Editing Louis Calhern

{{short description|American actor (1895–1956)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Louis Calhern
| image          = Louis Calhern 1946.JPG
| image_size     = 
| caption        = Calhern in 1946
| birth_name     = Carl Henry Vogt
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1895|02|19|mf=yes}}
| birth_place    = [[Brooklyn]], New York, U.S.
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|1956|05|12|1895|02|19|mf=yes}}
| death_place    = [[Nara, Nara]], Japan
| resting_place  = [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]
| occupation     = Actor
| years_active   = 1921&ndash;1956
| spouse         = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Ilka Chase]]|1926|1927|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Julia Hoyt]]|1927|1932|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Natalie Schafer]]|1933|1942|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Marianne Stewart]]|1946|1955|end=div}}
}}
}}

'''Carl Henry Vogt''' (February 19, 1895 &ndash; May 12, 1956), known by his [[stage name]] '''Louis Calhern''', was an American actor.<ref>Obituary ''[[Variety Obituaries|Variety]]'', May 16, 1956.</ref> Described as a “star leading man of the theater and a star character actor of the screen,”<ref name=golden>{{cite web|url=https://filmsofthegoldenage.com/current_issue/louis-calhern-distinguished-gentleman/article_584e0d9c-1157-563e-b91e-e2a57c25e008.html|title=Louis Calhern: Distinguished Gentleman|work=Films of the Golden Age|date=5 November 2011|last=Dennis|first=Ken|access-date=5 September 2024}}</ref> he appeared in over 100 roles on the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] stage and in films and television, between 1923 and 1956. He was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Academy Award]] and the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe Award]] for Best Actor for portraying U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] in the 1950 film ''[[The Magnificent Yankee (1950 film)|The Magnificent Yankee]]''. 

Often cast in films as distinguished and sophisticated characters,<ref name="golden" /> Calhern's other notable film roles included the scheming Ambassador Trentino in the classic [[Marx Brothers]] comedy ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' (1933), the antagonist to [[Robert Donat]]'s [[Edmond Dantès]] in ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' (1934), the head of the [[US Secret Service]] in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[Notorious (1946 film)|''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 (film)|Annie Get Your Gun]]'' (1950), and the [[Julius Caesar|title character]] in [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] all-star [[William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar|1953 film adaptation]] of Julius Caesar. 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.<ref name="fga">{{cite journal|last1=Dennis|first1=Ken|title=Louis Calhern: Distinguished Gentleman|journal=[[Films of the Golden Age]]|date=Summer 2011|issue=65|pages=58–68}}</ref> His father was a tobacco dealer.<ref name="ml">{{cite news|title=Greetings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4303743/mexico_ledger/|newspaper=Mexico Evening Ledger|date=February 18, 1952|location=Mexico, Missouri|page=6|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = February 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> His family left New York while he was in elementary school  and moved to St.&nbsp;Louis, Missouri, where he was raised. While playing high school football, a stage manager from a touring [[repertory theatre|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."<ref name=ml/>

==Career==
[[File:The Blot 01 1921.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Calhern and Claire Windsor in ''[[The Blot]]'' (1921) directed by [[Lois Weber]]]]
[[File:Louis Calhern in Annie Get Your Gun trailer.jpg|thumb|right|250px|As [[Buffalo Bill]] in the trailer for ''[[Annie Get Your Gun (film)|Annie Get Your Gun]]'' (1950)]]

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''.{{Citation needed |date=January 2023}}  Calhern's burgeoning career was interrupted by [[World War I]]; he served in France in the [[143rd Field Artillery Regiment|143rd Field Artillery]] of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Actor Favors Showing German War Pictures|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4304099/pittsburgh_postgazette/|newspaper=The Gazette Times|date=June 12, 1921|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|page=44|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = February 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>

Due to the [[Anti-German_sentiment#United_States_2|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).{{Citation needed |date=January 2023}}

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."<ref>{{cite news|title=Star Studies|newspaper=The Oregon Daily Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4303952/the_oregon_daily_journal/|agency=The Oregon Daily Journal|date=January 16, 1921|location=Oregon, Portland|page=44|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = February 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>

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 Awards|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 film)|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 film)|Notorious]]'' (1946).

