Leslie Howard

Birthday: 3 April 1893, Forest Hill, London, England, UK

Birth Name: Leslie Howard Steiner

Height: 179 cm

Leslie Howard Stainer was born in London, to Lilian (Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" Steiner. His father was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and his English mother was of German Jewish, and mostly English, descent. Leslie went to Dulwich College. After school, he worked as a bank clerk until the outbreak of World War I, when he went into the army. In 1917, diagnosed as shell-shocked, he was invalided out and advised to take up acting as therapy. In a few years, his name was famous on the stages of London and New York. He made his first movie in 1914 (The Heroine of Mons (1914)). He became known as the perfect Englishman (slim, tall, intellectual and sensitive), a part that he played in many movies, and a part women would dream about. His first sound movie came in 1930, Outward Bound (1930), an adaptation of the stage play in which he starred. In Never the Twain Shall Meet (1931) and Smilin' Through (1932), he played the Englishman role to the hilt. His screen persona could perhaps best be summed up by his role as Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), a foppish member of society.It was Howard who insisted that Humphrey Bogart get the role of Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1936), a role that Bogart had played in the stage production. As he became more successful, he also became quite picky about which roles he would do, and usually performed in only two films a year. In 1939, he played the character that will always be associated with him, that of Ashley Wilkes, the honor-bound disillusioned intellectual Southern gentleman in Gone with the Wind (1939).However, war clouds were gathering over England, and he devoted all his energy on behalf of the war effort. He directed films, wrote articles and made radio broadcasts. He died in 1943, when the KLM plane he was in was shot down by German fighters over the Bay of Biscay. Hide

The truth is that to enjoy acting one must be an exhibitionist at heart, one must revel in those exp Show more The truth is that to enjoy acting one must be an exhibitionist at heart, one must revel in those exposures of the emotions which would be agonizing to a shy or reserved person. All the great actors have been and are exhibitionists. It is easy and pleasurable for them to shout, to weep, to tear their hair, to laugh, to make love. They enjoy it and they make their audience enjoy it. They are the ideal actors. As a boy the possibility of being an actor never even occurred to me. Nor could it have occurred to anybody who knew the shy and inarticulate youth that I was. I wanted to write. I felt I could express myself on paper; alone in a room I felt articulate and creative. But I was also lazy, a thing a writer never dare be. Application is, I am convinced, the first rule for authors. Then, mysteriously, a part in a play offered itself -- at time when to earn a living was a prime motive of existence. And then another part in another play. And gradually the miracle took place. The metamorphosis of a nervous, inhibited, agoraphobic individual who had other ambitions altogether into a quite successful actor. Hide

Don't think I am not homesick for America. I say 'homesick' advisedly because I am a man with two ho Show more Don't think I am not homesick for America. I say 'homesick' advisedly because I am a man with two homes -- America, which gave me hospitality for many happy years, and where my daughter was born; and my native England. Hide

What the actor is in private life, he is to a large extent on the stage, because he cannot conceal h Show more What the actor is in private life, he is to a large extent on the stage, because he cannot conceal himself and his true personality from his audience. Hide

[July 1933] I can't think of anything more exciting than trying to be an actor. [July 1933] I can't think of anything more exciting than trying to be an actor.

I am a tremendous believer in the power of broadcasting. ... I don't believe anything is too good fo Show more I am a tremendous believer in the power of broadcasting. ... I don't believe anything is too good for the public. ... In my own experience I have proved that the cinema public is as ready to patronize the work of Bernard Shaw, the music of William Walton and film technique at its most subtle. Hide

In the love of a good woman you have everything, all the wonders of the ages, the brown skinned girl Show more In the love of a good woman you have everything, all the wonders of the ages, the brown skinned girls who inflame your senses with their play; the cool, yellow-haired women who entice and escape you; the gentle ones who serve you; the slender ones who torment you; the mothers who bore and suckled you;--all women whom God created out of the teeming fullness of the earth are yours in the love of one women. Hide

