Jack Palance, Andy Devine, Kathleen Lockhart & Louis Wolheim

Who was born on this date:

Actor Jack Palance was born on February 18, 1919 in Volodymyr, Palahniuk, Ukrain. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers. In the late 1930s, Palance started a professional boxing career. Fighting under the name Jack Brazzo, Palance reportedly compiled a record of 15 consecutive victories with 12 knockouts. Palance's acting break came as Marlon Brando’s understudy in A Street Car Named Desire (1951) and that same year starred in Halls of Montezuma. Palance was quickly recognized for his skill as a character actor, receiving an Oscar nomination for only his third film role, as Lester Blaine in Sudden Fear (1952). He earned his second Oscar nomination playing cold-blooded gunfighter Jack Wilson in the 1953 cinema classic Shane.

Palance was married to his first wife, Virginia Baker, from 1949 to 1968 and they had three children: Holly, Brooke and Cody. Daughter Brooke married Michael Wilding, son of Michael Wilding and Elizabeth Taylor. Cody appeared alongside his father in the film, Young Guns, and died from malignant melanoma at age 42 on July 16, 1998.

Four decades after his film debut, Palance won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as cowboy Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedy City Slickers. Stepping onstage to accept the award, the intimidating fit actor looked down at Oscar host Billy Crystal (who was also his co-star in the movie), and joked, mimicking one of his lines from the film, "Billy Crystal... I crap bigger than him." He then dropped to the floor and demonstrated his ability, at age 73, to perform one-handed push-ups. Crystal turned this into a running gag throughout the show. On November 10, 2006, Palance died of natural causes at his daughter’s home in Montecito, California. His remains were cremated and the ashes were retained by family.

Who died on this date:

On February 18, 1977, actor Andy Devine died. He was born on October 7, 1905 in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was a character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice. He appeared in more than 400 films and his notable roles included ten films as sidekick "Cookie" to Roy Rogers, a role in Romeo and Juliet (1936), A Star is Born (1937), Stage coach (1939), Island in the Sky (1953), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also worked in radio and television. Devine died from leukemia on February 18, 1977 in Orange, California. His ashes were given to family and final disposition is unknown.

On February 18, 1978, actress Kathleen Lockhart died. She was born on August 9, 1894 in Southsea, Hampshire, England. She got her start on the stage in England and then immigrated to the United States in 1924, upon her marriage to Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart. She continued to appear on stage and in films for almost forty years. Kathleen and her husband, Gene, occasionally starred opposite each other, most notably as Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1938). After her husband died in 1957, she retired from acting and made no more film appearances, except for a small role in The Purple Gang (1960). She was the mother of actress June Lockhart and grandmother of actress Anne Lockhart. Kathleen died on February 18, 1978 in Los Angeles, California following a long (undisclosed) illness. She is buried next to her husband at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

On February 18, 1931, actor Louis Wolheim died. He was born on March 28, 1880 in New York City. Before entering films, he was a mathematics teacher. On the advice of Lionel Barrymore, Wolheim entered films and appeared in at least three films with Lionel's brother, John, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920), Sherlock Holmes (1922) and Tempest (1928). Wolheim's was typecast in roles as gangsters, executioners, or prisoners. Towards the end of the 1920s he occasionally broke out of these stereotypes. Wolheim acted primarily in silent films, but did appear in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Danger Lights (1930). He died on February 18, 1931 from stomach cancer in Los Angeles and his ashes are interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

June Allyson, Diana Lynn and Andy Devine

Who was born on this date:

Actress June Allyson was born on October 7, 1917 in the Bronx, New York. Interspersing jobs in the chorus line at the Copacabana Club with acting roles at Vitaphone, red-headed Allyson landed a chorus job in the Broadway show Sing out the News in 1938. The legend is that the choreographer gave her a job and a new name: Allyson, a family name, and June, for the month, although like many aspects of her career resume, the derivation was highly unlikely as she was already dubbing herself as "June Allyson" prior to her Broadway engagement and has even attributed the name to a later director. Allyson subsequently appeared in the chorus in Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II's Very Warm for May (1939). When Vitaphone discontinued New York production in 1940, Allyson returned to the New York stage to take on more chorus roles in Rodgers and Hart's Higher and Higher (1940) and Cole Porter's Panama Hattie (1940). Her dancing and musical talent led to a stint as an understudy for the lead, Betty Hutton, and when Hutton contracted measles, Allyson appeared in five performances of Panama Hattie. Broadway director George Abbott caught one of the nights, and offered Allyson one of the lead roles in his production of Best Foot Forward (1941).  

