David Niven

Handsome, debonair leading man David Niven was the very essence of "good breeding" throughout his career, though the screen never quite captured his actual vigor, epitomized by his service in first the Highland Light Infantry and later the Commandos, or his wit displayed as a writer of two novels and two amusing autobiographies. The son of a British Army captain, he followed in his father's footsteps but found the routine of military life between the wars so dreadfully boring that he resigned his commission and crossed the pond in search of adventure. Once in Hollywood, he worked as an extra and came to the attention of Samuel Goldwyn who signed him to a contract with MGM, and he rapidly graduated from bit parts to supporting and lead roles which showcased his polished British diction and his lighthearted yet sincere manner. Niven's first major success came with Edmund Goulding's "The Dawn Patrol" (1938), in which he played a courageous, devil-may-care WWI pilot friend of Errol Flynn.

Niven's years with MGM were sometimes stormy, as when he initially refused to take the thankless role of Edgar Litton, second-fiddle to Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) for the affections of Cathy (Merle Oberon) in "Wuthering Heights" (1939). He was also loathe to suffer the dictatorial ways of director William Wyler, experienced first-hand during the filming of "Dodsworth" (1936), but acquiesced rather than suffer MGM's threatened suspension. Niven, who returned to military service during World War II, eventually becoming a lieutenant-colonel, was at the bottom of MGM's list after the war, and Goldwyn's loaning him out to other studios boded well for the actor. Before the war, audiences knew him primarily as the "hero's best chum", but the British directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger finally nailed down the charming Niven persona in his best starring performance to that time, "A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven" (1946). Although he continued to star in films, it would be another decade before his career would receive a comparable bump.

Playing intrepid traveler Phileas Fogg in the Oscar-winning "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956), Niven came off as the perfect stereotype of the unruffled English gentleman, and quite intentionally a caricature of 19th Century British propriety, his star quality enhanced exponentially by the 46 stars providing able support in the Mike Todd-produced extravaganza. By this time, he had also become a TV executive, having formed Four Star with Dick Powell, Charles Boyer and Ida Lupino, and the success of its projects probably had as much to do with his ever-present smile as anything. 1958 saw him star opposite Deborah Kerr in two movies that revealed the inadequacy beneath the charm and banter (a frequent theme running through his movies). "Separate Tables" earned him the Best Actor Oscar for his phony British major, with a made-up Sandhurst background and boring lies of WWII adventures, exposed when he's caught molesting a woman in a theater. Niven definitely profited from arguably the best script of his career and a more sympathetic role than his character in "Bonjour Tristesse", who proposes marriage to Kerr but continues to philander, ultimately driving her to an apparent suicide.

Much of Niven's work over the last two decades of his career was slight, particularly during the period between 1965 and 1975 when he continued to cash paychecks for forgettable nonsense (i.e., "Prudence and the Pill" 1969, "Vampira" 1975), but movies like "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960, opposite Doris Day) and "The Pink Panther" (1964, with Peter Sellers), in which he played one of his many ultra-sophisticated thieves, enhanced his reputation as a fine comic actor. As for drama, "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), in which he played an explosives expert, and "55 Days in Peking" (1963), as the unusually observant British ambassador quietly stealing the show, helped dispel his image as weak and morally unreliable, casting him for the popular consciousness in the heroic mode. Maintaining his blend of politeness, stoicism and good humor to the end, Niven delivered some late gems to enliven average Disney projects, essaying the granddad in "No Deposit, No Return" (1976) and sparkling as the butler of many disguises in "Candleshoe" (1978), though the trademark charm was also solidly on display in the ensemble of slightly better movies (i.e., "Murder by Death" 1976; "Death on the Nile" 1978).

• Also Credited As:
  James David Graham Niven
• Born:
  March 1, 1910 in Belgravia, London, England
• Died:
  July 29, 1983.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Author, Comic, Laundry messenger, Liquor salesman, Lumberman, Newspaper writer, Road builder

Family

• Mother: Cmyn Niven.

