Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 â€" September 25, 1984) was a
Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor
nominations for his roles in Mrs. Miniver (1942) and Madame Curie
(1943). Pidgeon also starred in many films such as How Green Was My
Valley (1941), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Forbidden Planet
(1956), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), Advise & Consent
(1962), Funny Girl (1968), and Harry in Your Pocket (1973).He received
a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and a Screen Actors Guild
Life Achievement Award in 1975.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada, Pidgeon was the son of Hannah (née Sanborn), a housewife, and
Caleb Burpee Pidgeon, a haberdasher. His brother, Larry, was an
editorial writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press.. A sister died of
Pulmonary Phthisis.Pidgeon received his formal education in local
schools and the University of New Brunswick, where he studied Law and
Drama. His university education was interrupted by World War I when he
volunteered with the 65th Battery, as a Lieutenant in the Royal
Regiment of Canadian Artillery. He never saw action, however, as he
was severely injured in an accident when he was crushed between two
gun carriages and spent seventeen months in a military hospital. His
Officer Attestation states he was born in 1895 and further medical
records state 1896. Following the war, he moved to Boston,
Massachusetts, where he worked as a bank runner, at the same time
studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor
nominations for his roles in Mrs. Miniver (1942) and Madame Curie
(1943). Pidgeon also starred in many films such as How Green Was My
Valley (1941), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Forbidden Planet
(1956), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), Advise & Consent
(1962), Funny Girl (1968), and Harry in Your Pocket (1973).He received
a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and a Screen Actors Guild
Life Achievement Award in 1975.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada, Pidgeon was the son of Hannah (née Sanborn), a housewife, and
Caleb Burpee Pidgeon, a haberdasher. His brother, Larry, was an
editorial writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press.. A sister died of
Pulmonary Phthisis.Pidgeon received his formal education in local
schools and the University of New Brunswick, where he studied Law and
Drama. His university education was interrupted by World War I when he
volunteered with the 65th Battery, as a Lieutenant in the Royal
Regiment of Canadian Artillery. He never saw action, however, as he
was severely injured in an accident when he was crushed between two
gun carriages and spent seventeen months in a military hospital. His
Officer Attestation states he was born in 1895 and further medical
records state 1896. Following the war, he moved to Boston,
Massachusetts, where he worked as a bank runner, at the same time
studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music.
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