During World War II, after her appearance in the Broadway musical, Allyson was selected for the 1943 film version of Best Foot Forward. When she arrived in Hollywood, the production had not started so MGM "placed her on the payroll" of Girl Crazy (1943). Despite playing a "bit part," Allyson received good reviews as a sidekick to Best Foot Forward's star, Lucille Ball. Another musical, Thousands Cheer (1943) was again a showcase for her singing and dancing, albeit still in a minor role. As a new starlet, although Allyson had already been a performer on stage and screen, she was presented as an "overnight sensation,” with Hollywood press agents attempting to portray her as an ingénue, selectively slicing almost a decade off her true age. Studio bios listed her variously as being born in 1922 and 1923.  

Allyson's breakthrough was in Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) where the studio image of the "girl next door" was fostered by her being cast alongside long-time acting chum, Van Johnson, the quintessential "boy next door." As the "sweetheart team," Johnson and Allyson were to appear together in four later films. Allyson's early success as a musical star led to several other postwar musicals, including Two Sisters from Boston (1946) and Good News (1947). Allyson also played straight roles such as Constance in The Three Musketeers (1948), the tomboy Jo March in Little Women (1949), and a nurse in Battle Circus (1953). On her arrival in Hollywood, studio heads attempted to enhance the pairing of Van Johnson and Allyson by sending out the two contracted players on a series of "official dates" which were highly publicized and led to a public perception that a romance had been kindled. Although dating David Rose, Peter Lawford and John F. Kennedy, Allyson was actually being courted by movie heartthrob and powerful Hollywood "player" Dick Powell, who was 13 years her senior and had been previously married to Mildred Maund and Joan Blondell.  

On August 19, 1945, Allyson caused MGM studio chief, Louis B. Mayer some consternation by marrying Dick Powell. The couple briefly separated in 1961, but reconciled and remained married until his death on January 2, 1963. Powell's wealth made it possible for Allyson to effectively retire from show business after his death, making only occasional appearances on talk and variety shows. Allyson returned to the Broadway stage in 1970 in the play Forty Carats and later toured in a production of No, No Nanette. Following hip-replacement surgery in 2003, Allyson's health began to deteriorate. She died on July 8, 2006 from pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis at her home in Ojai, California. Her cremated remains were given to family and eventual disposition is unknown.

Actress Diana Lynn was born on October 7, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She was considered a child prodigy because of her exceptional abilities as a pianist at an early age, and by the age of 12 was playing with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra. She made here Hollywood film debut playing piano in They Shall Have Music (1939) and was once again back at the keyboard in There's Magic in Music (1941), when it was decided that she had more potential than she had been allowed to show. Paramount Pictures cast her in films that allowed her personality and skills as an actress to shine. Her comedic scenes with Ginger Rogers in The Major and Minor (1942) were well received, and in 1944 she scored an outstanding success in The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944). She also appeared in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946), My Friend Irma (1949), and Bedtime for Bonzo (1951). She acted frequently in television guest roles throughout the 1960s. By 1970, she had virtually retired from acting and had relocated to New York. Paramount offered her a part in a new film, and after some consideration she accepted the offer and moved back to Los Angeles. Before filming started, she suffered a stroke and died nine days later on December 18, 1971. Lynn was buried at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City.

Actor Andy Devine was born on October 7, 1905 in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was a character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice. He appeared in more than 400 films and his notable roles included ten films as sidekick "Cookie" to Roy Rogers, a role in Romeo and Juliet (1936), A Star is Born (1937), Stage coach (1939), Island in the Sky (1953), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also worked in radio and television. Devine died from leukemia on February 18, 1977 in Orange, California. His ashes were given to family and final disposition is unknown.