George Sanders

'George Sanders' (qv) was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in _Find the Lady (1936)_ (qv). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in _Lloyds of London (1936)_ (qv). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in 'Fritz Lang' (qv)'s _Man Hunt (1941)_ (qv)), royalty (Charles II in 'Otto Preminger' (qv)'s _Forever Amber (1947)_ (qv)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in 'Cecil B. DeMille' (qv)'s _Samson and Delilah (1949)_ (qv)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in 'Joseph L. Mankiewicz' (qv)'s _All About Eve (1950)_ (qv). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, The 'George Sanders' (qv) Mystery Theater (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.::Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>