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George Cukor

 

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George Cukor



 
 
George Cukor (July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an Academy Award-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed a string of impressive films including What Price Hollywood?
What Price Hollywood?

What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Ben Markson, and Jane Murfin is based on a story by Adela Rogers St....
 (1932), A Bill of Divorcement
A Bill of Divorcement

A Bill of Divorcement is a United Kingdom play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. Dane wrote it as a reaction to a law passed in Britain in the early 1920s that allowed insanity as grounds for a woman divorcing her husband....
 (1932), Dinner at Eight
Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight is a 1932 Broadway play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Two films have been based on the play:* Dinner at Eight , 1933...
 (1933), Little Women
Little Women (1933 film)

Little Women is a 1933 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman is based on the Little Women by Louisa May Alcott....
 (1933), David Copperfield
Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger

The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger is a 1935 in film film based upon the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield ....
 (1935), Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)

----Romeo and Juliet is a film adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings....
 (1936), and Camille
Camille (1936 film)

Camille is an United States 1936 in film drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoe Akins and Frances Marion....
 (1937).

as born George Dewey Cukor on the Lower East Side of New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, the younger child and only son of Hungarian
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 Jewish immigrants Victor, an assistant district attorney
District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a district attorney is the local public official who represents the government in the Prosecutor of alleged criminals....
, and Helen Ilona (née
Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
 Gross) Cukor.






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George Cukor (July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an Academy Award-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed a string of impressive films including What Price Hollywood?
What Price Hollywood?

What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Ben Markson, and Jane Murfin is based on a story by Adela Rogers St....
 (1932), A Bill of Divorcement
A Bill of Divorcement

A Bill of Divorcement is a United Kingdom play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. Dane wrote it as a reaction to a law passed in Britain in the early 1920s that allowed insanity as grounds for a woman divorcing her husband....
 (1932), Dinner at Eight
Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight is a 1932 Broadway play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Two films have been based on the play:* Dinner at Eight , 1933...
 (1933), Little Women
Little Women (1933 film)

Little Women is a 1933 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman is based on the Little Women by Louisa May Alcott....
 (1933), David Copperfield
Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger

The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger is a 1935 in film film based upon the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield ....
 (1935), Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)

----Romeo and Juliet is a film adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings....
 (1936), and Camille
Camille (1936 film)

Camille is an United States 1936 in film drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoe Akins and Frances Marion....
 (1937).

Early life

He was born George Dewey Cukor on the Lower East Side of New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, the younger child and only son of Hungarian
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 Jewish immigrants Victor, an assistant district attorney
District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a district attorney is the local public official who represents the government in the Prosecutor of alleged criminals....
, and Helen Ilona (née
Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
 Gross) Cukor. His parents selected his middle name in honor of Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War

The Spanish?American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba....
 hero George Dewey
George Dewey

George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy, best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War....
. The family was not particularly religious; Yiddish was not spoken in the home, pork was a staple on the dinner table, and when he started attending temple as a boy, Cukor learned Hebrew phonetically, with no real understanding of the meaning of the words or what they represented. As a result, he was ambivalent about his faith and dismissive of old world traditions from childhood, and as an adult he embraced Anglophilia
Anglophilia

An Anglophile is a person who is fond of English culture and England in general. Its antonym is Anglophobia.According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word comes from French, and ultimately from Latin Anglus "English" + Ancient Greek f???? - philos, "friend")....
 to remove himself even further from his roots.

