Fredric March

Distinguished stage actor and one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 40s. March's roles ranged from light comedy ("The Royal Family of Broadway" 1930) to horror ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" 1932) to melodrama ("The Best Years of Our Lives" 1946). His classically trained voice and engaging good looks highlighted a number of period pieces, such as "Anna Karenina" (1935), but he seemed more at home playing contemporary characters like the fading actor in "A Star Is Born" (1937) and the exploitative reporter in the biting comedy "Nothing Sacred" (1937). March was married to actress Florence Eldridge (who died in 1988), opposite whom he appeared on stage and screen, from 1927 until his death.

• Also Credited As:
  Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel
• Born:
  August 31, 1897 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA
• Died:
  April 14, 1975.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model, Bank clerk

Family

• Brother: Harold Leroy Bickel. born on April 11, 1887
• Brother: Jack M Bickel. born on February 21, 1892
• Daughter: Penelope Fantcucci. adopted in 1932; had four children
• Father: John F Bickel. was president of Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company
• Mother: Cora Brown Bickel.
• Sister: Rosina Elizabeth Bickel. born on April 2, 1889
• Son: Anthony March. adopted in 1935

Significant Others

• Companion: Aline Ellis. college sweetheart; became engaged as undergraduates; separated after he decided to become an actor

Education

• University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, economics, BA

Milestones

• 1917 Enlisted in the US Army; eventually commissioned as a lieutenant
• 1919 Moved to NYC after a year in the Army to become a banker; worked as parttime newspaper and magazine model and as trainee at National City Bank until he suffered appendicitis and turned to acting during recuperation leave
• 1920 Professional stage debut in David Belasco s production of Debarau in Baltimore; later moved to Broadway
• 1921 Worked as an extra in films
• 1924 At suggestion of director John Cromwell, changed name to Fredric March
• 1926 Joined stock company in Denver where he met Florence Eldridge
• 1927 Last Broadway appearance for over a decade, The Devil in the Cheese
• 1928 Enjoyed stage success as Barrymoresque actor Tony Cavendish in the Los Angeles production of The Royal Family ; spotted by a talent scout from Paramount and signed to a contract
• 1929 Co-starred in the film version of Philip Barry s play Paris Bound
• 1929 Film debut in The Dummy
• 1929 Played a professor who catches the attention of student Clara Bow in The Wild Party
• 1930 Acted in Sarah and Son
• 1930 Reprised role of Tony Cavendish in the film The Royal Family of Broadway ; garnered first Academy Award nomination
• 1931 Received first Oscar for title role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ; tied for award with Wallace Beery ( The Champ )
• 1933 Starred in the film adaptation of Noel Coward s play Design for Living
• 1934 Had title role in The Affairs of Cellini
• 1934 Portrayed Death in human form in the film Death Takes a Holiday
• 1934 Portrayed Robert Browning to Norma Shearer s Elizabeth Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street
• 1935 Cast as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables and Vronsky to Greta Garbo s Anna Karenina
• 1936 Had title role in Anthony Adverse
• 1937 Listed as the fifth highest-paid actor in Hollywood (earning nearly $500,000 a year)
• 1937 Portrayed the washed-up, alcoholic actor Norman Maine in the first screen version of A Star Is Born , opposite Janet Gaynor; received Oscar nomination for Best Actor
• 1937 Teamed with Carole Lombard in Nothing Sacred
• 1938 Called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
• 1938 Returned to Broadway with Florence Eldridge in Yr. Obedient Husband ; show was quick flop
• 1940 Appeared in the Oscar-nominated Best Picture One Foot in Heaven
• 1941 Cast a playwright trying to stop his actress-wife from retiring in Bedtime Story
• 1942 Had lead role in the award-winning play The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
• 1942 Starred opposite Veronica Lake in I Married a Witch
• 1944 Played the title role in The Adventures of Mark Twain
• 1946 Received second Academy Award for playing a returning soldier in The Best Years of Our Lives
• 1947 Earned one of the first Tony Awards for Lead Actor in a Play for his work in the Broadway production of Years Ago ; tied with Jose Ferrer
• 1948 Starred in Another Part of the Forest
• 1949 Had title role in Christopher Columbus
• 1949 Offered the stage role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway production of Death of a Salesman but rejected it as being too grim ; later starred in the 1951 film version
• 1950 Acted on Broadway with Florence Eldredge in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep , The Autumn Garden and An Enemy of the People (the latter adapted by Arthur Miller)
• 1951 Earned fifth Academy Award nomination for Death of a Salesman
• 1954 Cast as Scrooge in CBS musical version of A Christmas Carol
• 1954 Once again played Tony Cavendish in a CBS TV production of The Royal Family
• 1954 Played an unscrupulous financial executive in Executive Suite
• 1958 Played Arthur Winslow in the CBS version of The Winslow Boy
• 1960 Starred opposite Spencer Tracy in the fictionalized version of the Scopes trial, Inherit the Wind ; played character based on William Jennings Bryan; Eldridge portrayed his wife
• 1961 Final Broadway role, Gideon ; nominated for a Tony Award
• 1964 Appeared as the US President facing a military plot to overthrow the government in Seven Days in May
• 1967 Acted in Hombre
• 1970 First diagnosed with cancer; underwent treatment
• 1970 Returned to features in ... tick ... tick ... tick ...
• 1973 Last film appearance as Harry Hope in The Iceman Cometh
• Co-starred with Eldridge on Broadway in premiere of Eugene O Neill s Long Day s Journey Into Night ; won second Tony Award
• Raised in Racine, Wisconsin
• Was grey-listed during the 1950s
• Worked as bank teller during high school vacations