Raymond Massey

See also: Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood. He died in Switzerland in 1983 of Motor Neurone Disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Massey has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 1719 Vine Street and one for television at 6708 Hollywood Blvd. Late in life, he gained critical acclaim for his memoirs of his acting career, The Moon's A Balloon (1971) and Bring On the Empty Horses (1975). On July 29, 1983 he died in Los Angeles, California from pneumonia and is buried in New Haven, Connecticut. He won an Academy Award for his performance in Separate Tables (1958). His brother was Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada. He resumed his career afterwards with roles such as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days and James Bond in the unofficial series spoof Casino Royale.

He has two children who followed him into acting: Anna Massey and Daniel Massey. During World War II he served in the British army, rising to the rank of colonel in the British Commandos and landing at Normandy. Massey became well-known on television in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in his role as Doctor Gillespie in the series Doctor Kildare. Arriving in Hollywood during the 1930s, he first worked as an extra in westerns, then had a walk-on part in the 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty and progressed to leading man in MGM comedies such as Bachelor Mother (1939). Following the war, he became an American citizen. Niven often claimed that he was born in Kirriemuir in Scotland which he believed sounded more romantic than London. He rejoined the Canadian Army during World War II, and was wounded and invalided out in 1943. After attending Stowe as a boy Niven trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark.

Despite being Canadian, Massey became famous for his quintessential American roles, as Abraham Lincoln in 1940's Abe Lincoln in Illinois (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor), in 1941's Santa Fe Trail, in which he played abolitionist John Brown, and as Lincoln again in 1962's How the West Was Won. His father died during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 and his mother remarried Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt. Early in Massey's career, Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926), heard Massey perform and was struck by the close similarity of Massey's speaking voice to that of his father. He was born in London, England, the son of William Edward Graham Niven and Henrietta Julia de Gacher. G. Wells' Things to Come. David Niven, born James David Graham Niven (March 1, 1910 - July 29, 1983), was an English actor who achieved the unusual distinction of success in both the British and the Hollywood film industry. In 1936 he starred in H. Tres Amores - 1934.

His first movie role was High Treason in 1927, and he played Sherlock Holmes in The Speckled Band in the following year. Without Regret - 1935. However, drawn to the theater, in 1922 he appeared on the London stage. Splendor - 1935. Severely wounded in action in France, he was sent home where he eventually worked in the family business, selling farm implements. A Feather in Her Hat - 1935. His first stage appearance was in Siberia, where he entertained the American troops who were on occupation duty. Barbary Coast - 1935.

At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Canadian Army. Mutiny on the Bounty (uncredited bit part) - 1935. He was educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Toronto and at Balliol College, Oxford, England. Thank You, Jeeves - 1936. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he was the son of Hart Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Dodsworth - 1936. Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 - July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor. Beloved Enemy - 1936.

Rose-Marie - 1936. Palm Springs - 1936. The Charge of the Light Brigade - 1936. We Have Our Moments - 1937.

The Prisoner of Zenda - 1937. Dinner at the Ritz - 1937. Three Blind Mice - 1938. Four Men and a Prayer - 1938.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife - 1938. The Dawn Patrol - 1938. Wuthering Heights - 1939. The Real Glory - 1939.

Eternally Yours - 1939. Bachelor Mother - 1939. Raffles - 1940. The First of the Few) - 1942.

Spitfire (a.k.a. The Immortal Battalion - 1944. The Way Ahead - 1944. The Perfect Marriage - 1946.

A Matter of Life and Death (a.k.a. Stairway to Heaven) - 1946. Magnificent Doll - 1946. The Other Love - 1947. The Bishop's Wife - 1947.

Enchantment - 1948. Bonnie Prince Charlie - 1948. Kiss in the Dark - 1949. A Kiss for Corliss - 1949.

The Elusive Pimpernel - 1950. The Toast of New Orleans - 1950. Soldiers Three - 1951. The Lady Says No - 1951.

Happy Go Lovely - 1951. Appointment with Venus - 1951. The Love Lottery - 1953. The Moon is Blue - 1953.

Happy Ever After - 1954. The King's Thief - 1955. Carrington, V.C. - 1955. The Birds and the Bees - 1956.

Around the World in Eighty Days - 1956. The Silken Affair - 1957. My Man Godfrey - 1957. The Little Hut - 1957.

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! - 1957. Separate Tables - 1958. Bonjour Tristesse - 1958. Happy Anniversary - 1959.

Ask Any Girl - 1959. Please Don't Eat the Daisies - 1960. The Best of Enemies - 1961. The Guns of Navarone - 1961.

Il Giorno Pił Corto - 1962. La Cittą Prigioniera - 1962. The Road to Hong Kong - 1962. Guns of Darkness - 1962.

55 Days at Peking - 1963. The Pink Panther - 1963. Bedtime Story - 1964. Where the Spies Are - 1965.

Lady L - 1965. Eye of the Devil - 1967. Casino Royale - 1967. Prudence and the Pill - 1968.

The Impossible Years - 1968. The Extraordinary Seaman - 1969. Le Cerveau - 1969. Before Winter Comes - 1969.

The Statue - 1971. King, Queen, Knave - 1976. Old Dracula - 1974. Paper Tiger - 1975.

No Deposit, No Return - 1976. Murder by Death - 1976. Candleshoe - 1977. Death on the Nile - 1978.

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - 1979. Escape to Athena - 1979. The Sea Wolves: The Last Charge of the Calcutta Light Horse - 1980. Rough Cut - 1980.

Better Late Than Never - 1982. Trail of the Pink Panther - 1982. Curse of the Pink Panther - 1983. and showing his shortcomings." David Niven, spontaneously commenting on the streaker who crossed the stage while he was hosting the Academy Awards in 1974.

"The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping.. "I don't think his acting ever quite achieved the brilliance or the polish of his dinner-party conversations." -- John Mortimer. Can you imagine being wonderfully overpaid for dressing up and playing games? It's like being Peter Pan" -- David Niven. "It really is amazing.