I hate the damn part. I'm not nearly beautiful or young enough for Ashley, and it makes me sick bein Show more I hate the damn part. I'm not nearly beautiful or young enough for Ashley, and it makes me sick being fixed up to look attractive. Hide

[July 1932 interview with Schenectady Gazette regarding persistent rumors of leaving film] Statement Show more [July 1932 interview with Schenectady Gazette regarding persistent rumors of leaving film] Statements derogatory to talkies credited to me are absurd. I like movies and their potentialities. I think Hollywood is making definite strides forward when it produces a 'Grand Hotel' and a 'Strange Interlude'. The sole argument I have had with the producers concerned my own parts. I make my living by public approval of my work, and can hardly be blamed, I am sure, for having my own ideas as to the roles I can do best. That these differences are adjusted is indicated by my presence here. A great deal of the misunderstanding which has arisen comes from my recent departure from Hollywood. It was assumed that I would not be back. That is silly. I never expected to give up the stage, but never again do I plan to be on it exclusively. I intend to commute between New York and Hollywood as long as both mediums still want me. Any actor hates to leave the stage, for there he is supreme, the most important individual. On the screen he takes second place to the director. This is essential in the film art, and the actor agrees, but he can hardly be blamed, can he, for returning to his first love? I intend to return to the stage, periodically, believing that my experience in each medium will help me in the other. The screen gives me a lot of pleasure because of its peculiar and exclusive impressionistic power. Dialog, words, are all important on the stage. On the screen words are only part of a composite combination with visual factors which give remarkable effect different from those possible on the stage. In the small, routine, program pictures their appearance indicates the expansion we many expect of the screen art in coming years. Hide

I feel the pressure from other people coming at me. When shots don't fall for one person I think it Show more I feel the pressure from other people coming at me. When shots don't fall for one person I think it is a domino effect. Hide

Britain's destiny, on the other hand, has been to uphold tolerance in religion, thought, speech, and Show more Britain's destiny, on the other hand, has been to uphold tolerance in religion, thought, speech, and race--the mainspring of democracy. We have still far to travel on the road to true democracy, but only the Germans have made no progress in this direction. Britain, with her great gifts and strange inconsistencies had helped populate five continents and shown that the white man and the colored man can live in peace together. We have also taken the Roman ideal of just administration, the Greek ideal of democracy and freedom of art, and the French tradition of the family unit, along with the Norse courage and loyalty and the Christian faith. Like all people, we have made some mistakes and have committed some crimes during our history, but we can say that we have built something worthy of our defense. We can look at our record without shame. Hide

[Describing one of his Gone with the Wind (1939) costumes]: I look like that sissy doorman at the Be Show more [Describing one of his Gone with the Wind (1939) costumes]: I look like that sissy doorman at the Beverly Wilshire, a fine thing at my age. Hide

I looked around for some kind of contribution I could make -- some kind of war work I could do. For Show more I looked around for some kind of contribution I could make -- some kind of war work I could do. For a long time it was very difficult. There were millions of fellows about my age all looking for the same thing. Desperate, I went to see Duff Cooper and asked him if I should go back in the army. I was in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry in the last war. It's mechanized now, but I daresay I could polish a tank as well as groom a horse. He said, "You should stick to your own job. I think you can be more useful at that. And gradually I have, so to speak, fallen on my wartime feet. Hide

Leslie Howard's FILMOGRAPHY

All as Actor (14) as Director (1)

Stand-In

Berkeley Square

Smilin' Through

Of Human Bondage

The Scarlet Pimpernel

`Pimpernel` Smith

49th Parallel

Spitfire

The Petrified Forest

The First of the Few (Spitfire)

Pygmalion

A Free Soul

Gone With The Wind

Its Love Im After

Leslie Howard'S roles

R.J. Mitchell

Ashley Wilkes