As a child, Cukor appeared in several amateur plays and took dance lessons, and at the age of seven he performed in a recital with David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick

David O. Selznick, born David Selznick , was one of the iconic Hollywood film producer of the Golden Age. He is best known for producing the epic blockbuster Gone with the Wind which earned him an Academy Awards for Best Picture....
, who in later years would become a mentor and friend. As a teenager, Cukor frequently was taken to the New York Hippodrome
New York Hippodrome

The Hippodrome Theatre stood in New York City from 1905 to 1939, at 6th and 43rd/44th, on the site of what is now a large modern office building known as "The Hippodrome Center" , in the Theatre District, New York of Midtown Manhattan....
 by his uncle. Infatuated with theatre
Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
, he often cut classes at De Witt Clinton High School to attend afternoon matinees. During his senior year, he worked as a supernumerary
Supernumerary actor

Supernumerary actors are usually amateur character actors in opera and ballet performances who train under professional direction to create a believable scene....
 with the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director....
, earning 50¢ per appearance, and $1 if he was required to perform in blackface
Blackface

'Blackface', in the narrow sense is a style of theatre makeup that originated in the United States, used to take on the appearance of certain archetypes of Racism in the United States, especially those of the "happy-go-lucky List of ethnic slurs#D on the plantation#Slavery, para-slavery and plantations" or the "dandy List of ethnic slur...
.

Following his graduation in 1917, Cukor was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a career in law. He halfheartedly enrolled in the City College of New York
City College of New York

The City College of The City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York, in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning....
, where he entered the Students Army Training Corps in October 1918. His military experience was limited; Germany surrendered in early December, and Cukor's duty ended after only two months. Shortly after he left school.

Cukor obtained a job as an assistant stage manager and bit player with a touring production of The Better 'Ole, a popular British musical based on Old Bill
Old Bill (cartoon character)

Old Bill is a fictional character created in 1914-15 by cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather. Old Bill was depicted as an elderly, pipe-smoking British "tommy" with a walrus moustache....
, a cartoon character created by Bruce Bairnsfather
Bruce Bairnsfather

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather was a prominent UK humour and cartoonist....
. In 1920, he became the stage manager for the Knickerbocker Players, a troupe that shuttled between Syracuse
Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is the fifth largest city in New York State, United States. According to the United States Census 2000, the city population was 147,306, and its Syracuse metropolitan area had a population of 732,117....
 and Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area....
, and the following year he was hired as general manager of the newly-formed Lyceum Players, an upstate summer stock
Summer Stock

Summer Stock is an MGM musical film made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers....
 company. In 1925 he formed the C.F. and Z. Production Company with Walter Folmer and John Zwicki, which gave him his first opportunity to direct. Following their first season, he made his Broadway directorial debut with Antonia by Hungarian playwright Melchior Lengyel
Melchior Lengyel

Melchior Lengyel, born Lebovics Menyh?rt, was a Hungary writer, dramatist, and film screenwriter....
, then returned to Rochester, where C.F. and Z. evolved into the Cukor-Kondolf Stock Company, a troupe that included Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern

Louis Calhern was an United States stage and screen actor....
, Ilka Chase
Ilka Chase

Ilka Chase was an American actress and novelist.Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, she was the only child of Edna Woolman Chase, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and her first husband, Francis Dane Chase....
, Phyllis Povah
Phyllis Povah

Phyllis Povah was an American actress, who made numerous appearances on stage and a few films.Povah made her Broadway theatre debut in Mr. Pim Passes By in 1921 and acted in minor roles in several productions over the next two decades....
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan

Frank Morgan was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz ....
, Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen

Reginald Owen, or John Reginald Owen, was an England character actor known for playing in many film roles in British and American movies and later in television programs....
, Elizabeth Patterson
Elizabeth Patterson

Elizabeth Patterson is the name of:* Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte , sister-in-law of Emperor Napoleon I of France* Liz J. Patterson , U.S. Representative from South Carolina...
, and Douglass Montgomery
Douglass Montgomery

Douglass Montgomery was an American film actor....
, all of whom would work with Cukor in later years in Hollywood. Lasting only one season with the company was Bette Davis
Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime films to historical film and period piece and occasional comedy, though her greatest successes were h...
. Cukor later recalled, "Her talent was apparent, but she did buck at direction. She had her own ideas, and though she only did bits and ingenue
Ingenue

*Ingenue is a stock character in literature, film and theatre.*Ing?nue is the second solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1992....
 roles, she didn't hesitate to express them." For the next several decades, Davis claimed she was fired, and although Cukor never understood why she placed so much importance on an incident he considered so minor, he never worked with her again.

