Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 â€" November 9, 1967) was an
American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated
three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The
Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny
Belinda (1948). His other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A
Star Is Born (1954), and The Big Country (1958).Bickford was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the first minute of 1891. His parents
were Loretus and Mary Ellen Bickford. The fifth of seven children, he
was an intelligent but very independent and unruly child. He had a
particularly strong relationship with his maternal grandfather, a sea
captain, who was a powerful influence during his formative years. At
the age of nine, he was tried and acquitted of the attempted murder of
a trolley motorman, who had callously driven over and killed his
beloved dog.:12â€"16 He attended Foster School and Everett High
School.Always more interested in experiencing life than reading about
it, Bickford was considered "the wild rogue" of this family, causing
his parents frequent consternation. In his late teens, he drifted
aimlessly around the United States for a time. Before breaking into
acting, he worked as a lumberjack and investment promoter, and for a
short time, ran a pest-extermination business. He was a stoker and
fireman in the United States Navy when a friend dared him to get a job
in burlesque. Bickford served as an engineer lieutenant in the United
States Army during World War I. His first entry into acting was on the
stage, eventually including Broadway. This venue provided him with an
occasional living and served as the principal training ground for
developing his acting and vocal talents.Bickford had intended to
attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to earn an
engineering degree, but while wandering around the country, he became
friends with the manager of a burlesque show, who convinced Bickford
to take a role in the show. He debuted in Oakland, California, in
1911.:50â€"53 Bickford enjoyed himself so much that he abandoned his
plans to attend MIT.:60â€"61 He made his legitimate stage debut with
the John Craig Stock Company at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston in
1912.:61â€"62 He eventually joined a road company and traveled
throughout the United States for more than a decade, appearing in
various productions. In 1925, while working in a Broadway play called
Outside Looking In, co-star James Cagney (in his first Broadway role)
and he received rave reviews.:142â€"145 He was offered a role in
Herbert Brenon's 1926 film of Beau Geste, but anxious not to give up
his newfound Broadway stardom, turned it down, a decision he later
came to regret. Following his appearance in the critically praised but
unsuccessful Maxwell Anderson-Harold Hickerson drama about the Sacco
and Vanzetti case, Gods of the Lightning (Bickford was the Sacco
character), Bickford was contacted by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and
offered a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios to star in
DeMille's first talking picture, Dynamite.:157 He soon began working
with MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer on a number of projects.
American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated
three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The
Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny
Belinda (1948). His other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A
Star Is Born (1954), and The Big Country (1958).Bickford was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the first minute of 1891. His parents
were Loretus and Mary Ellen Bickford. The fifth of seven children, he
was an intelligent but very independent and unruly child. He had a
particularly strong relationship with his maternal grandfather, a sea
captain, who was a powerful influence during his formative years. At
the age of nine, he was tried and acquitted of the attempted murder of
a trolley motorman, who had callously driven over and killed his
beloved dog.:12â€"16 He attended Foster School and Everett High
School.Always more interested in experiencing life than reading about
it, Bickford was considered "the wild rogue" of this family, causing
his parents frequent consternation. In his late teens, he drifted
aimlessly around the United States for a time. Before breaking into
acting, he worked as a lumberjack and investment promoter, and for a
short time, ran a pest-extermination business. He was a stoker and
fireman in the United States Navy when a friend dared him to get a job
in burlesque. Bickford served as an engineer lieutenant in the United
States Army during World War I. His first entry into acting was on the
stage, eventually including Broadway. This venue provided him with an
occasional living and served as the principal training ground for
developing his acting and vocal talents.Bickford had intended to
attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to earn an
engineering degree, but while wandering around the country, he became
friends with the manager of a burlesque show, who convinced Bickford
to take a role in the show. He debuted in Oakland, California, in
1911.:50â€"53 Bickford enjoyed himself so much that he abandoned his
plans to attend MIT.:60â€"61 He made his legitimate stage debut with
the John Craig Stock Company at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston in
1912.:61â€"62 He eventually joined a road company and traveled
throughout the United States for more than a decade, appearing in
various productions. In 1925, while working in a Broadway play called
Outside Looking In, co-star James Cagney (in his first Broadway role)
and he received rave reviews.:142â€"145 He was offered a role in
Herbert Brenon's 1926 film of Beau Geste, but anxious not to give up
his newfound Broadway stardom, turned it down, a decision he later
came to regret. Following his appearance in the critically praised but
unsuccessful Maxwell Anderson-Harold Hickerson drama about the Sacco
and Vanzetti case, Gods of the Lightning (Bickford was the Sacco
character), Bickford was contacted by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and
offered a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios to star in
DeMille's first talking picture, Dynamite.:157 He soon began working
with MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer on a number of projects.
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