Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being re-commissioned as a lieutenant. In what instantly became a live-TV classic moment, Niven responded "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?".[34]. 'Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap,' Kimmel joked. Nationality: British. for his staying power that he was still in regular demand after nearly But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" The Rogues ran for only one season, but won a Golden Globe award and currently remains a cult favourite. Niven's professional fortunes were completely restored when cast as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), a huge hit at the box office. While in Hollywood, Oberon fell desperately in love with actor David Niven, with the two even becoming engaged. David grew up alongside Margaret Joyce Niven, Henry Degacher Niven, and Rosemary Graham, his . He is perhaps best known for his roles as Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and as Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. He refused to return to the hospital, and his family supported his decision. In happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on Goldwyn's piano. His father, William Edward Graham Niven, was a British officer who . Goldwyn pulled out, and the film did not appear in the U.S. for three years. When Niven presented himself at Central Casting, he learned that he needed a work permit to reside and work in the United States. This helped him gain a contract with Samuel Goldwyn. a period of undistinguished parts in mediocre films. Overjoyed, Oberon announced that the pair were going to wed, but sadly, Niven would end up leaving her with a broken heart. He attended Dartmouth College and was graduated. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in Separate Tables (1958). He returned to Britain to play the title role in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) from Powell and Pressberger, which was to have been financed by Korda and Goldwyn. Less so was the comedy Bedtime Story (1964) with Marlon Brando. The Tragic 1983 Death Of British Acting Icon David Niven. But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" So we rented a helicopter so they immediately went and grabbed him. 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. Niven appeared in nearly a hundred films, and many shows for TV. Even more popular was the action film The Guns of Navarone (1961) with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn. Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, "Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Early life and family. Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. second wife, whom he married in 1948, was a leading Swedish model, Mother Jessie Robertson. At the age of 15, she became pregnant with the actor David Niven's child while on a holiday on the Isle of Wight, but the pregnancy was terminated. elaborate allegorical fantasy, "A Matter of Life and Death". he is one of famous actor with the age 78 years old group. Two years later two films a year but he probably had mlre impact with a series of lavish spectacular, "Around the World in 80 Days". In the mid 1930s he arrived in Hollywood to try his luck as a film During this period Niven was largely barred from the Hollywood studios. David Niven, the film actor, died in Switzerland yesterday after an Hjrdis Genberg Niven. Geni requires JavaScript! Mark you, had you not done so it would have been despicable. Niven's father, William Niven, was of Scottish descent; he was killed in the First World War serving with the Berkshire Yeomanry during the Gallipoli campaign on 21 August 1915. Niven resumed his career while still in England, playing the lead in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), from the team of Powell and Pressburger. Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent. I had difficulty swallowing and had champagne in my knees.[16]. Following Niven senior's death at Turkey's infamous Suvla Bay, Niven's mother went on to marry his biological father, the Conservative politician Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt, but it was years before the true father/son relationship was acknowledged. There, he hired an agent and had several small parts in films through 1935, including a non-speaking role in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). In 1948, Niven met and married Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden (ne Genberg, 19191997), a divorced Swedish fashion model. Niven's Niven also worked with the Army Film Unit. In Goldwyn's drawing-room, Niven noticed a picture of himself in uniform which he had sent to Goldwyn from Britain during the Second World War. An amusing, tongue-in-cheek, British satire on the spy genre with David Niven at his debonair best. David Niven Family Background & Career. (In fact the book was mostly invented by co-author William Stevenson (no relation), Sir William then being very old.) There I saw David lose his British phlegm, his politeness and class. David Niven, better known by her family name James David Graham Niven, was a popular British actor and novelist. Niven recalled this as the darkest period of his life, years afterwards thanking his friends for their patience and forbearance during this time. He attended Attleboro schools through high school, Class of 1938. Below the table, you can find all the information about his birthday. His father was killed during the World War I in 1915. Niven had a long and complex relationship with Goldwyn, who gave him his first start. He was born James David Graham Niven on March 1, 1910, in Kirriemuir, a market and linen-mill center in the Scottish Highlands. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." $75.58 + $33.58 shipping. Niven explained in his autobiography that there was no military way that he, a lieutenant-colonel, and Ustinov, who was only a private, could associate, other than as an officer and his subordinate, hence their strange "act". "[16], A few stories have surfaced. Niven graduated to star parts in "A" films with The Dawn Patrol (1938) remake at Warners; although he was billed below Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone, it was a leading role and the film did excellent business. 2,008.". Born on 29 July 1983 in United Kingdom, David Niven started his career as actor and novelist . Hjrdis Genberg, model student, 1941-42. He registered with Central Casting as "Anglo Saxon Type Number He followed this with Bring On the Empty Horses in 1975, a collection of entertaining reminiscences from Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1930s and 1940s. He recounted their meeting: I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life tall, slim, auburn hair, up-tilted nose, lovely mouth and the most enormous grey eyes I had ever seen. Hepburn and her family suffered . He had more than 100 acting credits to his name and starred as . "[11] Niven is said to have revealed that he knew Comyn-Platt was his real father a year before his own death in 1983.[12]. [28] It honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces.[29][30]. David Niven attended Stowe School and . Niven plays the bumbling amateur who makes good but was recruited because all the other spies have been unfortunately lost - that's MI5. he was probably at his best in light comedy; but what mattered was Niven had a far better part in the British war film Appointment with Venus (1952), which was popular in England. Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. During the 1950s Niven re-established himself as a popular leading man brought his career to a critical peak. Following the war, David was eager to resume his Hollywood career and left for America first to begin wrapping up the loose ends of his former bachelor life. Goldwyn lent him to play Aaron Burr in Magnificent Doll (1946) opposite Ginger Rogers, then to Paramount for The Perfect Marriage (1947) with Loretta Young and Enterprise Productions for The Other Love (1947). 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. http://ww2gravestone.com/people/niven-james-david-graham/. Actor David Niven holding his Best Actor Oscar for the film 'Separate Tables', at the 31st Academy Awards, Los Angeles, April 6th 1959. colony that included Cary Grant, Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, A 2009 biography of Niven contained assertions that he had an affair with Princess Margaret, who was 20 years his junior. and better parts came his way. 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. Niven later claimed credit for bringing future Major General Sir Robert E. Laycock to the Commandos. Parts, initially small, in major motion pictures followed, including Dodsworth (1936), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). He is buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey, in the Special Memorial Section in Plot F. Niven responded "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?". Niven later appeared in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) The Toast of New Orleans (1950), Happy Go Lovely (1951), Happy Ever After (1954) and Carrington V.C. In chapter 14 of You Only Live Twice, the pearl diver Kissy Suzuki refers to Niven as "the only man she liked in Hollywood", and the only person who "treated her honourably" there. Niven later claimed he was born in Kirriemuir, in the Scottish county of Angus in 1909, but his birth certificate disproves this. The plot was plainly autobiographical (although not recognised as such at the time of publication), involving a young soldier, John Hamilton, who leaves the British army, becomes a liquor salesman in New York, is involved in indoor horse racing, goes to Hollywood, becomes a deckhand on a fishing boat, and finally ends up as a highly successful film star. David Niven was born in London to William Edward Graham Niven (18781915) and Henrietta Julia Degacher. . Husband of Primula Susan Niven and Hjrdis Paulina Niven The show ended in 1955, but Four Star TV became a highly successful TV production company. 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 was just 15 when movie star David Niven, 18 at the time, got her pregnant while holidaying on the Isle of Wight. Until then few people outside her family were . perfect foil to Peter Sellers as the accident prone Inspector In 1965, he made two films for MGM: the Peter Ustinov-directed Lady L, supporting Paul Newman and Sophia Loren, and Where the Spies Are, as a doctor-turned-secret agent MGM hoped it would lead to a series, but this did not happen. His health quickly declined and he died in 1983 at age 73, leaving four children and his second wife. Her father was Captain (brevet Major) William Degacher (18411879) of the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot, who was killed at the Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. Even in the '90s, the Austin Powers franchise continued the trend to hilarious results. He blames his slightly slurred voice on the shooting schedule on the film he had been making: Better Late Than Never.) [38][39] It is believed by some that Niven's choice to become a tax exile may have been one reason why he never received a British honour. He was promoted to war-substantive captain on 18 August 1941.[24]. his life in the forces and in films and literally sprinkled with For full citations and references see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Niven. After his mother remarried, Niven's stepfather had him sent away to boarding school. [Laughs]. Oh, Women! It really happened the way it does when written by the worst lady novelistsI goggled. the film of Terence Rattigan's play, "Separate Tables", an honour that In Malta he became friends with Roy Urquhart, future commander of the British 1st Airborne Division. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and as Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. Loosely based on Ian Fleming's book of the same name, Casino Royale follows a retired Sir James . Niven was the only James Bond actor mentioned by name in the text of Fleming's novels. Sophisticated actor who starred in the Pink Panther detective comedy films and appeared in The Bishop's Wife. In 1974, while Niven was co-hosting the 46th Annual Oscars ceremony, a naked man (Robert Opel) appeared behind him, "streaking" across the stage. He had a better part in The Birds and the Bees (1956), portraying a conman in a remake of The Lady Eve (1941), in which Niven played a third-billed supporting role under American television comedian George Gobel and leading lady Mitzi Gaynor. Niven moved to New York City, where he began an unsuccessful career in whisky sales and horse rodeo promotion in Atlantic City. At the end of the lecture, the speaker (a major general) asked if there were any questions. Bridgerton Family Book Series Complete Books 1 - 9 Collection Set By Julia Quinn. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being recommissioned as a lieutenant. Niven also worked in television. Niven ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel. James Niven. 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. Unfortunately, Niven's second marriage was as tumultuous as his first marriage was content. In that same year he was again loaned out, to 20th Century Fox to play Bertie Wooster in Thank You, Jeeves! James Niven in Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. Thoughtful and kind, he addressed the boys by their first name, allowed them bicycles and encouraged and nurtured their personal interests. Niven requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch; then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because the HLI wore tartan trews rather than kilts). They married six weeks later. Records filed with the County of Los Angeles show the "L" shaped "villa" measures in at 4,808 square feet and listing information indicates there are 6 bedrooms and 7 . He was working on a third novel at the time of his death. David Niven was born in England. 20/31. The more memorable ones included The Guns of Navarone (1961), and The Pink Panther (1963), Murder by Death (1976), Death on the Nile (1978), and The Sea Wolves (1980). . . William Niven, David's father, was of Scottish descent; his paternal grandfather, David Graham Niven, (18111884) was from St. Martins, a village in Perthshire. The entrepreneur couple succeeded in developing a chain of 10 stores. After McGeachin affirmed that he was, Niven quipped, "Did you have the misfortune to have me as your officer?". Having developed an interest in acting, he left the Highland Light Infantry, travelled to Hollywood and had several minor roles in film. 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