Leo Genn
Leo Genn | |
---|---|
in The Miniver Story (1950) | |
Born |
Leopold John Genn 9 August 1905 London, England, UK |
Died |
26 January 1978 72) London, England, UK | (aged
Years active | 1935–75 |
Spouse(s) |
Marguerite van Praag (1933–78, his death) |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | British Army |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | Royal Artillery |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Leo John Genn (9 August 1905 – 26 January 1978) was a British stage and film actor and barrister.[1]
Early life and family
Genn was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, the son of Woolfe (William) Genn, a jewellery salesman, and Rachel Genn (née Asserson). His parents were both Jewish.
Genn attended the City of London School and studied law at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, qualifying as a barrister in 1928. He ceased practising as a lawyer soon after World War II. On 14 May 1933, Genn married Marguerite van Praag, a casting director at Ealing Studios. They had no children.
Career
Theatre career
Genn's theatrical debut was in 1930 in A Marriage has been Disarranged at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne and then at the Royalty Theatre in Dean Street, London. Actor/manager Leon M. Lion had engaged him simultaneously as an actor and attorney. In 1933 he appeared in Ballerina by Rodney Ackland. Between September 1934 and March 1936, Leo Genn was a member of the Old Vic Company where he appeared in many productions of Shakespeare. In 1937 he was Horatio in Tyrone Guthrie's production of Hamlet, with Laurence Olivier as Hamlet, in Elsinore, Denmark. In 1938, Genn appeared in the theatrical hit, The Flashing Stream by Charles Langbridge Morgan and went with the show to America and Broadway. His many other stage performances included Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest, 12 Angry Men, The Devil's Advocate, Maugham's The Sacred Flame. In 1959 Genn gave a reading [2] in Chichester Cathedral.
Film career
Genn's first film role was as Shylock in Immortal Gentleman (1935), a biography of Shakespeare. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. hired Genn as a technical advisor on the film Accused (1936). He was subsequently given a small part in the film on the strength of a "splendid voice and presence". Genn received another small role in Alexander Korda's The Drum (1938) and was the young man who danced with Eliza Doolittle at the duchess's ball in Pygmalion, a film made in the same year, although he was uncredited.
War service
Genn was commissioned in the Royal Artillery on 6 July 1940[3] and was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in 1943. In 1944, the actor was given official leave to appear as the Constable of France in Laurence Olivier's Henry V.
Genn was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1945. He was part of the British unit that investigated war crimes at Belsen concentration camp and later was an assistant prosecutor at the trial for Belsen in Lüneburg, Germany.
Post-war
He was in Green for Danger (1946) and The Snake Pit (1948). After his Academy Award-nominated success as Petronius in Quo Vadis (1951) he appeared in John Huston's Moby Dick (1956). Genn also appeared in some rather forgettable American films, such as The Girls of Pleasure Island, and Plymouth Adventure (1952), a fictionalised, but entertaining soap opera treatment of the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth Rock. He fared far better in a British film, Personal Affair (1953), starring opposite Gene Tierney.
He played Major Michael Pemberton in Roberto Rossellini's Era Notte a Roma (Escape by Night, 1960). Leo Genn narrated the coronation programmes of both 1937 and 1953,[4] the King George VI Memorial Programme in 1952, and the United Nations ceremonial opening (in the USA) in 1947.
Genn was a governor of the Mermaid Theatre and trustee of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. He was also council member of the Arts Educational Trust. He was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theatre Arts, Pennsylvania State University, 1968 and Visiting Professor of Drama, University of Utah, 1969.
Death
Genn died in London on 26 January 1978. The immediate cause of death was a heart attack, brought on by complications of pneumonia.
