Andy Devine

Devine is well-remembered for his role as "Jingles" in the US radio and TV series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951). 1944 The Rats of Tobruk, & Red Sky at Morning. He played "The Cheerful Soldier" in The Red Badge of Courage. 1946 A Son Is Born. His notable roles included ten films as sidekick, "Cookie", to Roy Rogers, a Shakespeare performance in Romeo and Juliet in 1937, Stagecoach with John Wayne in 1939 and a reunion with Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in 1959. 1949 Train of Events & Eureka Stockade. He had been running with a stake in his mouth and fell, the instrument piercing the roof of his mouth. 1950 The Miniver Story & The Wooden Horse.

Devine's speech was the result of a childhood accident. 1952 The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men. Although it was at first thought that his peculiar voice would prevent him from moving to the talkies, it became his trademark and strongest selling point. 1953 The Heart of the Matter & The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was a star football player at Santa Clara University, which led to his first film role in the silent The Collegians. 1954 Father Brown & Elephant Walk. He grew up in Kingman, Arizona, where his family moved when he was a year old. He appeared in more than 400 films and shared with Walter Brennan the rare ability to move with ease from B Westerns to A pictures. 1955 Josephine and Men, Make Me an Offer, Passage Home, Simon and Laura & The Dark Avenger.

Devine was born in Flagstaff, Arizona. 1956 The Battle of the River Plate & A Town Like Alice. His movie career started in silent films and extended until his death. 1957 Windom's Way, Robbery Under Arms & The Shiralee. Andy Devine (born Jeremiah Schwartz) (October 7, 1905 - February 18, 1977) was a rotund, raspy-voiced character actor and comic cowboy sidekick. 1959 The Nun's Story & Operation Amsterdam. When asked if he had strange nodes on his vocal chords, Devine replied, "I've got the same nodes as Bing Crosby, but his are in tune.". 1960 The Trials of Oscar Wilde & Kidnapped.

1961 No Love for Johnnie & The Sins of Rachel Cade. 1962 I Thank a Fool. 1963 In the Cool of the Day. 1964 First Men in the Moon, Girl with Green Eyes & The Pumpkin Eater.

1965 The Flight of the Phoenix. 1966 10:30 P.M. Summer & Judith. 1967 Far from the Madding Crowd. 1968 The Legend of Lylah Clare.

1971 Sunday, Bloody Sunday & Krasnaya palatka. 1972 Something to Hide. 1973 England Made Me, A Bequest to the Nation & Lost Horizon. 1974 The Abdication.

1976 Network. 1977 Raid On Entebbe (TV movie). When his real identity was later revealed, some commentators made the incorrect assumption that William Mitchell must have been his legal name. He was once arrested for drunkenness in Rome and, when asked for his name, he gave a fictitious one in order to protect his professional reputation.

This is not correct. Some references say his original name was William Mitchell. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. He had four children from his three marriages.

His third wife was Eletha Finch. Both marriages ended in divorce. His fist wife was Tamara Tchinarova and his second wife Yolande Turner. Peter Finch was married three times.

Finch also won five Awards of the British Film Academy. It was accepted by his widow. He died of a stroke during a promotional tour for the film. He nevertheless won the Oscar, the first time the Best Actor award had been made posthumously, and he was the first Australian actor to win the award. He also won an Oscar nomination for his over-the-top portrayal of a crazed television anchor man in the 1976 film Network.

In 1972, his role of the homosexual Jewish doctor in Sunday Bloody Sunday earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Finch's Hollywood debut was in The Miniver Story in 1950, but his first major role was 1956 in A Town Like Alice. His first role in a British-made film was in Eureka Stockade 1949 (set in Australia). Despite his stage experience, Finch suffered from stage fright and turned to films.

Finch returned the favor by having an affair with Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. Thereafter he played again on stage, where he was noticed by Laurence Olivier and encouraged to return to London. He began in 1935 playing theater roles, and also working in radio. In 1938, he appeared in his first movie, Dad and Dave Come to Town. After finishing school, he worked in several badly-paid jobs until he tried acting.

There he grew up in Sydney. Born Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch in London, England, he lived as a child in France and India, and finally in Australia, his parent's native country. Peter Finch (September 28, 1916 - January 14, 1977) was an English-born actor with strong Australian connections.