For the next few years, Cukor alternated between Rochester in the summer months and Broadway in the winter. His direction of a 1926 stage adaptation of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel by the United States author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922....
 by Owen Davis
Owen Davis

Owen Gould Davis, Sr. was an American dramatist. He received the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1923 play Icebound, and penned hundreds of plays and scripts for radio and film....
 brought him to the attention of the New York critics. Writing in the Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn Eagle

The Brooklyn Eagle, also called The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, was a daily newspaper published in Brooklyn, New York from October 26, 1841 to March 16, 1955, and is also a successor daily newspaper by the same name....
, drama critic Arthur Pollock called it "an unusual piece of work by a director not nearly so well-known as he should be." Cukor directed six more Broadway productions before departing for Hollywood in 1929.

Later Hollywood career

In December 1952, Cukor was approached by Sid Luft
Sidney Luft

Sidney Luft was an American show business figure best known as the third husband of iconic American singer and actress Judy Garland....
, who proposed the director helm a musical remake of the 1937 film A Star is Born with his then-wife Judy Garland in the lead role. Cukor had declined to direct the earlier film because it was too similar to his 1932 What Price Hollywood?, but the opportunity to direct his first Technicolor
Technicolor

Technicolor is the trademark for a series of Color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA....
 film, first musical, and work with screenwriter Moss Hart
Moss Hart

Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director of plays and musical theater....
 and especially Garland appealed to him, and he accepted. Getting the updated A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born (1954 film)

A Star Is Born is a 1954 in film Cinema of the United States musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Moss Hart is an adaptation of the A Star Is Born , which was based on a story by William A....
 to the screen proved to be a challenge. Cukor wanted Cary Grant
Cary Grant

Archibald Alec Leach , better known by his stage name, Cary Grant, was a British-born American actor. With his distinctive yet not quite placeable accent, he was noted as perhaps the foremost exemplar of the debonair leading man, handsome, virile, charismatic and charming....
 for the male lead and went so far as to read the entire script with him, but Grant, while agreeing it was the role of a lifetime, steadfastly refused to do it, and Cukor never forgave him. The director then suggested either Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an United_States_of_America actor and cultural icon. In 1997, Entertainment Weekly magazine named him the number one movie legend of all time....
 or Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an United States singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers"....
 tackle the part, but Jack Warner
Jack Warner

Jack Leonard "J.L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, Canada, was the president and driving force behind the successful development of Warner Bros....
 rejected both. Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger

Stewart Granger , born James Lablache Stewart, was an England film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the 1960s....
 was the front runner for a period of time, but he backed out when he was unable to adjust to Cukor's habit of acting out scenes as a form of direction. James Mason
James Mason

James Neville Mason was a three-time Academy Award-nominated British People actor who attained stardom in both United Kingdom and United States films....
 ultimately was signed, and filming began on October 12, 1953. As the months passed, Cukor was forced to deal not only with constant script changes but a very unstable leading lady, who was plagued by chemical and alcohol dependencies, extreme weight fluctuations, and real and imagined illnesses. In March 1954, a rough cut still missing several musical numbers was assembled, and Cukor had mixed feelings about it. When the last scene finally was filmed in the early morning hours of July 28, 1954, Cukor already had departed the production and was unwinding in Europe. The first preview the following month ran 210 minutes and, despite ecstatic feedback from the audience, Cukor and editor Folmar Blangsted trimmed it to 182 minutes for its New York premiere in October. The reviews were the best of Cukor's career, but Warner executives, concerned the running time would limit the number of daily showings, made drastic cuts without Cukor, who had departed for India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 to scout locations for Bhowani Junction
Bhowani Junction

Bhowani Junction is a 1952 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a successful 1956 film. It is set amidst the turbulence of the United Kingdom withdrawal from India....
. At its final running time of 154 minutes, the film had lost musical numbers and crucial dramatic scenes, and Cukor called it "very painful." He was not included in the film's six Oscar nominations, all of which were lost.

