Woodbridge Strong "W. S." Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 â€"
February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made
several successful early sound films, including Tarzan the Ape Man in
1932, The Thin Man in 1934, San Francisco in 1936, and six popular
musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He received two
Academy Award nominations for Best Director for The Thin Man and San
Francisco, and directed four actors to Oscar nominations: William
Powell, Spencer Tracy, Norma Shearer, and Robert Morley. Known as a
reliable craftsman who made his films on schedule and under budget, he
earned the name "One Take Woody" for his quick and efficient style of
filming.Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II was born on March 21, 1889 in
San Diego, California. His father was a Superior Court judge who died
the day his son was born. His mother, Laura Winston, returned to her
former acting career. As a child actor, Van Dyke appeared with his
mother on the vaudeville circuit with traveling stock companies. They
traveled the west coast and into the Middle West. When he was five
years old, they appeared at the old San Francisco Grand Opera House in
Blind Girl. He would later remember his unusual education,When Van
Dyke was fourteen years old, he moved to Seattle to live with his
grandmother. While attending business school, he worked several
part-time jobs, including janitor, waiter, salesman, and railroad
attendant. Van Dyke's early adult years were unsettled, and he moved
among jobs. On June 16, 1909, he married in Pierce, Washington, Zine
Bertha Ashford (November 3, 1887 - October 2, 1951), actress "Zelda
Ashford", and the two joined various touring theater companies,
finally arriving in Hollywood in 1915.In 1915, Van Dyke found work as
an assistant director to D. W. Griffith on the film The Birth of a
Nation. The following year, he was Griffith's assistant director on
Intolerance. That same year he worked as an assistant director to
James Young on Unprotected (1916), The Lash (1916), and the lost film
Oliver Twist, in which he also played the role of Charles Dickens.
February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made
several successful early sound films, including Tarzan the Ape Man in
1932, The Thin Man in 1934, San Francisco in 1936, and six popular
musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He received two
Academy Award nominations for Best Director for The Thin Man and San
Francisco, and directed four actors to Oscar nominations: William
Powell, Spencer Tracy, Norma Shearer, and Robert Morley. Known as a
reliable craftsman who made his films on schedule and under budget, he
earned the name "One Take Woody" for his quick and efficient style of
filming.Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II was born on March 21, 1889 in
San Diego, California. His father was a Superior Court judge who died
the day his son was born. His mother, Laura Winston, returned to her
former acting career. As a child actor, Van Dyke appeared with his
mother on the vaudeville circuit with traveling stock companies. They
traveled the west coast and into the Middle West. When he was five
years old, they appeared at the old San Francisco Grand Opera House in
Blind Girl. He would later remember his unusual education,When Van
Dyke was fourteen years old, he moved to Seattle to live with his
grandmother. While attending business school, he worked several
part-time jobs, including janitor, waiter, salesman, and railroad
attendant. Van Dyke's early adult years were unsettled, and he moved
among jobs. On June 16, 1909, he married in Pierce, Washington, Zine
Bertha Ashford (November 3, 1887 - October 2, 1951), actress "Zelda
Ashford", and the two joined various touring theater companies,
finally arriving in Hollywood in 1915.In 1915, Van Dyke found work as
an assistant director to D. W. Griffith on the film The Birth of a
Nation. The following year, he was Griffith's assistant director on
Intolerance. That same year he worked as an assistant director to
James Young on Unprotected (1916), The Lash (1916), and the lost film
Oliver Twist, in which he also played the role of Charles Dickens.
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