DANA ANDREWS
Information from IMDb
Date of Birth
1 January 1909, Covington County, Mississippi, USA
Date of Death
17 December 1992, Los Alamitos, California, USA (pneumonia, complicated by congestive heart failure)
Birth Name
Carver Dana Andrews
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Spouse
Mary Todd (17 November 1939 - 17 December 1992) (his death) 3 children
Janet Murray (31 December 1932 - 29 October 1935) (her death) 2 children
Trivia
Trained as an opera singer, but was rarely, e.g. in The North Star (1943), allowed to use his fine singing voice in the movies. In the one musical he did make, State Fair (1945), his voice was dubbed because the studio was unaware he was a trained singer. He later explained that he didn't correct their mistake because he felt the singer dubbing him probably needed the money.
Brother of actor Steve Forrest.
Sons: David Andrews (1934-1964) & Stephen Andrews (b. 1944). Daughters: Katharine Andrews (b. 1942) & Susan Andrews (b. 1948).
In the late 1940s, during the height of his popularity, the publicist for Fox sent a telegram to the mayor of Collins, Mississippi suggesting that the town officially change its name to Andrews in honor of its native son. The mayor wired back: "We will not change our name to Andrews. Have Andrews change his to Collins."
President of Screen Actors Guild (SAG). [1963-1965]
Mentioned in the opening song to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) ("Science Fiction")
Suffered from Alzheimer's Disease in his last years.
He appeared with actress Gene Tierney in five films: Tobacco Road (1941), Belle Starr (1941), Laura (1944), The Iron Curtain (1948) and Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 22-23. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.
Spent the last years of his life in a nursing facility in Los Alamitos, California due to Alzheimer's Disease. Fellow actor and long-time friend Burt Lancaster was visiting Andrews when Lancaster suffered the paralyzing stroke from which he never recovered and lead to his death 2 years later.
Personal Quotes
[after having received 'permission' from Samuel Goldwyn to get married] About a week before the wedding was planned I got a call from the casting director: "Let your hair and your beard grow. You're going to be in a western". So in the society column of the Santa Monica paper there was a picture of the two of us, me with this beard, and it said, "Mr. Andrews is an actor. Note the beard."
It's not difficult for me to hide emotion [on-screen], since I've always hidden it in my personal life.
[regarding his alcoholism:] Finally, I said to myself, 'You're a miserable man. Whether or not you want to remain miserable is up to you.' So I quit.
I went through all the psychiatry thing, trying to find out why I drank. I finally ended up with the president of the American Psychiatry Association in Hartford telling me, 'I'm damned if I know why you drink
Mini Biography
President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1963 to 1965, Dana Andrews was one of the first to speak out against the degradation of the acting profession, particularly actresses doing nude scenes just to get a role. Probably the first actor to do a public service announcement about alcoholism (in 1972 for the U.S. Department of Transportation), he was a member of the National Council on Alcoholism and did public speaking tours. Quote from Bob Greene, "Chicago Tribune", November 3, 1993: "To me, Andrews . . . represented both the grand possibilities and the ultimate despair the movies can offer a man. He was a certified movie star, yet by the end of his life he enjoyed neither artistic acclaim granted a Fellini, nor the ease of getting a job taken for granted by a Phoenix." Worked with such directors as Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, William A. Wellman, Jean Renoir, Elia Kazan.