Over the next ten years, Cukor directed a handful of films with varying success. Les Girls
Les Girls

Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 in film comedy film Musical film made by MGM. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C....
 (1957) won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Wild Is the Wind
Wild Is the Wind

Wild Is the Wind is a 1957 film which tells the story of a rancher who marries his Italy sister-in-law after the passing of his wife, but she falls in love with his son....
 (1957) earned Oscar nominations for Anna Magnani
Anna Magnani

Anna Magnani was an Academy Award-winning Italy stage and film actress. Magnani won the Oscar for her lusty portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo ....
 and Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn was a two-time Academy Awards-winning Mexican-American actor, as well as a Painting and writer. He starred in numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Zorba the Greek , Lawrence of Arabia , and Federico Fellini's La strada....
, but neither Heller in Pink Tights
Heller in Pink Tights

Heller In Pink Tights is a 1960 in film Western film film adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel, Heller with a Gun. It stars Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn and was directed by George Cukor....
 nor Let's Make Love
Let's Make Love

Let's Make Love is a comedy film film musical made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller....
 (both 1960) were box office hits. His most notable project during this period was the ill-fated Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give

Something's Got to Give is one of the most notorious unfinished work films in Hollywood history. The light bedroom comedy was a remake of My Favorite Wife , a screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
, an updated remake of the 1940 screwball comedy
Screwball Comedy

Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums....
 My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife

My Favorite Wife is a 1940 in film screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant that tells the story of a woman returning home to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for seven years....
. Cukor liked leading lady Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model, and a sex symbol.After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946....
 but found it difficult to deal with her erratic work habits, frequent absences from the set, and the constant presence of her acting coach, Paula Strasberg
Paula Strasberg

Paula Miller Strasberg was a former stage actress who became actor/teacher Lee Strasberg's second wife, mother of actors John Strasberg and Susan Strasberg as well as Marilyn Monroe's acting coach/confidante....
. After thirty-two days of shooting, the director had only 7½ minutes of usable film. Then Monroe went AWOL
Desertion

In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission from one's Government or superior. Ultimate "duty" or "responsibility," however, under International Law, is not necessarily always to a "Government" nor to a "superior," as seen in the fourth of the Nuremberg Principles, which states:...
 to appear at a birthday celebration for John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
 at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City....
, where she famously serenaded the President. The production came to a halt when Cukor had filmed every scene not involving Monroe and the actress remained unavailable. 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, or simply Fox, is one of the six Worldwide major film studios....
 executive Peter Levathes fired her and hired Lee Remick
Lee Remick

Lee Ann Remick was an Academy Award- and Tony Award-nominated American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen ....
 to replace her, prompting co-star Dean Martin
Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an United States singer, film actor and comedian of Italians descent. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s....
 to quit, since his contract guaranteed he would be playing opposite Monroe. With the production already $2 million over budget and everyone back at the starting gate, the studio pulled the plug on the project. Less than two months later, Monroe was found dead in her home.

Two years later, Cukor achieved one of his greatest success with My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady (film)

My Fair Lady is a musical film film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, My Fair Lady, based in turn on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw....
. Throughout filming there were mounting tensions between the director and designer Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton CBE, was an England fashion and portrait photographer and an Academy Award-winning stage design and costume designer for films and the theatre....
, but Cukor was thrilled with leading lady Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn was a Belgian-born, Dutch-raised actress of British and Dutch ancestry.Born in Brussels, Hepburn lived in Arnhem in The Netherlands during her childhood and for the duration of the World War II....
, although the crew was less enchanted with her diva-like demands. Although several reviews were critical of the film - Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael

Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career she was published by City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
 said it "staggers along" and Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann

Stanley Kauffmann is an United States author and critic of film and theatre. He has written for The New Republic since 1958 and currently contributes film criticism to that magazine....
 thought Cukor's direction was like "a rich gravy poured over everything, not remotely as delicately rich as in the Asquith
Anthony Asquith

Anthony Asquith was a respected England film director.Born in London, he was the son of Herbert Henry Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War I, and Margot Asquith....
-Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)

Leslie Howard was an English people Academy Award-nominated Stage and film actor, director, and Theatrical producer. He is best known by international audiences as Ashley Wilkes in the film Gone with the Wind ....
 1937 Pygmalion
Pygmalion (1938 film)

Pygmalion is a 1938 in film Cinema of the United Kingdom based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion , and adapted by him for the screen. The film was a financial and critical success, and won an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay and three more nominations....
" - the film was a box office hit which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and the Directors Guild of America Award after having been nominated for each several times.

