ABOUT FREDRIC MARCH (1897 - 1975)
Born in Racine, Wisconsin March was a respected Broadway stage
and screen actor, who became a popular movie star of the thirties
and forties. Fredric March's real name was Frederick McIntyre Bickel. March Had a long marriage to actress Florence Eldridge and frequently
acted in Broadway plays with her.
March won the Oscar for Best Actor for DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931) and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). In addition, Fredric March was nominated
for his portrayal of John Barrymore in THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BROADWAY (1930).
In 1937, he was also nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of an alcoholic star on his way down, in A STAR IS BORN. Janet Gayno played the young hopeful starlet he marries in the last hour of his success.
Frederick March commented on the Hollywood machine: "Stardom is just an uneasy seat on top of a tricky toboggan. Being a star is merely perching at the head of the downgrade. A competent featured player can last a lifetime. A star, a year or two. There's all that agony of finding suitable stories, keeping in character, maintaining illusion. Then the undignified position of hanging on while your popularity is declining."
In 1951, Frederic March played the anguished Will Loman in the film adaptation of DEATH OF A SALESMAN and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
Frederic March philosophized on the difference between being an actor in movies and on the stage. "Pictures are physically tiring; the theater is mentally tiring. Pictures last, the theater is built on sand. But I am grateful for my theater experience."
THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BROADWAY( 1931)
A STAR IS BORN (1937)
DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1951)
Fredric March's other credits include:
THE AFFAIRS OF CELLINI
DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
LES MISERABLES
ANNA KARENINA
MARY OF SCOTLAND
ANTHONY ADVERSE
NOTHING SACRED
THE BUCCANEER
ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN
I MARRIED A WITCH
THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
EXECUTIVE SUITE
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
THE MAN IN THE GREY FLANNEL SUIT
INHERIT THE WIND
SEVEN DAYS IN MAY
HOMBRE
TICK TICK TICK
THE ICEMAN COMETH
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