Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known by his stage name Louis Calhern, was an American actor.Obituary Variety, May 16, 1956. Described by one film historian as a “star leading man of the theater and a star character actor of the screen,” he appeared in over 100 roles on the Broadway stage and in films and television, between 1923 and 1956. He was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for portraying U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in the 1950 film The Magnificent Yankee.
Often cast as distinguished and sophisticated characters, Calhern appeared in several other notable film roles including the scheming Ambassador Trentino in the classic Marx Brothers comedy Duck Soup (1933), the antagonist to Robert Donat's Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), the head of the US Secret Service in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946), the pivotal villain Alonzo Emmerich in John Huston’s film noir The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Buffalo Bill in the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950), and the title character in the Joseph L. Mankiewicz all-star adaption of Julius Caesar (1953). He won a Special Jury Prize at the 15th Venice International Film Festival for his performance in Executive Suite (1954).
Early life Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt in Brooklyn, New York, in 1895, the son of German immigrants Eugene Adolf Vogt and Hubertina Friese Vogt. He had one known sibling, a sister. His father was a tobacco dealer. His family left New York while he was in elementary school and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was raised. While playing high school football, a stage manager from a touring theatrical stock company noticed the tall, handsome youth and hired him as a bit player. Another source states, "Grace George hired his entire high school football team as supers for a Shakespearean play."
Career
Just before World War I, Calhern returned to New York to pursue an acting career. He began as a prop boy and bit player with various touring and burlesque companies. He became a matinee idol after being in a play titled Cobra. Calhern's burgeoning career was interrupted by World War I; he served in France in the 143rd Field Artillery of the U.S. Army.
Due to the anti-German sentiment during World War I, he changed his German given name, Carl. His stage name is an amalgam of his adopted hometown of St. Louis and his first and middle names, Carl and Henry (Calhern).
Calhern began working in silent films for director Lois Weber in the early 1920s, the most notable being The Blot (1921). A newspaper article commented: "The new arrival in stardom is Louis Calhern, who, until Miss Weber engaged him to enact the leading male role in What's Worth While?, had been playing leads in the Morosco Stock company of Los Angeles."
In 1923, Calhern left the movies, deciding to devote his career entirely to the stage. He returned to films early in the sound era where he was primarily cast as a character actor, while he continued to play leading roles on the stage. In 1945, Calhern won the Donaldson Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Magnificent Yankee.
Among Calhern's notable screen portrayals were as the partner in crime to Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis in 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), as Ambassador Trentino in the classic Marx Brothers comedy Duck Soup (1933), as Major Dort in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), and as the spy boss of Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946).
In 1948, Calhern joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a contract player, receiving wide acclaim for his many fine supporting performances, including three diverse roles that he appeared in for the studio in 1950: a singing role as Buffalo Bill in the film version of the musical Annie Get Your Gun; as a double-crossing lawyer and sugar daddy to a young Marilyn Monroe in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle; and his Oscar-nominated performance as Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee (his only true starring role in a sound film, re-creating his role from the Broadway stage). He was subsequently cast in the title role of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1953 all-star film version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, earning more praise.
Calhern played the role of the devious George Caswell, the manipulative board member of Tredway Corporation, in the 1954 production of Executive Suite, followed by the role of a jaded, acerbic high school teacher in Blackboard Jungle (1955). His performance as cheerfully lecherous Uncle Willie in High Society (1956), a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, was his final film appearance.
Personal life Calhern battled alcoholism for much of his adult life; as a result, he lost several important screen and stage roles. According to former wife Natalie Schafer, Calhern's inability to overcome his addiction ended their marriage. While he was willing to consult doctors, she said Calhern refused to attend Alcoholics Anonymous because he was an atheist and considered AA to be a religious organization. Calhern ultimately overcame his alcohol addiction by the late 1940s.
