Asked by suspicious American sentries during the Battle of the Bulge who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered, "Haven't the foggiest idea, but I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother! Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to England and rejoined the army, being recommissioned as a lieutenant. "[11] Niven is said to have revealed that he knew Comyn-Platt was his real father a year before his own death in 1983.[12]. He refused to return to the hospital, and his family supported his decision. After failing to pass the naval entrance exam due to his difficulty with maths, Niven attended Stowe School, a newly created public school led by headmaster J.F. [25] He took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, although he was sent to France several days after D-Day. Released in 1964, "The Pink Panther" proved to be one of Niven's last He made a porter feel like a king. David Niven Family Background & Career. [16] On 21 October 1956, in an episode of the game show What's My Line?, Niven, as a member of the celebrity panel, was reacquainted with one of his former enlisted men. For Goldwyn, Niven again had a small role in Splendor (1935). Niven joined what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a group of British actors in Hollywood which included Rex Harrison, Errol Flynn, Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Leslie Howard and C. Aubrey Smith. Thoughtful and kind, he addressed the boys by their first names, allowed them bicycles, and encouraged and nurtured their personal interests. After the horror film Eye of the Devil (1966), Niven appeared as James Bond in Casino Royale (1967), the only man to only ever portray Bond in a non-Eon Productions film. He followed it with Oh, Men! David Niven was an esteemed English actor and novelist. I goggled. James Niven. Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. Dave enjoyed his camp at East Green Bay, hockey games . He followed this with Bring On the Empty Horses in 1975, a collection of entertaining reminiscences from Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1940s. Niven was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland, on March 1, 1910, the son of He supported Mario Lanza in a musical at MGM, The Toast of New Orleans (1950). In February 1983, using a false name to avoid publicity, Niven was hospitalised for ten days, ostensibly for a digestive problem. In 1948, Niven met and married Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden (ne Genberg, 19191997), a divorced Swedish fashion model. [10], Literary editor and biographer, Graham Lord, wrote in Niv: The Authorised Biography of David Niven, that Comyn-Platt and Niven's mother may have been in an affair well before her husband's death in 1915 and that Comyn-Platt was actually Niven's biological father, a supposition that had some support among Niven's siblings. Robert Douglas Niven. In chapter 14 of You Only Live Twice, the pearl diver Kissy Suzuki refers to Niven as "the only man she liked in Hollywood", and the only person who "treated her honourably" there. The Moon Is Blue, a sex comedy, became notorious when it was released without a Production Code Seal of Approval; it was a big hit and Niven won a Golden Globe Award for his role. It really happened the way it does when written by the worst lady novelistsI goggled. At Warner Bros he was in a comedy A Kiss in the Dark (1948) with Jane Wyman, then he appeared opposite Shirley Temple in the comedy A Kiss for Corliss (1949). He continued to make one and Niven resumed his career while still in England, playing the lead in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), from the team of Powell and Pressburger. appear in films: "The First of the Few", with Leslie Howard, which As preparation Preminger, who had directed the play in New York, insisted that Niven appear on stage in the West Coast run. Rose Cottage, the childhood home of The Pink Panther actor David Niven in the village of Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, is now on sale for 975,000. On one occasion Prince Rainier asked Niven who among . [5] Niven's paternal great grandfather and namesake, David Graham Niven, (18111884) was from St Martin's, a village in Perthshire, he was a doctor who married in Worcestershire, living in Pershore. (1957); The Little Hut (1957), from the writer of The Moon is Blue and a success at the box office; My Man Godfrey (1957), a screwball comedy; and Bonjour Tristesse (1958), for Preminger. He made his way to Hollywood in the mid-1930s and began performing as an extra. The Office of Alumni Engagement will recognize four distinguished alumni for their leadership, accomplishments and service and the 2023 Top 10 Under 10 Alumni Award recipients during this year's Alumni Awards Weekend on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25. He was sent to reform school, where the brutality reached even greater proportions, Niven later recounted. David Niven Jr. is a British film producer, film actor and script writer who was an executive at Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Margaret Niven. He first appeared as an extra in the British film There Goes the Bride (1932). He died at his chalet from ALS on 29 July, aged 73. In 1960, Niven bought a chalet in Chteau-d'x near Gstaad in Switzerland for financial reasons, living near expatriate friends that included Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, and Nol Coward. Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. . The show ended in 1955, but Four Star TV became a highly successful TV production company. He received his resident alien visa from the American consulate when his birth certificate arrived from Britain. Genealogy profile for David Niven Genealogy for David Niven (1804 - 1872) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Family, Romance, And Relationships Who is Barbara Niven dating? Updated: August 6, 2022 . [22], Niven was recommissioned as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) on 25 February 1940,[23] and was assigned to a motor training battalion. Niven's mother, Henriette, was born in Brecon, Breconshire, Wales. for his staying power that he was still in regular demand after nearly (1954), a drama that earned Niven a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor; Happy Ever After (1954), a comedy with Yvonne de Carlo, which was hugely popular in Britain. Niven's role in Mutiny on the Bounty brought him to the attention of independent film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who signed him to a contract and established his career. He reckoned that it was enough to Both were made with a view to winning support for the British war effort, especially in the U.S. Niven's Film Unit work included a small part in the deception operation that used minor actor M. E. Clifton James to impersonate Field Marshal Montgomery. as "Raffles" the gentleman burglar. Niven later wrote, "How he did this, I shall never know, but he made every single boy at that school feel that what he said and what he did were of real importance to the headmaster. His mother remarried Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt in 1917. Now years later, the picture was still in exactly the same spot. Niven's father, William Niven, was of Scottish descent; he was killed in the First World War serving with the Berkshire Yeomanry during the Gallipoli campaign on 21 August 1915. Niven's friend Billie More noted: "This is not kind, but when Hjrdis died I can't think of a single soul who was sorry". billing, and first real chance to show his gift for comedy, came in Niven subsequently appeared in another thirty films. Peking"; and "The Pink Panther", in which his suave jewel thief was a Niven later claimed he was born in Kirriemuir, in the . Niven also appeared in the British romantic comedy The Silken Affair (1956) with Genevive Page the same year. Niven had been married twice, latterly to the model Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden. Geni requires JavaScript! Niven was not told of this; he learned it from a newspaper report. A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Bishop's Wife (1947), and Enchantment (1948) are all highly regarded. less, through film after film. Life at Leja, 1942-43. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. This brought him to wider attention within the film industry and he was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn. (1936), before finally landing a sizable role as a soldier in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) at Warners, an Imperial adventure film starring his housemate at the time, Errol Flynn. David Niven, the film actor, died in Switzerland yesterday after an A 2009 biography of Niven contained assertions that he had an affair with Princess Margaret, who was 20 years his junior. David Niven Jr. is 79 years old in 2022. son . Local doctors wished to operate immediately to remove the bird shot. These were The First of the Few (1942), directed by Leslie Howard, and The Way Ahead (1944), directed by Carol Reed. His first major roles were in . Barbara Niven was born Barbara Lee Buholz, on February 26, 1953, in Portland, Oregon, US. Sweden's first supermodel and the actor David Niven's second wife. He was promoted to war-substantive captain on 18 August 1941.[24]. In 1955 renowned British photographer Cornel Lucas photographed Niven while filming at the Rank Film Studio in Denham, Buckinghamshire. Husband of Primula Susan Niven and Hjrdis Paulina Niven In that same year he was again loaned out, to 20th Century Fox to play Bertie Wooster in Thank You, Jeeves! In happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on Goldwyn's piano. He was born James David Graham Niven on March 1, 1910, in Kirriemuir, a market and linen-mill center in the Scottish Highlands. He also worked extensively with Major Glenn Miller, whose Army Air Force big band, formed in the US, was performing and broadcasting for troops in England. He had a close group of friends there including actor Roger Moore, writer William F. Buckley Jr. and former US Ambassador to France Evan G. Galbraith. After his mother remarried, Niven's stepfather had him sent away to boarding school. But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" He had three older siblings. New search. Death 1998 - St Andrews. David Niven Jr has a net worth of $100 million USD. In 1982 Niven fell ill during filming and was diagnosed with a virulent form of Motor Neurone Disease. Niven took part in the Invasion of Normandy, although he was sent to France several days after D-Day. "[50], What's My Line? She was just 15 when movie star David Niven, 18 at the time, got her pregnant while holidaying on the Isle of Wight. 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