DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR

 

A talented writer, Fairbanks wrote humorous pieces for Vanity Fair about the Hollywood scene. Married to Joan Crawford and at the heart of tinseltown, he set up his own production company, Criterion Films, in 1935.

THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937) gave Fairbanks one of his best roles, as the cold-blooded villain, Rupert of Hentzau.

With his father's death in 1939, Fairbanks began to move into public life, organizing the Hollywood pro-allied forces William Allen White Committee during the Second World War.

Spending 1939-1940 in London hospitals, he took special care of war refugees, and was appointed by Roosevelt to act as envoy for a special mission to South American in 1940.

Commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Navy in 1941, he was a Chief Officer in Special Operations, participating in the Allied Invasion of Elba and Sicily. Working his way up, he rose to the level of Captain in 1945.

As Chairman of the Charity Care, he organized food aid for war-torn countries.

However, he returned to acting with SINBAD THE SAILOR, and wrote 1948's THE EXILE, both the kind of movies his father, Fairbanks Sr., would have loved.

 

"...I began the three busiest years of my career up to then.
A nationwide exhibitors' poll, published the following year in the trade papers, listed me as one of the "top ten box-office draws" among the young male stars of the day. The others were (in alphabetical order): Fred Astaire, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, and James Stewart."

-Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., THE SALAD DAYS Doubleday NY

Sagittarian table Trump IX, The Hermit, Philosopher, Hooded Man, Jedi Knight
It's All In The Sauce read The Waldorf Statement and comment from DFJ

 

From HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY

As the clock strikes nine the waiters refill the golden chalices of the twenty-four guests with aged wine from the San Simeon cellar. After the dinner plates are removed a mammoth salad is placed in front of each of them, who by now are growing very accustomed to the fabulous surroundings in this remote castle high above the sea. It is apparent that their host is not going to join them for dinner, but they seem not to mind, as a serenade from a string quartet wafts from some unseen room into the stately Refectory. Continuing the portrait of Duke Wayne, Jimmy Stewart again raises the memory of director John Ford, under whom they both worked. Evidently, one good director calls to mind another, for the train of thought quickly moves on to Howard Hawks, and then to John Huston, whose direction of Katharine Hepburn in ‘The African Queen’ and Gregory Peck in ‘Moby Dick’ provides more colorful anecdotes.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Howard Hawks was very tough in a silent way. He was very quiet and firm, so very few people took liberties with him. He was just icy cold, and austere, just as unemotional as anyone I have ever known. But he knew what other people’s emotions were, and he knew how to get them onto the screen, which is where it counted.
He was stiff and correct and highly methodical when we made ‘The Dawn Patrol’in 1930. Richard Barthelmess was the star of that one, and I was simply the top featured player, with Neil Hamilton. It was later remade with Errol Flynn and David Niven, and in the later version they used the filmed sequences of the airborne parts from the one I was in, recutting it to make it seem different. All of the air battles and crashes were taken from the original, which Howard had directed. All the studios did that if they could, using footage from one film twenty years later in a completely different film, in order to save money. That was common practice for navy battles and westerns, with stampedes and wild chases.
But Howard was always very definite and proper, and there was very little about him that was impulsive.

Lauren Bacall

Of all those brilliant directors, though, I think John Huston was the best. He was a genius, and he directed ‘Key Largo.’ My first encounter with Huston had been much before that, though, since he and Bogey had been friends for many years. They were very close, ever since making, ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ which was John’s directing debut. I knew him socially, and then went on location to Mexico with them for ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ in 1948. He was great to actors, so working with him was a wonderful experience.

Tossed Salad * Hollywood Royalty

 

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The Exile 7:44

Opening scene, Charles II exile in Holland. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s second stint as a movie producer--and his first as a writer--was an ambitious attempt to dramatize the tale of the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England. Director Ophuls, his first completed
American directorial effort. 1947

Douglas Fairbanks Jr Tribute 3:20

 

NEW YORKER (Calvin Trillin) recommends SALADS at Chowhound
http://www.chowhound.com

 

Year Round Cool Salads

appetizers: Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus from Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres
Crispy Artichoke Hearts with Creamy Bagna Cauda - Holiday Starter! okay to omit flakes!
Caesar Salad - a work in progress
Celebrities Cooking with Martha - includes Martin Short and Forest Whitaker
Smoked Salmon Tartines with Fried Capers (For the holiday season)
Old South Ambrosia
Pears With Roquefort and Walnuts
Sicilian Rice Salad with Seared Tuna
Veggie Salad for B's best
Waldorf Salad
Winter White Salad with Endive and Pomegranate

 

Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Humanitarian and Famed Actor, Evolved Into A TV Producer, Social Lion After World War II

Westport Country Playhouse - Out On A Limb
Iconoclasts Robert Redford and Paul Newman ... Perform at Westport Country Playhouse

Warm Springs VA from THE SALAD DAYS

Little Rock - famous visitors Captain Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr., US Naval Reserve
see the eye witness account of Pearl Harbor here

GHOST STORY - Don't watch this alone!
Director: John Irvin 1981
Stars: Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., John Houseman, Craig Wasson, Patricia Neal, Alice Krige

That Lady In Ermine
Directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Otto Preminger (uncredited) 1948
Stars: Betty Grable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cesar Romero

 

 

 


Trump IX The Hermit, Hooded Man, Jedi Knight - click image
youtube Q&A with Robert Redford of TRUTH. Moderated by Dan Rather. Controversy
surrounds CBS anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett),
based on Mary Mapes’ memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power

 

BACK Colour Me Cornucopia Inn
BACK Dining With Royalty Part One

 

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