Following My Fair Lady, Cukor became less active. He directed Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, Order of the British Empire , better known as Maggie Smith, is a pre-eminent English film, Stage , and television actor who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 56 years....
 in Travels with My Aunt
Travels with My Aunt (film)

Travels with My Aunt is a 1972 in film Cinema of the United States comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jay Presson Allen and Hugh Wheeler is based on the 1969 Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene....
 in 1972 and helmed the critical and commercial flop The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird (1976 film)

The Blue Bird is a 1976 in film Cinema of the United States/Cinema of the Soviet Union fantasy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Alfred Hayes, and Aleksei Kapler is based L'Oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck....
, the first joint Soviet-American production, in 1976. He reunited twice with Katherine Hepburn for the television movie
Television movie

A television movie is a feature film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network....
s Love Among the Ruins
Love Among the Ruins

Love Among the Ruins can be any of the following:...
 (1975) and The Corn is Green
The Corn is Green

The Corn is Green is a semi-autobiographical play by Emlyn Williams.At its core is L. C. Moffat, a strong-willed Wales schoolteacher working in a small poverty-stricken coal mining town....
 (1979). He directed his final film, Rich And Famous
Rich and Famous (1981 film)

Rich and Famous is a 1981 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1941 play Old Acquaintance by John Van Druten, which was filmed with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in 1943 under Old Acquaintance....
 (1981) with Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset

Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress....
 and Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen

'Candice Patricia Bergen' is an Academy Awards-nominated and Golden Globe- and Emmy Awards-winning United States actress and former fashion model, best known for her starring role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown, and as Shirley Schmidt, the legal partner of Denny Crane , on the American Broadcasting Company comedy-drama B...
, at the age of eighty-two.

Personal life

It was an open secret
Open secret

An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" secret or restricted in knowledge, but is actually widely known; or refers to something which is widely known to be true, but which none of the people most intimately concerned is willing to categorically acknowledge in public....
 in Hollywood that Cukor was gay
Gay

The term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree," "happy," or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
, although he was discreet about his sexual preference and "never carried it as a pin on his lapel," according to producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an United States Academy Award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer....
. He was a celebrated bon vivant whose luxurious home was the site of weekly Sunday afternoon parties attended by closeted
Closeted

Closeted or "in the closet" are phrases generally refer to undisclosed human sexual behavior, sexual orientation or gender identity. The most common of these concern lesbian, gay, bisexuality and transgender people as well as people who engage in kink sexual behaviors such as BDSM or fetishes....
 celebrities and the attractive young men they met in bars and gyms and brought with them. At least once, in the midst of his reign at MGM, he was arrested on vice
Vice

Vice is a practice or habit considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity or merely a bad habit....
 charges, but studio executives managed to get the charges dropped and all records of it expunged, and the incident never was publicized by the press. In the late 1950s, Cukor became involved with a considerably younger man named George Towers. He financed his education at the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences
California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles is a public university, part of the California State University system. The campus is located in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the University Hills, Los Angeles, California district at the center of Los Angeles metropolitan area just five miles from Los Angeles civic and cultural center....
 and the University of Southern California
University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
, from which Towers graduated with a law degree in 1967. That fall he married and his relationship with Cukor evolved into one of father and son, and for the remainder of Cukor's life the two remained very close.

