John Lund
Encyclopedia
John Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair
(1948), directed by Billy Wilder
.
's As You Like It
. He wrote the book and lyrics for Broadway's New Faces of 1943. It was his appearance in the play The Hasty Heart (1945) that got him recognized by Hollywood and led to a long-term film contract with Paramount Pictures
.
(1946) with Olivia de Havilland
for Paramount
, in which he played dual roles. A Foreign Affair
(1948), in which Lund played romantic lead to both Marlene Dietrich
and Jean Arthur
, was highly acclaimed but failed to make him a major star. In 1949, in My Friend Irma
, Lund is Al, boyfriend of Irma (Marie Wilson
). My Friend Irma, was the film debut of Dean Martin
and Jerry Lewis
.
In the 1950s he played insurance investigator Johnny Dollar in the popular radio series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
. The series can be heard at http://www.otr.net.
Another notable film role of his was in Mitchell Leisen
's comedy The Mating Season
(1951) co-starring Gene Tierney
, Miriam Hopkins
, and Thelma Ritter
. The blond, blue-eyed actor also acted on Broadway and radio.
in the Hollywood Hills
in 1963 and died of heart problems in 1992.
A Foreign Affair
A Foreign Affair is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by David Shaw adapted by Robert Harari...
(1948), directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
.
Background
John Lund's father was a Norwegian immigrant and glassblower. Lund did not finish high school, and he tried several businesses before settling on advertising in the 1930s. While working for an advertising agency, he was asked by a friend to appear in an industrial show for the 1939 World's Fair. He began acting by appearing on Broadway in William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
. He wrote the book and lyrics for Broadway's New Faces of 1943. It was his appearance in the play The Hasty Heart (1945) that got him recognized by Hollywood and led to a long-term film contract with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Film career
His first film was To Each His OwnTo Each His Own (film)
To Each His Own is a 1946 American drama film. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mary Anderson, Roland Culver, and John Lund in his first on-screen appearance, where he played dual roles as father and son. The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett and Jacques...
(1946) with Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
for Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, in which he played dual roles. A Foreign Affair
A Foreign Affair
A Foreign Affair is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by David Shaw adapted by Robert Harari...
(1948), in which Lund played romantic lead to both Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
, was highly acclaimed but failed to make him a major star. In 1949, in My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
, Lund is Al, boyfriend of Irma (Marie Wilson
Marie Wilson (American actress)
Katherine Elisabeth Wilson , better known by her stage name, Marie Wilson, was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in My Friend Irma.-Career:...
). My Friend Irma, was the film debut of Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
.
In the 1950s he played insurance investigator Johnny Dollar in the popular radio series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama of "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account — America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." The show aired on CBS Radio from January 14, 1949 to September 30, 1962...
. The series can be heard at http://www.otr.net.
Another notable film role of his was in Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.-Film career:He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments...
's comedy The Mating Season
The Mating Season (film)
The Mating Season is a 1951 classic farce with elements of screwball comedy. A film made by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Charles Brackett, Richard Breen and Walter Reisch, based on the play Maggie by Caesar Dunn...
(1951) co-starring Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. 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 Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
, Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
, and Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter was an American supporting and character actress from the 1940s until her death in 1969.-Early life:...
. The blond, blue-eyed actor also acted on Broadway and radio.
Later years
By the early 1960s, he appeared in minor films and secondary roles and then retired from the screen in 1963, becoming a successful Hollywood businessman. Lund retired to his house in Coldwater CanyonColdwater Canyon
Coldwater Canyon is a canyon running perpendicular to the Santa Monica Mountains in the city of Los Angeles, California. The canyon is traversed by Coldwater Canyon Drive and Coldwater Canyon Avenue , which connect the city of Beverly Hills with the community of Studio City in the San Fernando...
in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
in 1963 and died of heart problems in 1992.
Partial film list
- To Each His OwnTo Each His Own (film)To Each His Own is a 1946 American drama film. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mary Anderson, Roland Culver, and John Lund in his first on-screen appearance, where he played dual roles as father and son. The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett and Jacques...
(1946) - The Perils of PaulineThe Perils of Pauline (1947 film)The Perils of Pauline is a 1947 American film directed by George Marshall and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie is a fictionalized Hollywood account of silent film star Pearl White's rise to fame, starring Betty Hutton as White....
(1947) - Night Has a Thousand EyesNight Has a Thousand EyesNight Has a Thousand Eyes is a 1948 film noir, starring Edward G. Robinson and directed by John Farrow. The screenplay was written by Barré Lyndon and Jonathan Latimer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich.- Plot :...
(1948) - A Foreign AffairA Foreign AffairA Foreign Affair is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by David Shaw adapted by Robert Harari...
(1948) - My Friend IrmaMy Friend Irma (film)My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
(1949) - Bride of VengeanceBride of VengeanceBride of Vengeance is a 1949 adventure film directed by Mitchell Leisen. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes. It stars Paulette Goddard and John Lund.-Cast:*Paulette Goddard as Lucrezia Borgia*John Lund as Alfonso d'Este...
(1949) - No Man of Her OwnNo Man of Her OwnNo Man of Her Own is a 1950 drama starring Barbara Stanwyck.It was the second she made with director Mitchell Leisen. It was based on a Cornell Woolrich novel, I Married a Dead Man. Woolrich is credited as William Irish in the film's opening credits.The film was later remade in 1996 as Mrs....
(1950) - Duchess of IdahoDuchess of IdahoDuchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, it was the fourth film pairing Esther Williams and Van Johnson...
(1950) - My Friend Irma Goes WestMy Friend Irma Goes WestMy Friend Irma Goes West is a 1950 film based on the radio show My Friend Irma and featuring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
(1950) - The Mating SeasonThe Mating Season (film)The Mating Season is a 1951 classic farce with elements of screwball comedy. A film made by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Charles Brackett, Richard Breen and Walter Reisch, based on the play Maggie by Caesar Dunn...
(1951) - White FeatherWhite Feather (1955 film)White Feather is a 1955 Technicolor western film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Robert Wagner. The movie was filmed in Durango, Mexico. The story is based in fact, however, great artistic license is used and none of the characters are real....
(1955) - Chief Crazy HorseChief Crazy Horse (1955 film)Chief Crazy Horse is a 1955 western film released by Universal Pictures and directed by George Sherman, starring Victor Mature. The film is a fictionalized biography of the Lakota Sioux Chief Crazy Horse that, unusually for the time, portrays the Native American Indians in a more sympathetic...
(1955) - High Society (1956)
- Affair in Reno (1957)
- The Wackiest Ship in the ArmyThe Wackiest Ship in the Army (film)The Wackiest Ship in the Army is a 1960 CinemaScope comedy-drama war film starring Jack Lemmon, Ricky Nelson and Chips Rafferty. It was filmed at Pearl Harbor and Kauai.-Plot summary:...
(1960) - If a Man AnswersIf a Man AnswersIf a Man Answers is a comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. It was produced by Ross Hunter Productions, Inc, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The screenplay was written by Richard Morris from a novel by Winifred Wolfe.-Plot summary:Chantal Stacy is a...
(1962)