Selected filmography
- 1935 Immortal Gentleman as Merchant / Shylock
- 1936 Dream Doctor as Husband
- 1936 Rhodes of Africa as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
- 1936 Accused as Man (uncredited)
- 1937 The Cavalier of the Streets as Attorney General
- 1937 Jump for Glory as Prosecuting Counsel
- 1937 The Rat as Defending Counsel
- 1938 Pygmalion as Prince (uncredited)
- 1938 The Drum as Abdul Fakir (uncredited)
- 1938 Kate Plus Ten as Dr. Gurdon
- 1938 Dangerous Medicine as Murdoch
- 1940 Contraband as First Brother Grimm
- 1940 Ten Days in Paris as Lanson
- 1940 Girl in the News as Prosecuting Counsel (uncredited)
- 1940 Law and Order as Another Agent
- 1942 The Young Mr. Pitt as Danton (uncredited)
- 1943 The Bells Go Down as Off-Screen Narrator (uncredited)
- 1944 The Way Ahead as Capt. Edwards
- 1944 Tunisian Victory as Narrator (voice)
- 1944 The Return of the Vikings as Narrator (voice)
- 1944 Henry V as The Constable of France
- 1945 Caesar and Cleopatra as Bel Affris
- 1947 Green for Danger as Mr. Eden
- 1947 Mourning Becomes Electra as Adam Brant
- 1948 The Velvet Touch as Michael Morrell
- 1948 London Belongs to Me as Narrator, introduction (uncredited)
- 1948 The Snake Pit as Dr. Mark Kik
- 1950 No Place for Jennifer as William Bailey
- 1950 The Wooden Horse as Peter
- 1950 The Miniver Story as Steve Brunswick
- 1951 Quo Vadis as Petronius
- 1951 The Magic Box as Maida Vale Doctor
- 1952 24 Hours of a Woman's Life as Robert Stirling
- 1952 Plymouth Adventure as William Bradford
- 1953 The Girls of Pleasure Island as Roger Halyard
- 1953 The Red Beret as Major Snow
- 1953 Personal Affair as Stephen Barlow
- 1954 The Green Scarf as Rodelec
- 1955 Chantage as Lionel Kendall
- 1955 Lady Chatterley's Lover as Sir Clifford Chatterley
- 1956 Moby Dick as Starbuck
- 1956 Beyond Mombasa as Ralph Hoyt
- 1957 The Steel Bayonet as Maj. Gerrard
- 1958 I Accuse! as Maj. Picquart
- 1958 No Time to Die as Sgt. Kendall
- 1960 Too Hot to Handle as Johnny Solo
- 1960 Era Notte a Roma as British Major Michael Pemberton
- 1962 The Longest Day as Brig. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr.
- 1963 55 Days at Peking as Gen. Jung-Lu
- 1964 The Delhi Way (narrator, documentary)
- 1964 The Secret of Dr. Mabuse as Adm. Quency
- 1965 Ten Little Indians as General Mandrake
- 1966 Circus of Fear as Elliott
- 1966 Khartoum as Narrator (uncredited)
- 1970 The Bloody Judge as Lord Wessex
- 1970 Connecting Rooms as Dr. Norman
- 1971 Lizard in a Woman's Skin as Edmond Brighton
- 1971 Die Screaming, Marianne as The Judge
- 1972 Endless Night as Psychiatrist (uncredited)
- 1973 Escape to Nowhere as Chief of M.I.5
- 1973 The Mackintosh Man as Rollins (uncredited)
- 1974 Frightmare as Dr. Lytell
- 1975 The Martyr as Henryk Goldszmit vel Janusz Korczak (Last appearance)
Genn was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Petronius in Quo Vadis.
Theatre
- 1930 A Marriage Has Been Disarranged, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne, Royalty Theatre
- appearances in: No 17; Tiger Cats; Champion North; While Parents Sleep; Clive of India
- 1931 O.H.M.S.
