Shepperd Strudwick(1907-1983)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Actor Shepperd Strudwick had dark, dignified, matinée-styled good looks
but with a slightly shady countenance that may have prevented him from
attaining top "leading man" stardom in films. Nevertheless he earned
distinguished marks in a number of films and returned most frequently
to his first love, the theater, throughout his career.
The North Carolina native was born Shepperd Strudwick, Jr. on September
22, 1907, the son of a cotton mill executive. The scion of a prominent
family that settled in Hillsborough, his descendants were comprised of
doctors, scientists, architects, actors and painters, one of which,
Edmund Charles Fox Strudwick, a physician, earned distinction as the
first president of the North Caorlina Medical Society. Following high
school Strudwick attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill with designs on becoming a writer. At one point he was on the
editorial staff of his college magazine. In between studies he also
joined the university's drama club, the Carolina Playmakers, and
ultimately decided to switch his major to drama.
Appearing in a number of college productions before his graduation,
Strudwick moved to New York in 1928 to pursue a professional career.
Almost immediately he won small parts in two Broadway plays, "The
Yellow Jacket" and "Falstaff," both starring the shows' producer
Charles Coburn and his wife, actress Ivah
Wills. He followed those with "Under the Gaslight" (1929) and "The Life
Line" (1930). Throughout the 1930s Strudwick enhanced a number of
Broadway and regional productions, notably "Both Your Houses" (1933)
"Let Freedom Ring" (1935) and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (1937),
the last in which he starred as Orlando. The Shakespearean cast
included his first wife, actress Helen Wynn,
whom he had married in May of 1936. The couple later appeared together
in a 1939 Broadway production of "The Three Sisters" in which he played
Vershinin and she Olga. Helen became the mother of his only child,
Shepperd Strudwick III.
In the late 1930s, at the age of 31, Strudwick was summoned to
Hollywood with a strong theatrical reputation preceding him. MGM hired
him and he eventually gained some notice for his debonair portrayals of
Southern-styled gents. He tested, in fact, for the part of Ashley
Wilkes in
Gone with the Wind (1939) but
lost the role to Leslie Howard. At
MGM his first two roles were biographical shorts, portraying noted
Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis in the Oscar-winning biographical
short
That Mothers Might Live (1938)
and the infamous 19th century Mexican bandit
Joaquin Murrieta (1938). He then
began to go through the supporting paces in secondary feature films.
These included the romantic comedy
Fast Company (1938) starring
Melvyn Douglas and a couple of popular
film series' entries:
Congo Maisie (1940) starring
Ann Sothern and
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)
headlining Lew Ayres and
Lionel Barrymore. His last picture for
MGM was the aviation film
Flight Command (1940) starring
Robert Taylor.
Strudwick changed both studios and his marquee moniker in 1941 after
signing up with 20th Century Fox. Given the more suitable "leading man"
name of John Shepperd, he nevertheless continued to use his real name
under the New York stage lights. Tall and aristocratic-looking with a
sleepy-eyed handsomeness, he characters seemed to induce suspicion or
skepticism as to their intentions. At 20th he demonstrated "second
lead" potential opposite some of the silver screen's most beautiful
stars of the time: Gene Tierney,
Loretta Young,
Claudette Colbert and
Carole Landis among them, but was unable
to rise to the top romantic star ranks. His best chance came starring
as the acutely melancholy poet in
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942)
opposite Linda Darnell. Despite his
abilities and fine work, however, he remained a second-tier performer.
By the post-war years, Shepperd was firmly entrenched in character
roles, usually playing patrician fathers, corrupt politicians,
reverends or sober-faced professional types. Parts in such film greats
as Joan of Arc (1948),
All the King's Men (1949) and
A Place in the Sun (1951)
came his way. A member in good standing at the Actors Studio, where he
met his second wife, actress Margaret O'Neill, Strudwick went back to
using his real name in both stage and film outings once his "leading
man" chances had passed.
He made a strong return to Broadway in the 1950s in both comedic and
dramatic productions including "Affairs of State" (1950), "The Bat"
(1953), "The Ladies of the Corridor" (1953), "The Night Circus" (1958)
and "Only in America" (1959). In 1962 he portrayed George in the
matinée productions of the landmark
Edward Albee drama "Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?" on Broadway and eventually took over the part in
August of 1963.
Frequently on TV he was a regular dramatic guest player throughout the
1960s and 1970s on such shows as "The Twilight Zone," "The Defenders",
"McMillan and Wife" and "The Name of the Game". He also joined the
daytime drama circuit playing both stand-up gents and shady ones on
such serials as
As the World Turns (1956)
and Another World (1964). He
also had Emmy-nominated turns on the soaps
One Life to Live (1968) and
Love of Life (1951).
Shepperd capped his theatrical career with a Tony-nominated featured
performance in "To Grandmother's House We Go" in 1981. Following his
last acting part on a 1982 TV episode of "Nurse", Shepperd took ill and
died of cancer in New York City on January 15, 1983. He was survived by
both his son and his fourth wife, Mary Jeffrey, whom he married in
1977.
but with a slightly shady countenance that may have prevented him from
attaining top "leading man" stardom in films. Nevertheless he earned
distinguished marks in a number of films and returned most frequently
to his first love, the theater, throughout his career.