Cukor's friends were of paramount importance to him and he kept his home filled with their photographs. Regular attendees at his famed soirées included Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce , for which she won the Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Actress....
 and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr., Order of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Cross was an United States actor and a highly decorated United States Navy officer of World War II....
 , Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall is an American film and theater actress and Model . Known for her husky voice and sultry looks, she has continued acting to the present day....
 and Humphrey Bogart, Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert was a French-born American stage and film actress.Born in Saint-Mand?, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway theater productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures....
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich ; was a German-born American actress, singer and entertainer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself....
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, Order of Merit was an English people Stage actor, Theatre director, and Theatrical producer. He is one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft and Ralph Richardson....
 and Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier , was an English actress. She won two Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she had also played on stage in London's West End Theatre....
, Richard Cromwell (actor)
Richard Cromwell (actor)

Richard Cromwell, born LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh , was an United States actor. His family and friends called him Roy, though he was also professionally known and signed autographs as Dick Cromwell....
, Judy Garland, Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney was an United States film and Theatre actor. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Academy Award for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven ....
, Noël Coward
Noël Coward

Sir No?l Peirce Coward was an English people playwright, composer, Theatre director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"....
, Cole Porter
Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana, Indiana.His works include the musical comedies Kiss Me, Kate , Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady and Anything Goes, as well as songs like "Night and Day ", "I Get a Kick out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!", "Two Little Babes In The Wood"...
, James Whale
James Whale

James Whale was a United Kingdom film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein , all recognized as classics of the genre....
, Edith Head
Edith Head

Edith Head was an United Statesn costume designer who had a long career in Hollywood that garnered eight Academy Awards?more than any other woman in history....
, and Norma Shearer, especially after the death of her first husband, Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg

Irving Grant Thalberg was an Academy Award-winning United States film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff, and make very profitable films....
. He often entertained literary greats like Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis was an United States novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." His works are known for their insightful and critical vi...
, Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist. He pioneered the naturalism school and is known for portraying characters whose value lies not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency ....
, Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley

Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He spent the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death in 1963....
, Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár

Ferenc Moln?r was a Hungary dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar. He emigrated to the United States to escape the Nazi Germany persecution of Hungarian Jews during World War II....
, and close friend Somerset Maugham, as well.

Death

Cukor died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the Blood flow to part of the heart is interrupted. This is most commonly due to occlusion of a coronary artery following the rupture of a Vulnerable plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids and white blood cells in the wall of an artery....
 on January 24, 1983 at the age of 83 and was interred in an unmarked grave at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California

Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area....
. Records in probate court indicated his net worth at the time of his death was $2,377,720.

Filmography

  • Grumpy
    Grumpy (film)

    Grumpy is a 1930 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner. The screenplay by Doris Anderson is based on a play by Horace Hodges and Thomas Wigney....
     (1930)
  • The Virtuous Sin
    The Virtuous Sin

    The Virtuous Sin is a 1930 in film Cinema of the United States comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the play The General by Lajos Zilahy....
     (1930)
  • The Royal Family of Broadway
    The Royal Family of Broadway

    The Royal Family of Broadway, , is a 1930 in film Paramount Pictures comedy film, directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner. The screenplay was adapted by Herman J....
     (1930)
  • Tarnished Lady
    Tarnished Lady

    Tarnished Lady is a 1931 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on his short story "A Story of a New York Lady."...
     (1931)
  • Girls About Town
    Girls About Town (film)

    Girls About Town is a 1931 in film comedy film directed by George Cukor and starring Kay Francis. ...
     (1931)
  • A Bill of Divorcement
    A Bill of Divorcement

    A Bill of Divorcement is a United Kingdom play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. Dane wrote it as a reaction to a law passed in Britain in the early 1920s that allowed insanity as grounds for a woman divorcing her husband....
     (1932)
  • Rockabye
    Rockabye (1932 film)

    Rockabye is a 1932 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jane Murfin is based on a play by Lucia Bronder....
     (1932)
  • What Price Hollywood?
    What Price Hollywood?

