He won the 1958 Academy Award for Best Actor for Separate Tables; he was also a co-host of the 30th, 31st and 46th Academy Awards ceremonies. Afterwards, he returned to his chalet at Chateau d'Oex, where his condition continued to decline. Appearing on-screen for only 23 minutes in the film, this is the briefest performance ever to win a Best Actor Oscar. Between 1951 and 1956 he made 11 films, two of which were MGM productions and the rest were low-budget British or independent productions. David Niven Jr. is a British film producer, film actor and script writer who was an executive at Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. He remained with Fox to play the part of a fake love interest in Three Blind Mice (1938). There I saw David lose his British phlegm, his politeness and class. After his mother remarried, Niven's stepfather had him sent away to boarding school. Born May 19, 1920 in Rochester, NY, he moved to Attleboro, MA, at age 3 with his parents, Henry and Gladys Niven. David Niven was born in England. Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. rarely graduated into stars, Niven proved an exception. The couple had two sons, David Jr. and Jamie. Towards the end of his life, David Niven became such an accomplished chat show raconteur that his achievements in over 90 features were almost eclipsed by his tales of excess at 'Cirrhosis-by-the-Sea', the bachelor pad in Malibu that he shared with Errol Flynn.Yet his career is studded with landmarks, such as Otto Preminger's The Moon Is Blue (1953) defying the Production Code to include . James Niven in Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. In 1967 Niven appeared as one of seven incarnations of 007 in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale. This was his last film appearance. He supported Mario Lanza in a musical at MGM, The Toast of New Orleans (1950). William served in the Berkshire Yeomanry in the First World War and was killed during the Gallipoli Campaign on 21 August 1915. He acted in two films made during the war, The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1944). X. It ran for 21 episodes. Niven was last married to David Niven Jr a British film producer and actor from June 19, 1993, to 1998. [4] This liberal borrowing and embroidering of his personal history was also said to be the reason why he persistently refused to appear on This Is Your Life. He secured a small role in A Feather in Her Hat (1935) at Columbia before returning to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a bit role, billed as David Nivens, in Rose Marie (1936). The show ended in 1955, but Four Star TV became a highly successful TV production company. Niven's grandfather William Degacher was killed in the Battle of Isandlwana (1879), during the Zulu War. As preparation Preminger, who had directed the play in New York, insisted that Niven appear on stage in the West Coast run. . Niven had been married twice, latterly to the model Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden. Niven ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel. He registered with Central Casting as "Anglo Saxon Type Number In Malta he became friends with Roy Urquhart, future commander of the British 1st Airborne Division. the film of Terence Rattigan's play, "Separate Tables", an honour that The first, Round the Rugged Rocks (published simultaneously in the US under the title Once Over Lightly), was a novel that appeared in 1951 and was forgotten almost at once. His ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. He blamed his slightly slurred voice on the shooting schedule of the film he had been making, Better Late Than Never. Niven was the head of the William Morris Agency in Europe, which he left for Columbia Pictures in 1970. Niven enjoyed success in 1956, when he starred as Phileas Fogg in Michael Todd's immensely successful production of Around the World in 80 Days. Niven was a born raconteur Biografie (1) James David Graham Niven se narodil v Londn. Matka, dcera armdnho dstojnka, pochzela z Walesu a kdy Davidv otec padl v Bitv o Gallipoli (1915), provdala se za Sira Thomase Comyn-Platta. Born William Hitchcock, he and his brother Henry had followed the lead of their father, Walter Henry Hitchcock, in assuming their mother's maiden name of Degacher in 1874. Clouseau. His health quickly declined and he died in 1983 at age 73, leaving four children and his second wife. He refused to return to the hospital, and his family supported his decision. James Niven. Niven also worked in television. as "Raffles" the gentleman burglar. He then went to England and appeared in a musical with Vera-Ellen, Happy Go Lovely (1951); it was little seen in the US but was a big hit in Britain. With an Academy Award to his credit, Niven's career continued to thrive. "the Phantom", in . We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. David Niven was born in Belgravia, London, England in March 1910 and passed away in July 1983. From Maggie Smith to Michael Caine, from Richard Harris . I adored it and was happier there than I had ever been, especially because, with a rare flash of genius, my mother decided that during the holidays she would be alone with her children. She focused on her academics and was an exceptional student. [17], Niven grew tired of the peacetime army. Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. He appeared several times on various short-drama shows and was one of the "four stars" of the dramatic anthology series Four Star Playhouse, appearing in 33 episodes. (Another 1981 interview, posted on YouTube, shows Niven on The Merv Griffin Show while publicizing his novel Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly. his life in the forces and in films and literally sprinkled with Having been in more than 90 . . He hosted the 1981 American Film Institute tribute to Fred Astaire, which was his final appearance in Hollywood. A limited edition of British postage stamps was produced using one of Lucas's images taken during this portrait sitting. Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Then we find ourselves on Earth in 1945, where RAF pilot Peter Carter, played by David Niven, is flying back to Britain after a bombing raid, losing height, badly hit. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. Niven resumed his acting career after his demobilization, and was voted the second most popular British actor in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars. "[27], Niven ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel. In the early 1950s he formed, with Charles Boyer and Dick Powell, a [6] Although born William Hitchcock, in 1874, he and his older brother Lieutenant Colonel Henry Degacher (1835-1902), both followed their father, Walter Henry Hitchcock, in taking their mother's maiden name of Degacher. He then returned to the U.S. and was accepted by Central Casting as "Anglo-Saxon Type No. James David Graham Niven was born on 1 March 1910 in London to William Edward Graham Niven and his wife, Henrietta Julia. In 1933, she wed US golfer and gambler Charles Sweeny in a glamorous, highly publicised wedding, which 3,000 Londoners tried to gatecrash. Rose, DSO, MC). appear in films: "The First of the Few", with Leslie Howard, which Asked by suspicious American sentries during the Battle of the Bulge who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered, "Haven't the foggiest idea, but I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother! [46], A Thanksgiving service for Niven was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 27 October 1983. Born on 15 December 1942 in Unknown, David Niven Jr. started his career as actor . David Niven's former partners: David Niven had an affair with Marilyn Monroe David Niven allegedly had a romance with HRH The Princess Margaret David Niven had an affair with Ava Gardner David Niven had an affair with Princess Grace of Monaco David Niven had a relationship with Rita Hayworth David Niven had an affair with Loretta Young David Niven had a relationship with Merle Oberon David . He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Separate Tables (1958).. Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory . New. In all three examples, the reality is significantly different from Niven's heavily fictionalised accounts as presented in The Moon's a Balloon and related in various chat show appearances. [Laughs]. With Rose's assistance, Niven was allowed to escape from a first-floor window. The new family were photographed enjoying the gardens and swimming . [47], Biographer Graham Lord wrote, "the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather's funeral, was delivered from the porters at London's Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: 'To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. He was also a co-host of the 30th, 31st, and 46th Academy Awards ceremonies. He was buried in Natte Yallock Cemetery, Natte Yallock, Victoria, Australia. Niven appeared in nearly a hundred films, and many shows for TV. By this time, Niven was having serious health problems. Ex-partner of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll In happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on Goldwyn's piano. After Niven had won the Academy Award, Goldwyn called with an invitation to his home. fortunate both with his contacts and in being in the right place at The source for the dates and places of birth of the above was William Edward Graham Niven's army service record which, curiously, does not give a place of birth for David, but his birth certificate states Belgrave Mansions, London. Niven's mother, Henriette, was born in Brecon, Breconshire, Wales. He was born James David Graham Niven on March 1, 1910, in Kirriemuir, a market and linen-mill center in the Scottish Highlands. He had a support role in MGM's Soldiers Three (1951) similar to those early in his career. Life at Leja, 1942-43. Presented by Eisenhower himself, it honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces. Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. She fractured her skull in a fall in the Beverly Hills, California home of Tyrone Power, while playing a game of sardines. experience, but through a combination of luck, knowing the right Kristina and Fiona told Graham Lord that Hjrdis added insult to injury by forbidding them to bury her alongside her husband in the place left for her in his double grave in Switzerland. July 29 1983 - At his home in Chateau d'Oex, Vaud, Switzerland, William Edward Graham Niven, Henrietta Julia Niven (born Degacher), David Niven, Niven (Adopted), Niven, Niven (Adopted), Cause of death: Motor neuron disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - July 29 1983 - Chteau-d'x, William Edward Graham Niven, Henriette Julia Degacher, Henry Degacher Niven, Margaret Joyce Niven, Grizel Rosemary Graham Niven, Primula Susan Rollo, Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden, David Niven, Jamie Niven, Fiona Niven, Kristina Niven, July 29 1983 - Chteau-d'Oex, Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District, Vaud, Switzerland, William Edward Graham Niven, Henrietta Julia Niven (geb. Hjrdis Genberg Niven. In 1982 he appeared in Blake Edwards' final "Pink Panther" films Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, reprising his role as Sir Charles Lytton. As he was looking at the picture, Goldwyn's wife Frances said "Sam never took it down.". In 1982 Niven fell ill during filming and was diagnosed with a virulent form of Motor Neurone Disease. [7][8] Henriette's mother was Julia Caroline Smith, the daughter of Lieutenant General James Webber Smith CB. He also began writing books, with considerable commercial success. Uncle Tommy was barred I dont know where he went to the Carlton Club I suppose. She is a proud mother to Jessica and grandmother to three grandchildren River and Shasha. In that same year he was again loaned out, to 20th Century Fox to play Bertie Wooster in Thank You, Jeeves! Grace and Niven became close and lifelong friends, and he and his wife frequently visited the palace at Monaco once Grace became a princess. Niven had a long and complex relationship with Goldwyn, who gave him his first start. "All hell broke loose" after, the family cook Elizabeth Duckworth recalled. Bored with the peacetime army, he resigned his commission in 1933, relocated to New York, then travelled to Hollywood. Hollywood stars. In 1974 Niven hosted David Niven's World for London Weekend Television, which profiled contemporary adventurers such as hang gliders, motorcyclists and mountain climbers. He gave a few details of his war experience in his autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon: his private conversations with Winston Churchill, the bombing of London, and what it was like entering Germany with the occupation forces. In 1944 he worked extensively with the BBC and SHAEF to expand these broadcast efforts. David Niven Jr.'s godfather was Nol Coward, who gave him a silver cocktail shaker with the . Born August 26, 1951, in Saginaw, a son of Robert and Norma (Sian) Niven, David was raised in Saginaw and graduated from the Arthur Hill High School. Sweden's first supermodel and the actor David Niven's second wife. pilot in Powell and Pressburger's Hjrdis Genberg 1943-45. Sophisticated actor who starred in the Pink Panther detective comedy films and appeared in The Bishop's Wife. The congregation of 1,200 included Prince Michael of Kent, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, Sir John Mills, Sir Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, David Frost, Joanna Lumley, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Lord Olivier. He requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because that regiment wore tartan trews rather than the kilt). colony that included Cary Grant, Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, [16] On 21 October 1956, in an episode of the game show What's My Line?, Niven, as a member of the celebrity panel, was reacquainted with one of his former enlisted men. David Niven Jr. Family Background & Career. All four of Niven's children, as well as many of his friends, told Lord that Hjrdis, unable to achieve an acting career, had affairs with other men and became an alcoholic. Niven decided to try Broadway, appearing opposite Gloria Swanson in Nina (195152). Life was never the same again, 1930-40. William Niven, David's father, was of Scottish descent; his paternal grandfather, David Graham Niven, (18111884) was from St. Martins, a village in Perthshire. After detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he arrived in Hollywood in 1934. . a succession of barbaric prep schools from which he either absconded Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being recommissioned as a lieutenant. Niven had a long, complex relationship with Goldwyn, who gave him his first start, but the dispute over The Elusive Pimpernel and Niven's demands for more money led to a long estrangement between the two in the 1950s.