Henry King (1886 - 1982)

Henry King was an American film director who began his career in the early twentieth century and is considered by many to be one of the finest and most successful filmmakers of the early Golden Age.

After an initial learning period as both actor and director, he spent 31 years at 20th Century-Fox, honing his craft. He was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Director as well as directing seven films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Henry King was one of the founding fathers of American film and remains one of the legendary figures in Hollywood history.

Biography

He was born on January 24, 1886 on the family farm near Christianburg, Virginia. After initial ambitions to become an engineer, Henry became fascinated by the stage and set his sights on an acting career.

The Young Actor

He left school at 15 to work in the machine shops of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. After a few years, King found more suitable employment as an apprentice actor with the touring Empire Stock Company in Roanoake, Virginia, where he often performed song-and-dance routines in blackface. There followed a succession of other stock companies and he began touring the country gaining extensive experience as well as great confidence in his own abilities.

In 1913 he joined the Balboa Amusement Producing Company and was cast as various types of western villains in many one-reelers. Moving to California the following year, he graduated to full-length feature films usually as a romantic lead often co-starring opposite popular child actress Marie Osborne. From 1913 to1925, he acted in approximately sixty films.

The Young Director

He directed for the first time in 1915 and his early silent film successes included 'Little Mary Sunshine' in 1916 which made a star out of Baby Marie Osborne, the hit comedy '231/2 Hours Leave' in 1919, and 'Tol’able David' in 1921.

King directed 'The White Sister' in 1923, a critically acclaimed romantic drama starring Lillian Gish and Ronald Coleman, and after he joined Sam Goldwyn at United Artists in 1925, his career continued on an upward curve. He made 'Stella Dallas' in 1925 and 'The Winning of Barbara Worth' the following year, starring a young Gary Cooper.

The transition to sound over the next few years did not cause him any difficulty. He made two part-sound movies at this time, 'The Woman Disputed' in 1927 and 'She Goes to War' two years later.

Fox Studios

He began his long association with Fox Studios in 1930 and quickly had success with 'Lightnin' in that year and 'Merely Mary Ann' in 1931 with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell.

His first huge sound success was 'State Fair' in 1933, starring Will Rogers and Janet Gaynor. He again hit the jackpot with 'In Old Chicago' and ' Alexander's Ragtime Band' both in 1938 and in 1939 'Jesse James' with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda was one of the most popular movies of the year., while 'Lloyd's of London' in 1936 made a star of Tyrone Power.

There then started a golden period for King. After directing 'Stanley and Livingstone' in 1939 he had another great success in 1941 with 'A Yank in the RAF' with Power and Betty Grable. The following year 'The Black Swan' was a popular adventure movie again with Power, and King earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for 'The Song of Bernadette' in 1943, starring Jennifer Jones. Jones herself won the Academy Award for best actress and the film was nominated for Best Picture.

In 1944, King earned his second Oscar nomination for Best Director, for 'Wilson', a biopic of the life of Woodrow Wilson. Despite critical acclaim, the film was a commercial flop.

World War II

King had obtained his flying licence in 1918 and during the war, he served in Brownsville, Texas, as the deputy commander of the Civil Air Patrol coastal patrol base, holding the rank of captain. (In his final years, he was the oldest licensed private pilot in the United States.)

After the war, King directed 'A Bell for Adano' in 1945 and 'Margie' the following year which slowly built to a box office success.

King showed great versatility in his choice of movies, making the psychological war drama 'Twelve O'Clock High' in 1949, the offbeat, brutal western 'The Gunfighte' in 1950 and the smart, serious western 'The Bravados' in 1958. These last three all starred Gregory Peck, another of King's preferred actors.

Later Career

King directed 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' in 1952, based on the short story by Ernest Hemingway, with Peck, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner, which was one of the most popular movies of the decade and reputedly Ernest Hemingway's favorite among all his filmed adaptations.

King made two more historical films with Power, 'King of the Khyber Rifles' in 1954 and 'Untamed' the following year. After the musical 'Carousel' in 1956), King directed another Hemingway adaptation, 'The Sun Also Rises' in 1957, which was another box office disappointment.

After 'Beloved Infidel' in 1959 with Peck and Deborah Kerr he made his last movie, 'Tender Is the Night' in 1962 with Jennifer Jones.

Personal

King was married twice, firstly in 1915 to the actress Gyspy Abbott, They had three children, Frank, John and Martha, the marriage ending with her death in 1922.

Around the time of filming The White Sister in 1923, King converted from the Methodist church to Catholicism.

His second marriage, in 1959, was to Ida Davis,the marriage ending with his death.

Henry King died at home on June 29, 1982 of a heart attack. He was 96. He was interred in the Davis King family plot at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Tampa, Florida.

Henry King Filmography