Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 â€" August 4, 1999) was an
American stage, film, and television actor who starred most notably in
several movies during the 1950s, and was known for his dark hair and
smile. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My
Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah
(1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals
opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.Mature was born
in Louisville, Kentucky. His father, Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later
Marcellus George Mature, was a cutler from Pinzolo, in the Italian
part of the former County of Tyrol (now Trentino in Italy, but at that
time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). His mother, Clara P.
(Ackley), was Kentucky-born and of Swiss heritage. An older brother,
Marcellus Paul Mature, died of osteomyelitis in 1918 at age 11. Victor
attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, the Kentucky
Military Institute, and the Spencerian Business School. He briefly
sold candy and operated a restaurant before moving to
California.Mature studied and acted at the Pasadena Community
Playhouse. For three years, he lived in a tent in the back yard of Mrs
Willigan, the mother of a fellow student, Catherine Lewis. He was
spotted by Charles R. Rogers, an agent for Hal Roach, while acting in
a production of To Quito and Back. Rogers called him "a rival to Clark
Gable, Robert Taylor and Errol Flynn." Mature signed a seven-year
contract with Roach in September 1939.Roach cast Mature in a small
role in The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939), for which one reviewer
called him "a handsome Tarzan type".
American stage, film, and television actor who starred most notably in
several movies during the 1950s, and was known for his dark hair and
smile. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My
Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah
(1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals
opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.Mature was born
in Louisville, Kentucky. His father, Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later
Marcellus George Mature, was a cutler from Pinzolo, in the Italian
part of the former County of Tyrol (now Trentino in Italy, but at that
time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). His mother, Clara P.
(Ackley), was Kentucky-born and of Swiss heritage. An older brother,
Marcellus Paul Mature, died of osteomyelitis in 1918 at age 11. Victor
attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, the Kentucky
Military Institute, and the Spencerian Business School. He briefly
sold candy and operated a restaurant before moving to
California.Mature studied and acted at the Pasadena Community
Playhouse. For three years, he lived in a tent in the back yard of Mrs
Willigan, the mother of a fellow student, Catherine Lewis. He was
spotted by Charles R. Rogers, an agent for Hal Roach, while acting in
a production of To Quito and Back. Rogers called him "a rival to Clark
Gable, Robert Taylor and Errol Flynn." Mature signed a seven-year
contract with Roach in September 1939.Roach cast Mature in a small
role in The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939), for which one reviewer
called him "a handsome Tarzan type".
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