Ralph Forbes
Encyclopedia
Ralph Forbes was an English
actor in the American cinema
. He was also a noted stage actor.
He was born Ralph Forbes Taylor in London, England, the son of E. J. Taylor and actress Mary Forbes
and brother of actress Brenda Forbes
. He met with an accident on the football field(soccer; U.S.) at Denstone College
, Staffordshire
that resulted in a scar on his cheek. Unusually, he started off in films, then went on stage. In the United States he appeared onstage opposite actress Ruth Chatterton
, who became his first wife.
(who was 11 years his senior) from 1924 to 1932. He later married actress Heather Angel
in 1934; that marriage also ended in divorce. His last wife was actress Dora Sayers (married 1946).
's You Never Can Tell in 1948. He died at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx, New York in 1951, aged 46.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor in the American cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. He was also a noted stage actor.
He was born Ralph Forbes Taylor in London, England, the son of E. J. Taylor and actress Mary Forbes
Mary Forbes
Mary Forbes was an English film actress. She appeared in over 130 films between 1919 and 1958....
and brother of actress Brenda Forbes
Brenda Forbes
Brenda Forbes was a British-American actress of stage and screen.Born as Brenda Evelyn Taylor in Rochford, Essex, the daughter of E. J...
. He met with an accident on the football field(soccer; U.S.) at Denstone College
Denstone College
Denstone College is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Denstone,Staffordshire, England and a member school of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is also a Woodard school and as such has a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. It has continued to show impressive academic...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
that resulted in a scar on his cheek. Unusually, he started off in films, then went on stage. In the United States he appeared onstage opposite actress Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
, who became his first wife.
Personal life
He married three times, first to actress Ruth ChattertonRuth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
(who was 11 years his senior) from 1924 to 1932. He later married actress Heather Angel
Heather Angel (actress)
Heather Grace Angel was an English actress.-Life and career:Born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, she was brought up on a farm near Banbury....
in 1934; that marriage also ended in divorce. His last wife was actress Dora Sayers (married 1946).
Later years
His last years were given to working on the Broadway stage. One of his last stage appearance was in a revival of ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's You Never Can Tell in 1948. He died at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx, New York in 1951, aged 46.
Selected filmography
- Comin' Thro the RyeComin' Thro the Rye (1923 film)Comin' Thro the Rye is a 1923 British silent drama film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor and Ralph Forbes. A woman is prevented from marrying the man she loves by the interference of another woman. It was based on a novel of the same name by Helen Mathers...
(1923) - ReveilleReveille (film)Reveille is a 1924 British silent drama film directed by George Pearson. As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films.-Cast:* Betty Balfour - Mick...
(1924) - Beau GesteBeau Geste (1926 film)Beau Geste is a 1926 silent film, based on the novel by P. C. Wren. This version starred Ronald Colman as the title character. -Plot:The plot concerns a valuable gem, which one of the Geste brothers, Beau, is thought to have stolen from his adoptive family.-Cast:*Ronald Colman as Michael 'Beau'...
(19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
) - The EnemyThe Enemy (1927 film)The Enemy is a 1927 drama film directed by Fred Niblo, and starring Lillian Gish. The film has been thought to be lost. The MGM library, now controlled by Turner Classic Movies, has a print which is missing the final reel...
(19271927 in film-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
) - The ActressThe Actress (1928 film)The Actress is a 1928 silent drama film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin and starred Norma Shearer....
(19281928 in film-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
) - The Trail of '98The Trail of '98The Trail of '98 is a 1928 silent drama film featuring Harry Carey. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called Fanthom Screen.-Cast:* Dolores del Río as Berna* Ralph Forbes as Larry* Karl Dane as Lars Petersen...
(1928) - The Green GoddessThe Green GoddessThe Green Goddess is an American talking motion picture released in 1930 and directed by Alfred E. Green. It was a remake of 1923 silent film, which was in turn based on the play of the same name by William Archer. It was produced by Warner Bros. using their new Vitaphone sound system, and adapted...
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - MambaMamba (film)Mamba was released by Tiffany Pictures. It was shot entirely in Technicolor and stars Jean Hersholt, Eleanor Boardman, Ralph Forbes, Josef Swickard, Claude Fleming, William Stanton and William von Brincken...
(1930) - The Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor FatherThe Bachelor Father is a 1931 American MGM drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Marion Davies and Ralph Forbes and C. Aubrey Smith-Plot:...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - Smilin'ThroughSmilin' Through (1932 film)Smilin' Through is a 1932 MGM film based on the play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin, also named Smilin' Through.The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1932. It was adapted from Cowl and Murfin's play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda and Claudine...
(19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Cristopher Strong (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - The Mystery of Mr. XThe Mystery of Mr. XThe Mystery of Mr. X is a 1934 crime film starring Robert Montgomery as a jewel thief who gets mixed up in a series of murders in 19th century London. It is based on the novel X v. Rex by Philip MacDonald .-Plot:...
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - Riptide (1934)
- The Barretts of Wimpole StreetThe Barretts of Wimpole StreetThe Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning , despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture...
(1934) - Twentieth CenturyTwentieth Century (film)Twentieth Century is a 1934 American screwball comedy film. Much of the film is set on the 20th Century Limited train as it travels from Chicago to New York. The film was directed by Howard Hawks, stars John Barrymore and Carole Lombard, and features Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns and Edgar Kennedy...
(1934) - La Fiesta de Santa BarbaraLa Fiesta de Santa BarbaraLa Fiesta de Santa Barbara is a 1935 short comedy film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Short Subject...
(19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1935 film)The Three Musketeers is the first English-language talking picture version of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name. It stars Walter Abel, Ian Keith, Margot Grahame, and Paul Lukas.-Plot:...
(1935) - Mary of ScotlandMary of Scotland (film)Mary of Scotland is a 1936 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th century ruler, Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play by Dudley Nichols. The play starred Helen Hayes as Mary...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (1936 film)Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings...
(1936) - The Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937 film)The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1937 drama/comedy motion picture starring Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan. The film tells the story of a chic jewel thief in England, who falls in love with one of her marks....
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - The Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - The Private Lives of Elizabeth and EssexThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and EssexThe Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical romantic drama film. It is based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Bette Davis, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn...
(1939) - Tower of LondonTower of London (1939 film)Tower of London is a 1939 black-and-white historical film and quasi-horror film released by Universal Pictures and directed by Rowland V. Lee. It stars Basil Rathbone as the future Richard III of England, and Boris Karloff as his fictitious club-footed executioner Mord. Vincent Price appears as...
(1939) - Frenchman's Creek (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
)