IMDb Mini Biography By:
Mini Biography-2
American leading man of the 1940s and 1950s. The son of a Baptist minister (and one of 13 children), Andrews studied business administration at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Texas, but took a bookkeeping job with Gulf Oil in 1929 prior to graduating. In 1931 he hitchhiked to California, hoping to get work as an actor. He drove a school bus, dug ditches, picked oranges, worked as a stock boy, and pumped gas while trying without luck to break into the movies. His employer at a Van Nuys gas station believed in him and agreed to invest in him, asking to be repaid if and when Andrews made it as an actor. Andrews studied opera and also entered the Pasadena Community Playhouse, the famed theatre company and drama school. He appeared in scores of plays there in the 1930s, becoming a favorite of the company. He played opposite future star Robert Preston in a play about composers Gilbert and Sullivan, and soon thereafter was offered a contract by Samuel Goldwyn. It was two years before Goldwyn and 20th Century-Fox (to whom Goldwyn had sold half of Andrews' contract) put him in a film, but the roles, though secondary, were mostly in top-quality pictures such as The Westerner (1940) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). A starring role in the hit Laura (1944), followed by one in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), made him a star, but no later film quite lived up to the quality of these. Andrews slipped into a steady stream of unremarkable films in which he gave sturdy performances, until age and other interests resulted in fewer appearances. In addition, his increasing alcoholism caused him to lose the confidence of some producers. Andrews took steps to curb his addiction and in his later years was an outspoken member of the National Council on Alcoholism who decried public refusal to face the problem. He was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1963. He retired from films in the 1960s and made, he said, more money from real estate than he ever did in movies. Yet he and his second wife, actress Mary Todd, lived quietly in a modest home in Studio City, California. Andrews suffered from Alzheimer's Disease in his later years and spent his final days in a nursing facility. He died of congestive heart failure and pneumonia in 1992.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
Filmography
Actor
2005 .From Page to Screen to Stage: Rodgers & Hammerstein's State Fair (video short)
...Pat Gilbert
1985. Prince Jack...The Cardinal
1982-1983. Falcon Crest (TV series)...Elliot McKay
– Deliberate Disclosure (1983) … Elliot McKay
– The Candidate (1982) … Elliot McKay
1982. The Love Boat (TV series)...Mr. Gerber
– Command Performance/Hyde and Seek/Sketchy Love (1982) … Mr. Gerber
1980. Ike: The War Years (TV movie)...General George C. Marshall
1980. The Pilot...Randolph Evers
1979. Ike (TV mini-series)...Gen. George C. Marshall
1978. Born Again...Tom Phillips
1978. The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (TV series)...Townley
– Assault on the Tower (1978) … Townley
1978. Have Girls Will Travel (TV series)...Phillips
– The Cancelled Czech (1978) … Phillips
1978. Good Guys Wear Black...Edgar Harolds
1978. A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud (short)
1977. Hallmark Hall of Fame (TV series)...Roger Shanley
– The Last Hurrah (1977) … Roger Shanley
1976. The Last Tycoon...Red Ridingwood
1976. Ellery Queen (TV series)...Lewis Marshall
– The Adventure of the Judas Tree (1976) … Lewis Marshall
1975. Take a Hard Ride...Morgan
1975. The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant (TV movie)...Dr. Hutchins
1975 .A Shadow in the Streets (TV movie)...Len Raeburn
1974 .Ironside (TV series)...Courtenay Eliot
– The Lost Cotillion (1974) … Courtenay Eliot
1974. Airport 1975...Scott Freeman
1972. Innocent Bystanders...Blake
1971. Night Gallery (TV series)...Paul Koch
– The Different Ones/Tell David.../Logoda's Heads (1971) … Paul Koch
1971. The Failing of Raymond (TV movie)...Allan McDonald
1970. The Name of the Game (TV series)...Marvin Taylor