Education

• Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, England, 1923-26
• Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Berkshire, England, 1927-29

Milestones

• 1930 Entered the Highland Light Infantry as a Second Lieutenant
• 1933 Grew bored with the dull routine of military life; after a leave in NYC, returned to service but soon went AWOL, resigning his commission and moving first to Canada, then to NYC where he worked as a whiskey salesman
• 1933 Had a bit part as a man at race course in British film "Eyes of Fate"
• 1934 Moved to Hollywood and worked as movie extra, eventually coming to the atention of Samuel Goldwyn who signed him to MGM
• 1935 First speaking part in "Without Regrets"
• 1936 Acted in William Wyler's "Dodsworth", a superb adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' novel
• 1936 Loaned out to 20th Century-Fox for his first leading role in "Thank You, Jeeves"
• 1938 First major success in Edmund Goulding's "The Dawn Patrol" as WWI pilot buddy of Errol Flynn
• 1939 At outbreak of WWII, feeling obligated to return to military service, joined the Rifle Brigade, a Light Infantry Regiment in the British Army, working his way up to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Commandos; spent time in Normandy during the invasion; after D-Day, appointed Chief of Allied Forces Broadcasting Network
• 1939 Unwillingly reteamed with Wyler (a director he deemed too dictatorial behind the camera) to play Edgar Litton, a part he felt was a bad one for any actor, in "Wuthering Heights"; initial refusal to appear in film nearly earned him a suspension from studio
• 1946 Starred as WWII pilot who jumps out of his plane without a parachute and, after somehow surviving what should have been his death, must plead for his life before a heavenly court in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's "A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven"
• 1949 MGM contract terminated; freelanced thereafter
• 1950 Reteamed with Powell and Pressburger for "The Elusive Pimpernel"
• 1951 Sole Broadway appearance opposite Gloria Swanson in "Nina"
• 1952 Aligned with Dick Powell, Charles Boyer and Ida Lupino to form Four Star, a television production company, becoming one of TV's first and most prolific stars
• 1952 Had three-month run in San Francisco stage production of "The Moon Is Blue"
• 1953 Acted in Otto Preminger's "The Moon Is Blue" (adapted from the play)
• 1956 Assets of Four Star bought by Official Films for $10 million
• 1956 Gained stardom as Phileas Fogg in "Around the World in 80 Days"
• 1958 Played playboy widowed father in Preminger's superb "Bonjour Tristesse", also starring Kerr
• 1958 Won Best Actor Oscar for his turn as an elderly disgraced military officer in "Separate Tables"; also starred Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster
• 1959 Host and performer of "The David Niven Theater", a short-lived NBC series of original dramatic presentations
• 1960 Acted opposite Doris Day in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies"
• 1960 Left Hollywood; thereafter based in Europe
• 1961 First film with director J Lee Thompson, the explosive action film "The Guns of Navarone"
• 1964 Starred as Sir Charles Litton alongside Peter Sellers in Edwards' "The Pink Panther"
• 1967 Played James Bond in John Huston's overdone spoof of the genre, "Casino Royale"
• 1967 Reteamed with Thompson for "Eye of the Devil"
• 1968 Third and last film with Thompson, "Before Winter Comes"
• 1976 Appeared as part of the all-star cast of "Murder By Death", a spoof of such characters as Charlie Chan, Miss Marple and Sam Spade written by Neil Simon
• 1976 Narrated CBS documentary, "Balloon Safari"
• 1976 Ventured out as a granddad for Disney in "No Deposit, No Return"
• 1977 Portrayed disguise-laden English butler in entertaining Disney comedy "Candleshoe"
• 1979 Cast as the Mastermind of a bank heist in "A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square"
• 1980 Returned to the other side of the law as Chief Inspector Cyril Willis in "Rough Cut", starring Burt Reynolds as a world-class jewel thief
• 1982 Acted in Bryan Forbes' "Better Late Than Never", produced by son David Niven Jr
• 1982 Reprised his role as Sir Charles Litton for Edwards' "Trail of the Pink Panther"
• 1983 Last film appearance in Edwards' "Curse of the Pink Panther"; cameo shot at same time as "Trail of the Pink Panther" (voice dubbed by Rich Little)
• Hosted and narrated "David Niven's World", a sydicated series of 21 documentary-style presentatons
• Returned to series TV in "The Rogues" (NBC), playing British head of a family of con artists
• Stationed for two years in Malta
• Was both a producer and regular (with Powell, Boyer and Lupino) in "Four Star Playhouse", a CBS anthology series; first worked with director Blake Edwards in 1954 episode ("The Bomb")
• Was regular on NBC series, "Turn of Fate"