In 1948, Calhern joined [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] as a contract player, receiving wide acclaim for 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 (film)|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 Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] in ''[[The Magnificent Yankee (1950 film)|The Magnificent Yankee]]'' (re-creating his role from the Broadway stage). He was subsequently cast in the [[Julius Caesar|title role]] of [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]’s 1953 all-star [[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|film version]] of [[Shakespeare]]’s [[Julius Caesar (play)|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 film)|High Society]]'' (1956), a musical remake of ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|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.<ref name="fga"/> 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.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2XEGbb6wm4  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/X2XEGbb6wm4| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Natalie Schafer Rare 1989 TV Interview, Gilligan's Island, Astrology |publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Death==
On May 12 1956, Calhern died unexpectedly at age 61 of a heart attack in Nara, Japan, while there to film ''[[The Teahouse of the August Moon (film)|The Teahouse of the August Moon]]''. His body was cremated and was interred at [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]] in [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref name=fe>Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. {{ISBN|0-399-50601-2}}. p. 195</ref>

==Selected filmography==
{{Div col}}
* ''[[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 film)|The Last Moment]]'' (1923) as Harry Gaines
* ''[[Stolen Heaven (1931 film)|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 (film)|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 (film)|Strictly Personal]]'' (1933) as Magruder
* ''[[The World Gone Mad]]'' (1933) as Christopher Bruno
* ''[[Diplomaniacs]]'' (1933) as Winkelreid
* ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' (1933) as Ambassador Trentino of Sylvania
* ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' (1934) as De Villefort Jr.
* ''[[The Man with Two Faces (1934 film)|The Man with Two Faces]]'' (1934) as Stanley Vance
* ''[[The Affairs of Cellini]]'' (1934) as Ottaviano
* ''[[Sweet Adeline (1934 film)|Sweet Adeline]]'' (1934) as Major Day
* ''[[The Arizonian]]'' (1935) as Sheriff Jake Mannen
* ''[[Woman Wanted (1935 film)|Woman Wanted]]'' (1935) as Smiley
* ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)|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 film)|Fast Company]]'' (1938) as Elias Z. "Eli" Bannerman
* ''[[Juarez (film)|Juarez]]'' (1939) as Le Marc
* ''[[5th Ave Girl]]'' (1939) as Dr. Kessler
* ''[[Charlie McCarthy, Detective]]'' (1939) as Arthur Aldrich
* ''[[I Take This Woman (1940 film)|I Take This Woman]]'' (1940) as Dr. Duveen
* ''[[Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet]]'' (1940) as Dr. Brockdorf
* ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1943) as Randolph Van Cleve
* ''[[Nobody's Darling]]'' (1943) as Curtis Farnsworth
* ''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]'' (1944) as Don Andre, The Viceroy
* ''[[Up in Arms]]'' (1944) as Colonel Ashley
* ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]'' (1946) as Captain Paul Prescott
* ''[[Arch of Triumph (1948 film)|Arch of Triumph]]'' (1948) as "Col." Boris Morosov
* ''[[The Red Pony (1949 film)|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 (film)|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 film)|The Magnificent Yankee]]'' (1950) as Oliver Wendell Holmes
* ''[[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 film)|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 film)|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 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953) as Julius Caesar
* ''[[Remains to Be Seen (film)|Remains to Be Seen]]'' (1953) as Benjamin Goodman
* ''[[Latin Lovers (1953 film)|Latin Lovers]]'' (1953) as Grandfather Eduardo Santos
* ''[[Main Street to Broadway]]'' (1953) as himself
* ''[[Executive Suite]]'' (1954) as George Nyle Caswell
* ''[[Rhapsody (1954 film)|Rhapsody]]'' (1954) as Nicholas Durant
* ''[[Men of the Fighting Lady (film)|Men of the Fighting Lady]]'' (1954) as James A. Michener
* ''[[The Student Prince (film)|The Student Prince]]'' (1954) as King Ferdinand of Karlsberg
* ''[[Betrayed (1954 film)|Betrayed]]'' (1954) as General Ten Eyck
* ''[[Athena (1954 film)|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 film)|High Society]]'' (1956) as Uncle Willie
{{div col end}}

== Stage credits ==
Calhern's Broadway credits include:<ref>{{cite web |title=Louis Calhern |url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/19119/Louis-Calhern |access-date=13 February 2016 |website=Playbill Vault}}</ref><ref>{{IBDB name}}</ref>

{{div col}}
* ''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 play)|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)
{{div col end}}

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award 
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| [[23rd Academy Awards|1950]]
| [[Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| ''[[The Magnificent Yankee (1950 film)|The Magnificent Yankee]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1951 |title=The 23rd Academy Awards (1951) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093818/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/23rd-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 1946
| [[Drama League Award]]s
| [[Drama League Distinguished Performance Award|Distinguished Performance Award]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://dramaleague.org/awards-history/#distinguished |title=Awards History |publisher=[[Drama League Award]]s |access-date=November 30, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[8th Golden Globe Awards|1950]]
| [[Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| ''The Magnificent Yankee''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/louis-calhern/ |title=Louis Calhern |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=November 30, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[15th Venice International Film Festival|1954]]
| [[Venice Film Festival]]
| Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting
| ''[[Executive Suite]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|0129894}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002dbws0 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]].

{{Distinguished Performance Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calhern, Louis}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male silent film actors]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]
[[Category:Male actors from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Donaldson Award winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American atheists]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]