    What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Ben Markson, and Jane Murfin is based on a story by Adela Rogers St....
     (1932)
  • Dinner At Eight
    Dinner at Eight

    Dinner at Eight is a 1932 Broadway play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Two films have been based on the play:* Dinner at Eight , 1933...
     (1933)
  • Our Betters
    Our Betters

    Our Betters is a 1933 in film Cinema of the United States satire comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1923 play of the same title by W....
     (1933)
  • Little Women
    Little Women (1933 film)

    Little Women is a 1933 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman is based on the Little Women by Louisa May Alcott....
     (1933)
  • David Copperfield
    Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger

    The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger is a 1935 in film film based upon the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield ....
     (1935)
  • No More Ladies
    No More Ladies

    No More Ladies is a 1935 in film film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery , and Franchot Tone, directed by Edward H. Griffith and George Cukor....
     (1935)
  • Sylvia Scarlett
    Sylvia Scarlett

    Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on a novel by Compton MacKenzie, directed by George Cukor, and notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930's....
     (1935)
  • Camille
    Camille (1936 film)

    Camille is an United States 1936 in film drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg and Bernard H. Hyman, from a screenplay by James Hilton, Zoe Akins and Frances Marion....
     (1936)
  • Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)

    ----Romeo and Juliet is a film adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings....
     (1936)
  • Holiday
    Holiday (1938 film)

    Holiday is a 1938 in film remake of the 1930 in film film Holiday — a romantic comedy which tells the story of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fianc?e's family....
     (1938)
  • Zaza
    Zaza (film)

    Zaza is a 1939 in film film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Cukor. The screenplay was written by Zoe Akins, based on play Zaza ....
     (1939)
  • The Women (1939)
  • The Philadelphia Story
    The Philadelphia Story

    The Philadelphia Story is a romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart , and directed by George Cukor. Based on a Broadway theatre play of the same name by Philip Barry, with screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart and an uncredited Waldo Salt, the film is about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicat...
     (1940)
  • Susan and God
    Susan and God

    Susan and God is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March in a story about a matron who finds religion....
     (1940)
  • Two-Faced Woman
    Two-Faced Woman

    Two-Faced Woman is a romantic comedy film made by MGM. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt from a screenplay by S....
     (1941)
  • A Woman's Face
    A Woman's Face

    A Woman's Face is a 1941 in film motion picture directed by George Cukor, and starring Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas and Conrad Veidt. The film tells the story of Anna Holm, a facially disfigured blackmailer, who because of her appearance, despises everyone she encounters....
     (1941)
  • Her Cardboard Lover
    Her Cardboard Lover

    Her Cardboard Lover is a 1942 in film Cinema of the United States comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jacques Deval, John Collier , Anthony Veiller, and William H....
     (1942)
  • Keeper of the Flame
    Keeper of the Flame (film)

    Keeper of the Flame is a film starring Katharine Hepburn as the widow of a famous politician, whose evil doings are uncovered by a reporter played by Spencer Tracy....
     (1942)
  • Gaslight
    Gaslight (1944 film)

    Gaslight is a 1944 in film Mystery film-Thriller adapted from Patrick Hamilton 's play Angel Street. It was the second version to be filmed; the Gaslight , released in United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier....
     (1944)
  • Winged Victory
    Winged Victory (play)

    Winged Victory is a play and, later, a film by Moss Hart, originally created and produced by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a morale booster and as a fundraiser for the Army Emergency Relief Fund....
     (1944)
  • A Double Life
    A Double Life

    A Double Life is a 1947 in film film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso....
     (1947)
  • Edward, My Son
    Edward, My Son

    Edward, My Son is a 1949 in film Cinema of the United States/Cinema of the United Kingdom drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on the play by Noel Langley and Robert Morley....
     (1949)
  • Adam's Rib
    Adam's Rib

    Adam's Rib is a film written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and directed by George Cukor. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and features Judy Holliday in her first substantial film role....
     (1949)
  • Born Yesterday
    Born Yesterday (1950 film)

    Born Yesterday is a 1950 in film film based on the Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin which was directed by George Cukor. The screenplay was written by Albert Mannheimer with uncredited contributions from Kanin....
     (1950)
  • A Life of Her Own
    A Life of Her Own