[31]. elaborate allegorical fantasy, "A Matter of Life and Death". Below the table, you can find all the information about his birthday. While playing "sardines", she walked through a door believing it led to a closet. She had walked through a door believing it to be a closet, but instead, it led to a stone staircase to the basement.[36][37]. A 2009 biography of Niven contained assertions that he had an affair with Princess Margaret, who was 20 years his junior. In 1950 he starred in The Elusive Pimpernel, which was made in Britain and which was to be distributed by Samuel Goldwyn. Due to his role in Mutiny on the Bounty, he came to the attention of independent film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who signed him to a contract and established his career. Unfortunately, Niven's second marriage was as tumultuous as his first marriage was content. Though his condition continued to worsen he refused to return to the hospital, a decision supported by his family. I have to catch a train."[16]. Soon later, the couple filed for divorce. Niven had a far better part in the British war film Appointment with Venus (1952), which was popular in England. He was a popular star of the traditional type, establishing a screen DAVID NIVEN's former partner 'was a b**** to him', according to James Bond actor Roger Moore. Niven joined what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a group of British actors in Hollywood which included Rex Harrison, Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Leslie Howard,[21] and C. Aubrey Smith. After failing to pass the naval entrance exam because of his difficulty with maths, Niven attended Stowe School, a newly created public school led by headmaster J. F. Roxburgh, who was unlike any of Niven's previous headmasters. The first, Round the Rugged Rocks, was a novel that appeared in 1951 and was forgotten almost at once. Niven's friend Billie More noted: "This is not kind, but when Hjrdis died I can't think of a single soul who was sorry". Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being re-commissioned as a lieutenant. William Wyler's 1939 film of "Wuthering Heights". [13], Years later, after joining the British Army, a vengeful Niven decided to return to the boarding school to pay a call on Mr Croome but he found the place abandoned and empty. By 1938, he was starring as the leading man in other 'A' films, including Wuthering Heights (1939). But I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother!". James David Graham Niven was an English actor and novelist.His many roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, and Sir Charles Lytton, ("the Phantom") in The Pink Panther. She was 78. Niven joined what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a group of British actors in Hollywood which included Rex Harrison, Errol Flynn, Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Leslie Howard and C. Aubrey Smith. Surprisingly few of his 90-odd films stay in the memory, he was one of famous actor and novelist with the age years old group. In 1980 Niven began experiencing fatigue, muscle weakness and a warble in his voice. television commercials for instant coffee. Overjoyed, Oberon announced that the pair were going to wed, but sadly, Niven would end up leaving her with a broken heart. It all started in a small town when she, as a young Yugoslavian woman, married a man named Robert Chandler. DAVID NIVEN OBITUARY. His family were soldiers. long novel with a Hollywood setting, "Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly". James David Graham Niven was born March 1, 1910, at Kirriemuir, Scotland. He then headed for America. Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent. After failing to pass the naval entrance exam due to his difficulty with maths, Niven attended Stowe School, a newly created public school led by headmaster J.F. Right here at FameChain. The family's country home at Buckland, Carswell Manor, was sold shortly after David's birth. Niven's countenance appears to have been used as inspiration for the character and puppet of Commander Norman in the Thunderbirds franchise, as well as for Sinestro, the DC Comics supervillain in Green Lantern comic books and film. Later he went to Stowe and on to Sandhurst to train Niven also worked with the Army Film Unit. His range as an actor was limited and Family, Romance, And Relationships Who is Barbara Niven dating? Niven was also given a significant if largely unheralded role in the creation of SHAEF's military radio efforts conceived to provide entertainment to American, British and Canadian forces in England and Europe. It now appears that Niven recounted many incidents from a first-person perspective that actually happened to other people, especially Cary Grant, and which he borrowed and embroidered. Support role in MGM 's Soldiers Three ( 1951 ) similar to those early his! 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