Jean Hersholt | |
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![]() Hersholt in 1929 | |
Born | Jean Pierre Carl Buron [1] 12 July 1886 Copenhagen, Denmark |
Died | 2 June 1956 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
Other names | Jean Pierre Hersholt Jean Buron Hersholt |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1906–1955 |
Spouse | Via Hersholt (m. 1914) |
Children | 2 sons |
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series Dr. Christian (1937–1954) and in the film Heidi (1937). [2] Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest , "In English, her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult." [3] Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films (140 total); he directed four.
Hersholt was born Jean Pierre Carl Buron in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hersholt claimed to be born into a family of actors, [4] but in reality, both of his parents Henri Pierre Buron, the son of a French Catholic father and a Danish Protestant mother, and Clara (née Petersen), the daughter of a Danish Protestant father and a Danish Jewish mother, were hairdressers, though the father later was a cigar and wine retailer/vendor. [5] Hersholt appeared in two of the first short films of Danish film studio Nordisk Film in 1906, but did not find much success in his early years in Denmark. [6]
He was embroiled in a scandal surrounding the so-called "big sexual offence trial" in Copenhagen 1906/07 as an informant for the tabloid newspaper Middagsposten. [5] The ensuing moral panic and outing of several prominent men as homosexuals eventually involved Hersholt (then Buron), who was barely out of his teen years.. He reported to the police, admitted to prostitution, and was sentenced to 8 months in prison. [5]
Hersholt emigrated to the United States in 1913, and spent the remainder of his acting career in America.
Hersholt's best-remembered film roles include Marcus Schouler in Erich von Stroheim's 1924 Greed and Shirley Temple's beloved grandfather in the 1937 film version of the 1880 children's book, Heidi , written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. During his long career in the movies, his roles ran the gamut from early silent villains to secondary parts in which his mild Danish accent and pleasant voice suited him to depict a succession of benevolent fathers, doctors, professors, and European noblemen. Hersholt's last role was in the 1955 movie Run for Cover .[ citation needed ]
In The Country Doctor (1936), a movie starring the Dionne quintuplets, Hersholt portrayed Dr. John Luke, a character based on Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the Canadian obstetrician who delivered and cared for the Dionne quintuplets. Two sequels followed. Hersholt wanted to do the role on radio, but could not get the rights. He decided to create his own doctor character for radio, and since he was a Hans Christian Andersen enthusiast, he borrowed that name for his character of the philosophical Dr. Paul Christian who practiced in the Midwest town of River's End with the assistance of Nurse Judy Price. With the opening theme music of "Rainbow on the River", Dr. Christian was introduced on CBS on 7 November 1937 on The Vaseline Program, or Dr. Christian's Office and later Dr. Christian.[ citation needed ]
The small-town physician's good humor, innate common sense, and scientific training helped drive off a series of villainous types who tried to interfere with the peaceful lifestyle of River's End. Produced by Dorothy McCann, the radio series became a popular long-running hit, continuing on CBS until 6 January 1954, with Hersholt so strongly identified with the role that he received mail asking for medical advice. Various spin-offs were produced, as Hersholt co-wrote a Dr. Christian novel and made a series of six family films as Christian from 1939 to 1941, for instance Dr. Christian Meets the Women in 1940. In 1956, his Dr. Christian character made the transition to television, scripted by Gene Roddenberry, with Macdonald Carey as his nephew Dr. Mark Christian. From the '30s through the '50s, Neil Reagan, brother of Ronald Reagan, directed the radio series Dr. Christian, starring Jean Hersholt.
In 1939, Hersholt helped form the Motion Picture Relief Fund to support industry employees with medical care when they were down on their luck. The fund was used to create the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and it led to the creation in 1956 of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Academy Award given to an "individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry". [7]
As president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hersholt presented American film industry founders Colonel William N. Selig, Albert E. Smith, George K. Spoor, and Thomas Armat with special awards on the 20th anniversary of the academy's founding on March 20, 1948. [8]
Hersholt's large collection of Hans Christian Andersen books is now in the Library of Congress. He translated over 160 of Andersen's fairy tales into the English language. These were published in 1949 in six volumes as The Complete Andersen, this work is "... rated as the standard translation, being one of the best" in English. [9] Hersholt was appointed a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1948, partly due to this endeavor. [10]
Hersholt appeared as the mystery guest on the popular CBS panel/quiz show What's My Line? on August 31, 1952.
Hersholt married Via Andersen on 11 April 1914. They had one son: Allan Hersholt.[ citation needed ]
He was the paternal half-uncle (by marriage) of actor Leslie Nielsen and former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Erik Nielsen. [11]
Hersholt died of cancer in Hollywood in 1956, and is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. His grave is marked with a statue of Klods-Hans (English: Clumsy Hans), a Hans Christian Andersen character who left home to find his way in the world — much as Hersholt himself had done. [12]
Hersholt was honored for his services to the industry twice with an honorary Academy Award, first in 1940 and the second time in 1950, and in his honor the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [13] He is one of only 11 people with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with one at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in motion pictures and another one at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in radio.
Year | Program | Episode/source |
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1943 | Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre | Men in White [14] |
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The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". Prior to 2009 and in 2021, this award was presented during the main Oscars ceremony. The award category was instituted in 1956 and first awarded at the 29th Academy Awards, in March 1957. Unlike the Academy Award of Merit, the awards are restricted with the nomination and voting limited to industry professionals for this that are members of the Board of Governors of AMPAS.
"The Ugly Duckling" is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection, with three other tales by Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark to great critical acclaim. The tale has been adapted to various media including opera, musical, and animated film. The tale is an original story by Andersen.
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Sherry Lansing is an American philanthropist and retired film studio executive. She is the Chairman of the Universal Music Group, and was the CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. In 1996, she became the first woman to be named Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of the Motion Picture Pioneers. In 1999, she was appointed to the University of California Board of Regents. In 2005, she became the first female movie studio head to place hand and foot prints at the Grauman's Chinese Theater. In 2001, she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies' Home Journal, and The Hollywood Reporter named her fourth on its Power 100 list in 2003.
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Dr. Christian is a radio series with Jean Hersholt in the title role. It aired on CBS Radio from November 7, 1937 to January 6, 1954. In 1956, the series was adapted for television where it aired in syndication until 1957.
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I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better.