Death On May 12, 1956, Calhern, aged 61, died unexpectedly of a heart attack while in Nara, Japan to begin filming The Teahouse of the August Moon (Paul Ford replaced Calhern in the film). His body was cremated and was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. . p. 195
Selected filmography
What's Worth While? (1921) as "Squire" Elton Too Wise Wives (1921) as Mr. David Graham The Blot (1921) as The Professor's Pupil as Phil West Woman, Wake Up (1922) as Monte Collins The Last Moment (1923) as Harry Gaines Stolen Heaven (1931) as Steve Perry The Road to Singapore (1931) as Dr. George March Blonde Crazy (1931) as Dapper Dan Barker Okay, America! (1932) as Mileaway Russell Night After Night (1932) as Dick Bolton They Call It Sin (1932) as Ford Humphries Afraid to Talk (1932) as Asst. District Attorney John Wade 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) as Joe Finn Frisco Jenny (1932) as Steve Dutton The Woman Accused (1933) as Leo Young Strictly Personal (1933) as Magruder The World Gone Mad (1933) as Christopher Bruno Diplomaniacs (1933) as Winkelreid Duck Soup (1933) as Ambassador Trentino The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) as De Villefort Jr. The Man with Two Faces (1934) as Stanley Vance The Affairs of Cellini (1934) as Ottaviano Sweet Adeline (1934) as Major Day The Arizonian (1935) as Sheriff Jake Mannen Woman Wanted (1935) as Smiley The Last Days of Pompei (1935) as Prefect The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) as Sunderland Her Husband Lies (1937) as Joe Sorrell The Life of Emile Zola (1937) as Major Dort Fast Company (1938) as Elias Z. "Eli" Bannerman Juarez (1939) as Le Marc 5th Ave Girl (1939) as Dr. Kessler Charlie McCarthy, Detective (1939) as Arthur Aldrich I Take This Woman (1940) as Dr. Duveen Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) as Dr. Brockdorf Heaven Can Wait (1943) as Randolph Van Cleve Nobody's Darling (1943) as Curtis Farnsworth The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) as Don Andre, The Viceroy Up in Arms (1944) as Colonel Ashley Notorious (1946) as Captain Paul Prescott Arch of Triumph (1948) as "Col." Boris Morosov The Red Pony (1949) as Grandfather The Red Danube (1949) as Colonel Piniev Nancy Goes to Rio (1950) as Gregory Elliott Annie Get Your Gun (1950) as Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody The Asphalt Jungle (1950) as Alonzo D. Emmerich A Life of Her Own (1950) as Jim Leversoe Devil's Doorway (1950) as Verne Coolan Two Weeks with Love (1950) as Horatio Robinson The Magnificent Yankee (1950) as Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. It's a Big Country (1951) as narrator The Man with a Cloak (1951) as Charles Francois Thevenet A Letter from a Soldier (1951 short) as narrator Invitation (1952) as Simon Bowker Washington Story (1952) as Charles W. Birch We're Not Married! (1952) as Frederick C. "Freddie" Melrose The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) as Col. Zapt The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) as voice of Georgia Lorrison's Father Confidentially Connie (1953) as Opie Bedloe Julius Caesar (1953) as Julius Caesar Remains to Be Seen (1953) as Benjamin Goodman Latin Lovers (1953) as Grandfather Eduardo Santos Main Street to Broadway (1953) as himself Executive Suite (1954) as George Nyle Caswell Rhapsody (1954) as Nicholas Durant Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) as James A. Michener The Student Prince (1954) as King Ferdinand of Karlsberg Betrayed (1954) as General Ten Eyck Athena (1954) as Grandpa Ulysses Mulvain The Prodigal (1955) as Nahreeb Blackboard Jungle (1955) as Jim Murdock Forever, Darling (1956) as Charles Y. Bewell High Society (1956) as Uncle Willie
Stage credits Calhern's Broadway credits include:
Roger Bloomer (1923) The Song and Dance Man (1923–1924) Cobra (1924) In a Garden (1925–1926) Hedda Gabler (1926) The Woman Disputed (1926–1927) Up the Line (1926) The Dark (1927) Savages Under the Skin (1927) A Distant Drum (1928) Gypsy (1929) The Love Duel (1929) The Rhapsody (1930) The Tyrant (1930) Give Me Yesterday (1931) Brief Moment (1931–1932) The Inside Story (1932) Birthday (1934–1935) Hell Freezes Over (1935–1936) Robin Landing (1937) Summer Night (1939) The Great Big Doorstep (1942) Jacobowsky and the Colonel (1944–1945) The Magnificent Yankee (1946) The Survivors (1948) The Play's the Thing (1948) King Lear (1950–1951) The Wooden Dish (1955)
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1950 Academy Awards Best Actor The Magnificent Yankee 1946 Drama League Awards Distinguished Performance Award 1950 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama The Magnificent Yankee 1954 Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting Executive Suite
References
External links
Wedding photograph of Louis Calhern and Natalie Schafer, Glendale, 1933. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.