Clem Beauchamp
Encyclopedia
Clement Hoyt "Clem" Beauchamp (August 26, 1898 – November 14, 1992), also known as Jerry Drew in his 20s and early 30s acting career, first worked as a second unit director in 1935, netting the Academy Award for Best Assistant Director
for his work on The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
. He was nominated in the same category the following year for The Last of the Mohicans
.
Born in Bloomfield, Iowa
, Beauchamp was one of two sons of Charles and Ula Beauchamp. His father was a druggist. The family later moved to Denver, Colorado
and then to Fort Worth, Texas
. After his parents divorced, his mother took her sons to Los Angeles, California
where Beauchamp started working in motion pictures at age 16 as a stuntman. His first known film is Stupid, But Brave
. He would later appear in The Painted Desert
, sharing screen time with Clark Gable
and William Boyd
. In 1933, he appeared in the W.C. Fields comedy International House
, in a non-credited part as a newsreel cameraman.
Beauchamp had a short-lived marriage to actress and comedienne Anita Garvin
, who is best remembered for the eleven films she made with comedians Laurel and Hardy
. In 1935, he married script girl Sydney Hein.
He went on to work on several Tarzan
and Dick Tracy
movies, eventually becoming a production manager. In this capacity, he worked on such films as Fred Zinnemann
's The Men
(1950) and High Noon
(1952), Death of a Salesman
(1951) and most of Stanley Kramer
's best work, including The Defiant Ones
(1958), Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963). He later worked on Blake Edwards
' The Great Race
(1965) and William A. Graham
's Waterhole No. 3 (1967).
He was also the production manager on The Adventures of Superman television series, starring George Reeves
.
Beauchamp told The Literary Digest his name was pronounced "Bo-shawm, both syllables accented alike." (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)
Academy Award for Best Assistant Director
In the first year of this award it referred to no specific film.*1933 winners** Charles Barton ** Rick James ** Charles Dorian ** Fred Fox ** Gordon Hollingshead ** Dewey Starkey...
for his work on The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is a 1935 American adventure film loosely adapted from the 1930 book of the same name by Francis Yeats-Brown. The plot of the movie, which bears little resemblance to Yeats-Brown's memoir, concerns British soldiers defending the borders of India against rebellious...
. He was nominated in the same category the following year for The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans (1936 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1936 adventure film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name starring Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Henry Wilcoxon and Bruce Cabot....
.
Born in Bloomfield, Iowa
Bloomfield, Iowa
Bloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,601 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Davis County.-Geography:Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa near the Missouri border....
, Beauchamp was one of two sons of Charles and Ula Beauchamp. His father was a druggist. The family later moved to Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and then to Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. After his parents divorced, his mother took her sons to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
where Beauchamp started working in motion pictures at age 16 as a stuntman. His first known film is Stupid, But Brave
Stupid, But Brave
Stupid, But Brave is a 1924 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Al St. John* Doris Deane* Eugene Pallette* Kewpie Morgan* Clem Beauchamp* George Davis...
. He would later appear in The Painted Desert
The Painted Desert
The Painted Desert is a film released by RKO Radio Pictures which marks the debut of Clark Gable in a talkie. Gable's performance as Rance Brett, an unshaven former criminal who does not feel sorry about the crimes he has committed, made him an important supporting actor overnight as the result of...
, sharing screen time with Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and William Boyd
William Boyd (actor)
William Lawrence Boyd was an American film actor best known for portraying Hopalong Cassidy.-Biography:...
. In 1933, he appeared in the W.C. Fields comedy International House
International House
International House is the name of:in Australia*International House, University of Queensland, a residential college on the campus of the University of Queensland...
, in a non-credited part as a newsreel cameraman.
Beauchamp had a short-lived marriage to actress and comedienne Anita Garvin
Anita Garvin
Anita Garvin was an American actress and comedienne who appeared in both silent and sound films. She is best known for her work with comedians Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase....
, who is best remembered for the eleven films she made with comedians Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. In 1935, he married script girl Sydney Hein.
He went on to work on several Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
and Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
movies, eventually becoming a production manager. In this capacity, he worked on such films as Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American film director. He won four Academy Awards and directed films like High Noon, From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons.-Life and career:...
's The Men
The Men
The Men is a 1950 film directed by Fred Zinnemann. It tells the story of a World War II Lieutenant, who is seriously injured in combat, and the struggles he faces as he attempts to re-enter society. It stars Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright, and Everett Sloane...
(1950) and High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
(1952), Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman (1951 film)
Death of a Salesman is a 1951 film adapted from the play of the same name by Arthur Miller. It was directed by László Benedek and written for the screen by Stanley Roberts. It received numerous nominations for awards, and won several of them, including four Golden Globe Awards and the Volpi Cup...
(1951) and most of Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's best work, including The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones is a 1958 drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Cara Williams, Charles McGraw, and Lon Chaney, Jr...
(1958), Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and the Post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, and starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy...
(1961) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963). He later worked on Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
' The Great Race
The Great Race
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn,...
(1965) and William A. Graham
William A. Graham (director)
William A. Graham is an American television and film director.Graham directed episodes of many TV series including The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, The Big Valley, Batman and Ironside...
's Waterhole No. 3 (1967).
He was also the production manager on The Adventures of Superman television series, starring George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
.
Beauchamp told The Literary Digest his name was pronounced "Bo-shawm, both syllables accented alike." (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)