Dana Andrews (1909-1992)

Actor, Person 0

Date of Birth: 1 January 1909
Place of Birth: Collins, Mississippi, USA
Date of Death: 17 December 1992
Place of Death: Los Alamitos, California, USA
Also Known As: Carver Dana Andrews [full name]

An American actor, best known in genre circles for his roles in Night of the Demon (1957), The Satan Bug (1965) and The Frozen Dead (1966). He was the third of thirteen children and originally entertained the idea of being a singer, travelling to Los Angeles, California in 1931 in search of work. He also acted on the stage and in 1938 was spotted in the play Oh Evening Star being staged at the Pasadena Playhouse and was put under contract by Samuel Goldwyn Studio. Allowed to make time to develop his acting skills, Andrews remained at the Playhouse, appearing in over 20 productions. Twelve months into his contract, Goldwyn sold part of it to 20th Century-Fox, where he was cast in his first two film roles, Lucky Cisco Kid (1940) and Sailor’s Lady (1940). He was also loaned out to producer Edward Small who put him to work in the western Kit Carson (1940) before finally appearing in an actual Goldwyn film, another western, William Wyler’s The Westerner (1940) alongside Gary Cooper.

After more supporting roles he got his first lead back at Fox, Berlin Correspondent (1942). His most acclaimed roles were largely in film noir, most notably in Laura (1944) for Otto Preminger and Fallen Angel (1945), also for Preminger. He also appeared in William Wyler’s hugely successful The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Work was plentiful throughout the 1940s and 50s and he also found time to appear on radio, in the series I Was a Communist for the FBI (1952-1954).

Television came calling in the 1950s and during the 1960s, when his big screen career had started to wane, he was in demand in many episodic series including The Twilight Zone (1959-1964). A mid-60s revival in his feature film fortunes saw him appearing in Crack in the World (1964), Brainstorm (1965), and Town Tamer (1965) though much of his work during this time was in supporting roles. He was also elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1963.

He continued to appear on both big and small screens (including appearances in popular soap Falcon Crest (1981-1990)) but spent some of his time working in real estate. A recovering alcoholic, he also campaigned for better awareness of the effects of drink with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. In later life he developed Alzheimer’s disease and lived out his final years at the John Douglas French Center for Alzheimer’s Disease in Los Alamitos, California. He died on 17 December 1992 of congestive heart failure and pneumonia aged 83.

Genre Filmography

Categories: Actor, Person