fling with the silver
screen was as Jewell Mayhew in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). Even
though this was her final film, she had appeared in a phenomenal 123
motion pictures. Mary lived out her remaining days confined to the
Motion Picture Country Home where she died of a heart attack on
September 25, 1987 at the age of 81.
Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
Mini Biography
Her German immigrant father pushed her into a beauty contest at 14 and
her first movie Sentimental Tommy (1921) at 15. After a number of minor
parts she starred in John Barrymore's Beau Brummel (1924). She had a
lively affair with Barrymore, over with before she starred a second time
with him, in Don Juan (1926), the first silent movie with Vitaphone
music and sound effects. Her first husband, director Kenneth Hawks (brother
of Howard Hawks), died in a 1930 plane crash. While divorcing her second
husband in 1936 her personal diary was entered in evidence in the
custody fight for their daughter. Included among other well-publicized
juicy bits was her secret affair with playwright George Kaufman. Her
career picked up after the scandal -- The Prisoner of Zenda (1937),
Midnight (1939) (again with Barrymore), Brigham Young (1940), and a best
supporting Oscar for The Great Lie (1941). Her crowning role was the
lying Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon (1941). Three divorces,
alcoholism, and attempted suicide resulted in smaller parts from then on
till Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), her last due to a heart
condition. She lived her final years confined to the Motion Picture
Country Home.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan
Spouse
Thomas Gordon Wheelock (24 December 1945 - 30 August 1955) (divorced)
Manuel del Campo (18 February 1937 - 15 December 1942) (divorced) 1
child
Dr. Franklyn Thorpe (29 June 1931 - 12 April 1935) (divorced) 1 child
Kenneth Hawks (24 February 1928 - 2 January 1930) (his death)
Trivia
Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA. Specific
Interment Location: N-L523-5.
Sister-in-law of Howard Hawks, cousin-in-law of Carole Lombard.
In 1959 she penned her frank autobiography, "My Story," which was a best
seller, a tell-all in which she openly discussed her battle with alcohol
and her failed marriages, but, interestingly, avoided the subject of her
film career. She also wrote five novels and came out with a memoir, "A
Life on Film", in 1971, in which she DID discuss her film career. This
was also a best seller.
Sister-in-law of William B. Hawks.
Measurements: 33 1/2 -27-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
WAMPAS Baby of 1926
Daughter, Marylyn Hauoli Thorpe, born 16 June 1932. Son, Anthony
("Tono") born in 1939.
Acording to an August 1924 Topeka Capital article, Mary Astor (Lucille
Langhanke) grew up and attended school in Topeka. Her father was a
window dresser at the Crosby Brothers store.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two,
1986-1990, pages 38-40. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
Her mother was Portuguese.
Personal Quotes
A painter paints, a musician plays, a writer writes - but a movie actor
waits.
I was never totally involved in movies. I was just making my father's
dream come true.
It's not good to make sentimental journeys. You see the differences
instead of the sameness.
[on her early Hollywood roles] I was as two-dimensional as the screen
itself: cool, indifferent, looking lovely in close-ups. Period. Period.
Period. When was I ever going to learn to act? You can't learn if you
can't experiment and find out what works and doesn't work. But the hours
are long, the schedule rigid, so I did what I was told and saved time
and money for the front office. And got a lot of jobs that way.
Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.
A person without memory is either a child or an amnesiac. A country
without memory is neither a child nor an amnesiac, but neither is it a
country.
[on George S. Kaufman] He was the kind of man I'd go over a cliff for.
There are five stages in the life of an actor: Who's Mary Astor? Get me
Mary Astor. Get me a Mary Astor Type. Get me a young Mary Astor. Who's
Mary Astor?
At Metro, you practically had to go to the front office if you wanted
something as real as having your hair mussed. . . All automobiles were
shiny, a picture never hung crooked, a door never squeaked, stocking
seams were always straight and no actress ever had a shiny nose. |
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