The North Carolina native was born Shepperd Strudwick, Jr. on September
22, 1907, the son of a cotton mill executive. The scion of a prominent
family that settled in Hillsborough, his descendants were comprised of
doctors, scientists, architects, actors and painters, one of which,
Edmund Charles Fox Strudwick, a physician, earned distinction as the
first president of the North Caorlina Medical Society. Following high
school Strudwick attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill with designs on becoming a writer. At one point he was on the
editorial staff of his college magazine. In between studies he also
joined the university's drama club, the Carolina Playmakers, and
ultimately decided to switch his major to drama.
Appearing in a number of college productions before his graduation,
Strudwick moved to New York in 1928 to pursue a professional career.
Almost immediately he won small parts in two Broadway plays, "The
Yellow Jacket" and "Falstaff," both starring the shows' producer
Charles Coburn and his wife, actress Ivah
Wills. He followed those with "Under the Gaslight" (1929) and "The Life
Line" (1930). Throughout the 1930s Strudwick enhanced a number of
Broadway and regional productions, notably "Both Your Houses" (1933)
"Let Freedom Ring" (1935) and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (1937),
the last in which he starred as Orlando. The Shakespearean cast
included his first wife, actress Helen Wynn,
whom he had married in May of 1936. The couple later appeared together
in a 1939 Broadway production of "The Three Sisters" in which he played
Vershinin and she Olga. Helen became the mother of his only child,
Shepperd Strudwick III.
In the late 1930s, at the age of 31, Strudwick was summoned to
Hollywood with a strong theatrical reputation preceding him. MGM hired
him and he eventually gained some notice for his debonair portrayals of
Southern-styled gents. He tested, in fact, for the part of Ashley
Wilkes in
Gone with the Wind (1939) but
lost the role to Leslie Howard. At
MGM his first two roles were biographical shorts, portraying noted
Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis in the Oscar-winning biographical
short
That Mothers Might Live (1938)
and the infamous 19th century Mexican bandit
Joaquin Murrieta (1938). He then
began to go through the supporting paces in secondary feature films.
These included the romantic comedy
Fast Company (1938) starring
Melvyn Douglas and a couple of popular
film series' entries:
Congo Maisie (1940) starring
Ann Sothern and
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)
headlining Lew Ayres and
Lionel Barrymore. His last picture for
MGM was the aviation film
Flight Command (1940) starring
Robert Taylor.
Strudwick changed both studios and his marquee moniker in 1941 after
signing up with 20th Century Fox. Given the more suitable "leading man"
name of John Shepperd, he nevertheless continued to use his real name
under the New York stage lights. Tall and aristocratic-looking with a
sleepy-eyed handsomeness, he characters seemed to induce suspicion or
skepticism as to their intentions. At 20th he demonstrated "second
lead" potential opposite some of the silver screen's most beautiful
stars of the time: Gene Tierney,
Loretta Young,
Claudette Colbert and
Carole Landis among them, but was unable
to rise to the top romantic star ranks. His best chance came starring
as the acutely melancholy poet in
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942)
opposite Linda Darnell. Despite his
abilities and fine work, however, he remained a second-tier performer.
By the post-war years, Shepperd was firmly entrenched in character
roles, usually playing patrician fathers, corrupt politicians,
reverends or sober-faced professional types. Parts in such film greats
as Joan of Arc (1948),
All the King's Men (1949) and
A Place in the Sun (1951)
came his way. A member in good standing at the Actors Studio, where he
met his second wife, actress Margaret O'Neill, Strudwick went back to
using his real name in both stage and film outings once his "leading
man" chances had passed.
He made a strong return to Broadway in the 1950s in both comedic and
dramatic productions including "Affairs of State" (1950), "The Bat"
(1953), "The Ladies of the Corridor" (1953), "The Night Circus" (1958)
and "Only in America" (1959). In 1962 he portrayed George in the
matinée productions of the landmark
Edward Albee drama "Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?" on Broadway and eventually took over the part in
August of 1963.
Frequently on TV he was a regular dramatic guest player throughout the
1960s and 1970s on such shows as "The Twilight Zone," "The Defenders",
"McMillan and Wife" and "The Name of the Game". He also joined the
daytime drama circuit playing both stand-up gents and shady ones on
such serials as
As the World Turns (1956)
and Another World (1964). He
also had Emmy-nominated turns on the soaps
One Life to Live (1968) and
Love of Life (1951).
Shepperd capped his theatrical career with a Tony-nominated featured
performance in "To Grandmother's House We Go" in 1981. Following his
last acting part on a 1982 TV episode of "Nurse", Shepperd took ill and
died of cancer in New York City on January 15, 1983. He was survived by
both his son and his fourth wife, Mary Jeffrey, whom he married in
1977.