- 1934-36 Old Vic Company:
- 1934-35 Old Vic Season
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Henry IV Part 2
- Major Barbara
- Hippolytus by Euripides
- The Two Shepherds by Sierra
- Othello
- The Taming of the Shrew, Sadler's Wells
- Saint Joan, Old Vic/Sadler's Wells
- Richard II
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Hamlet
- Shakespeare Birthday Festival- April 23, 1935
- Last Night of Shakespeare Season: scenes from Hamlet, Richard II, Taming of The Shrew, May 20, 1935
- 1935-36 Old Vic Season
- Julius Caesar
- Macbeth
- Richard III
- King Lear
- Saint Helena by R.C. Sherriff
- Peer Gynt
- The School for Scandal
- 1936 St Helena, Dalys Theatre
- 1936-37 Old Vic Season
- Twelfth Night
- Henry V
- 1937 Shakespeare Birthday Festival: excerpts from Shakespeare, April 23, 1937, Old Vic
- 1937 Hamlet as Horatio, at Elsinore
- 1938 Shakespeare Birthday Festival: excerpts from Shakespeare, April 25, 1938, Old Vic
- 1938 The Flashing Stream, Lyric Theatre & New York 1939
- 1946 Another Part of the Forest, New York
- 1948 Jonathan, Aldwych
- 1951 The Seventh Veil, Prince's Theatre
- 1953 Henry VIII, Old Vic
- 1954 The Bombshell, Westminster Theatre
- 1957 Small War on Murray Hill, New York
- 1959 The Hidden River, Cambridge Theatre
- 1961 The Devil's Advocate, New York
- 1964 Fair Game for Lovers, New York
- 1964 12 Angry Men, Queen’s Theatre
- 1967 The Sacred Flame, Duke of York's Theatre
- 1968 The Only Game in Town, New York
- 1968 Caesar and Cleopatra, US
- 1969 Doctor Faustus, US
Television
- 1955 Omnibus: "Herod"
- 1955 Screen Director's Playhouse: "Titanic Incident"
- 1960 Mrs Miniver with Maureen O'Hara as Mrs Miniver and Leo Genn as Clem Miniver, CBS
- 1961 The Defenders
- 1961 The Jack Paar Show, (himself)
- 1961 The Life of Adolf Hitler written & directed by Paul Rotha, commentary by Leo Genn & Marius Goring
- 1962 An Act of Faith, a BBC documentary on Coventry Cathedral, narrated by Leo Genn
- 1963 Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre: "Commander Tony Gardiner"
- 1963 The Merv Griffin Show, (himself)
- 1964 "The Thirty Days of Gavin Heath", an episode of The Virginian, Leo Genn as Gavin Heath
- 1965 The Cat's Cradle by Hugo Charteris, an instalment of The Wednesday Play, BBC Television
- 1967 Saint Joan
- 1969 Strange Report
- 1969 The Expert
- 1970 Howard's End (with Glenda Jackson), an installment of Play of the Month BBC Television
- 1971 The Persuaders
- 1973 The Movie Quiz
- 1974 The Zoo Gang
- 1974 Jackanory
Radio
- 1935 Penarth's Cave, a play and competition by J. Harold Carpenter, The Children's Hour BBC
- 1936 Kitchener,BBC radio
- 1937 The Company of Heaven, devised for Michaelmas by R. Ellis Roberts with music by Benjamin Britten
- 1939 Morte d'Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- 1945 The Man of Property,Young Jolyon in Muriel Levy's adaptation of the first novel in John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga sequence, broadcast by BBC radio in half-hourly episodes
- 1946 The Voyage of Magellan OF MAGELLAN', a dramatic chronicle in verse by Laurie Lee
- 1952 Deburau by Sacha Guitry, adapted by Dennis Arundell from the English version by Harley Granville-Barker
- 1954 Dear Brutus by J. M. Barrie,BBC
- 1954 Jungle Green dramatised & produced by Alan Burgess from the book by Arthur Campbell, BBC
- 1961 No Summer at Sea by Philip Holland BBC
- 1962 The Lark by Jean Anouilh, translated by Christopher Fry, BBC
- 1963 The Enemy Below by Denys Rayner, BBC radio
- 1965 The Skin Game, by John Galsworthy, BBC radio
- recorded a series of W. Somerset Maugham's Ashenden stories for BBC radio.
- Desert Island Discs, Leo Genn was the guest asked to choose 8 recordings, broadcast 26 June 1953.
References
- ↑ Obituary Variety, 1 February 1978.
- ↑ "Search Online". West Sussex Past. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34926. p. 5079. 16 August 1940.
- ↑ "Elizabeth Is Queen (1953)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leo Genn. |
- Leo Genn at Find a Grave
- Leo Genn at the Internet Movie Database
- Performances by Leo Genn, bris.ac.uk; accessed 25 April 2016.
- Leo Genn at the Internet Broadway Database