– The Time Is Now (1970) … Marvin Taylor
1969. Bright Promise (TV series)...Thomas Boswell (1969-1970)
1969 .Family Affair (TV series)...Harv Mullen
– The Wings of an Angel (1969) … Harv Mullen
1968. The Devil's Brigade...Brig. Gen. Walter Naylor
1967. The Frozen Dead...Dr. Norberg
1967. The 1000 Carat Diamond...Mr. Kimmins
1967. I diamanti che nessuno voleva rubare...Il gioielliere
1967. Il cobra...Capt. Kelly
1967 .Hot Rods to Hell (TV movie)...Tom Phillips
1966. Johnny Reno..Johnny Reno
1965. Battle of the Bulge...Col. Pritchard
1965. The Loved One...Gen. Buck Brinkman
1965 .Spy in Your Eye...Col. Lancaster
1965. Town Tamer..Tom Rosser
1965. Brainstorm..Cort Benson
1965. Crack in the World...Dr. Stephen Sorenson
1965. In Harm's Way...Adm. Broderick
1965. The Satan Bug...Gen. Williams
1964. The Presidency: A Splendid Misery (TV movie)
1964 .Theatre of Stars (TV series)..Douglas Vinson
– A Wind of Hurricane Force (1964) … Douglas Vinson
1964. Ben Casey (TV series)...Dr. Ernest Farrow
– The Light That Loses, the Night That Wins (1964) … Dr. Ernest Farrow
1962-1963. Alcoa Premiere (TV series)..Adam Stark / Pat Barrat
– The Town That Died (1963) … Adam Stark
– The Boy Who Wasn't Wanted (1962) … Pat Barrat
1962-1963. The Dick Powell Show (TV series)...Nat Keough / Paul Oakland
– The Last of the Big Spenders (1963) … Paul Oakland
– Crazy Sunday (1962) … Nat Keough
1963. The Twilight Zone (TV series)...Paul Driscoll
– No Time Like the Past (1963) … Paul Driscoll
1962. The DuPont Show of the Week (TV series)...Commander Jason Vanning / Narrator
– Mutiny (1962) … Commander Jason Vanning
– Emergency Ward (1962) … Narrator
1962. Checkmate (TV series)...Judge Leland McIntyre
– Trial by Midnight (1962) … Judge Leland McIntyre
1962. Madison Avenue...Clint Lorimer
1961. The Barbara Stanwyck Show (TV series)
Clint Evans
– Yanqui Go Home (1961) … Clint Evans
1960. General Electric Theater (TV series)...Carl Anderson
– The Playoff (1960) … Carl Anderson
1960 .The Crowded Sky...Dick Barnett
1958-1960. Playhouse 90 (TV series)...Leo Bass / Mark Bragg
– Alas, Babylon (1960) … Mark Bragg
– The Right Hand Man (1958) … Leo Bass
1958. Typee...Abner 'Ab' Bedford
1958. The Fearmakers...Alan Eaton
1957. Night of the Demon...Dr. John Holden
1957. Zero Hour!...Lt. Ted Stryker
1957 Spring Reunion...Fred Davis
1956 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt...Tom Garrett
1956 While the City Sleeps...Edward Mobley
1956 Comanche..Jim Read
1955 .Strange Lady in Town...Dr. Rourke O'Brien
1955. Smoke Signal..Brett Halliday
1954. Three Hours to Kill..Jim Guthrie
1954. Duel in the Jungle...Scott Walters
1954. Elephant Walk...Dick Carver
1952 .Assignment: Paris...Jimmy Race
1951. I Want You...Martin Greer
1951.The Frogmen...Jake Flannigan
1951. Sealed Cargo...Pat Bannon
1950. Stronger Than Fear...Father Thomas Roth
1950. Where the Sidewalk Ends...Det. Mark Dixon
1949. My Foolish Heart...Walt Dreiser
1949. Sword in the Desert...Mike Dillon
1949. Britannia Mews..Henry Lambert/Gilbert Lauderdale
1948. No Minor Vices...Perry Aswell
1948.Deep Waters...Hod Stillwell
1948. The Iron Curtain...Igor Gouzenko
1947. Daisy Kenyon...Dan O'Mara
1947. Night Song...Dan Evans
1947 .Boomerang!..State's Atty. Henry L. Harvey
1946. The Best Years of Our Lives..Fred Derry
1946. Canyon Passage...Logan Stuart
1945 .A Walk in the Sun..Sgt. Bill Tyne
1945. Fallen Angel..Eric Stanton
1945. State Fair...Pat Gilbert
1944. Laura..Det. Lt. Mark McPherson
1944. Wing and a Prayer..Lt. Cmdr. Edward Moulton
1944. The Purple Heart..Capt. Harvey Ross
1944.. Up in Arms..Joe Nelson
1943. The North Star...Kolya Simonov
1943. The Ox-Bow Incident...Donald Martin
1943. Crash Dive...Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors
1943. December 7th...Ghost of US sailor killed at Pearl Harbor
1942.Berlin Correspondent...Bill Roberts
1941. Ball of Fire...Joe Lilac
1941. The Man Who Came Back...Ben
1941. Belle Starr...Major Thomas Crail
1941. Tobacco Road...Capt. Tim Harmon
1940. The Westerner...Hod Johnson
1940.Kit Carson...Captain John C. Fremont
1940. Sailor's Lady...Scrappy Wilson
1940. Lucky Cisco Kid...Sergeant Dunn