    A Life of Her Own is a 1950 in film Cinema of the United States melodrama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart focuses on an aspiring Model who leaves her small town in the Midwestern United States to seek fame and fortune in New York City....
     (1950)
  • The Model and the Marriage Broker
    The Model and the Marriage Broker

    The Model and the Marriage Broker is a 1951 in film comedy film about a model who is so pleased with the work of a marriage broker, she decides to return the favor....
     (1951)
  • The Marrying Kind
    The Marrying Kind

    The Marrying Kind is a dramedy film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander , Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis , Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones , Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan Shawlee....
     (1952)
  • Pat and Mike
    Pat and Mike

    Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib....
     (1952)
  • The Actress
    The Actress

    The Actress is a drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical Play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut....
     (1953)
  • A Star Is Born
    A Star Is Born (1954 film)

    A Star Is Born is a 1954 in film Cinema of the United States musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Moss Hart is an adaptation of the A Star Is Born , which was based on a story by William A....
     (1954)
  • It Should Happen to You
    It Should Happen to You

    It Should Happen to You is a 1954 comedy film starring Judy Holliday, notable as the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon, who was then an aspiring young actor....
     (1954)
  • Bhowani Junction
    Bhowani Junction

    Bhowani Junction is a 1952 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a successful 1956 film. It is set amidst the turbulence of the United Kingdom withdrawal from India....
     (1956)
  • Les Girls
    Les Girls

    Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 in film comedy film Musical film made by MGM. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C....
     (1957)
  • Wild Is the Wind
    Wild Is the Wind

    Wild Is the Wind is a 1957 film which tells the story of a rancher who marries his Italy sister-in-law after the passing of his wife, but she falls in love with his son....
     (1957)
  • Heller in Pink Tights
    Heller in Pink Tights

    Heller In Pink Tights is a 1960 in film Western film film adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel, Heller with a Gun. It stars Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn and was directed by George Cukor....
     (1960)
  • Let's Make Love
    Let's Make Love

    Let's Make Love is a comedy film film musical made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller....
     (1960)
  • The Chapman Report
    The Chapman Report

    The Chapman Report is a 1962 in film film made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Darryl F....
     (1962)
  • My Fair Lady
    My Fair Lady (film)

    My Fair Lady is a musical film film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, My Fair Lady, based in turn on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw....
     (1964)
  • Justine
    Justine (film)

    Justine is the title of several movies, among them:*Justine , a 1969 movie with Anouk Aim?e*The Adventures of Justine, a series of seven erotic films with Daneen Boone as Justine...
     (1969)
  • Travels with My Aunt
    Travels with My Aunt (film)

    Travels with My Aunt is a 1972 in film Cinema of the United States comedy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Jay Presson Allen and Hugh Wheeler is based on the 1969 Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene....
     (1972)
  • Love Among the Ruins
    Love Among the Ruins (film)

    Love Among the Ruins is a 1975 television film directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier.Set in Edwardian England, Love Among the Ruins tells the story of Jessica Medlicott , an aging grande dame of the London theater....
     (1975)
  • The Blue Bird
    The Blue Bird (1976 film)

    The Blue Bird is a 1976 in film Cinema of the United States/Cinema of the Soviet Union fantasy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Alfred Hayes, and Aleksei Kapler is based L'Oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck....
     (1976)
  • Rich And Famous
    Rich and Famous (1981 film)

    Rich and Famous is a 1981 in film Cinema of the United States drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1941 play Old Acquaintance by John Van Druten, which was filmed with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in 1943 under Old Acquaintance....
     (1981)


Bibliography

  • Hillstrom, Laurie Collier, International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Detroit: St. James Press 1997. ISBN 1-55862-302-7
  • Katz, Ephraim, The Film Encyclopedia. New York: HarperCollins 2001. ISBN 0-06-273755-4
  • Myrick, Susan, White Columns in Hollywood: Reports from the GWTW Sets. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press 1982 ISBN 0-86-554044-6
  • Wakeman, John, World Film Directors. New York: H.W. Wilson Company 1987. ISBN 0-8242-0757-2


External links