After her husband's death in Turkey in 1915, Henrietta Niven remarried in London in 1917 to Conservative politician Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt (1869 - 1961). Having been in more than 90 . (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. His birthplace is London. Obituary. John Le Mesurier . In 1980 Niven began experiencing fatigue, muscle weakness and a warble in his voice. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and as Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. After being placed under close-arrest for this act of insubordination, Niven finished a bottle of whisky with the officer who was guarding him: Rhoddy Rose (later Colonel R.L.C. Two weeks later, they were in Hollywood. rater than stick out for good parts. [4] He had two older sisters and a brother: Margaret Joyce Niven (1900 1981), Henry Degacher Niven (1902 1953), and the sculptor Grizel Rosemary Graham (19062007), who created the bronze sculpture Bessie that is presented to the annual winners of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Cap Ferrat, 1964 "For a long time it was a well-kept secret among a few close friends," David's friend Roddy Mann wrote. After a whirlwind romance, they married on 16 September 1940. Niven divided his time in the 1960s and 1970s between his chalet in Chteau-d'x[42] and Cap Ferrat on the Cte d'Azur in the south of France.[38]. By 1938, he was starring as the leading man in other 'A' films, including Wuthering Heights (1939). a succession of barbaric prep schools from which he either absconded When Niven presented himself at Central Casting, he learned that he needed a work permit to reside and work in the United States. The formula proved astonishingly successful and led to a (In fact the book was mostly invented by co-author William Stevenson (no relation), Sir William then being very old.) Death 1998 - St Andrews. Jessica Niven's age and the niceties of Wikipedia are currently absent on the internet . Niven later appeared in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Toast of New Orleans (1950), Happy Go Lovely (1951), Happy Ever After (1954), and Carrington V.C. In 1950 he starred in The Elusive Pimpernel, which was made in Britain and which was to be distributed by Samuel Goldwyn. De Gacher), July 29 1983 - Chteau-d'Oex, Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District, Vaud, Zwitserland, Merle Estelle Wolders (born Thompson (Oberon)), July 29 1983 - Chteau-D'oex, Vaud, Rgion Lmanique, Suisse, Mar 1 1910 - St George Hanover Square, London England, July 29 1983 - Chateau d'Oex, Vaud, Switzerland, William Edward Graham Niven, Henriette Julia Comyn-platt (born Degacher), Margaret Joyce Niven, Henry Degacher Niven, Grizel Rosemary Graham Niven, Ethel Margaret Campbell, Duchess Of Argyll Sweeny (nacida Whigham), Chteau-d'Oex, Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District, Vaud, Switzerland, Cimetire de Chteau-d'x, Chateau d'Oex, District de la Riviera-Pays-dEnhaut, , Vaud, Switzerland, People who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Wojcik Cicirko Szczyrba Kopec Pal Bazylak Website, Robinson-Perks-Dalton-Higgison Family Website, Chateau d'Oex, District de la Riviera-Pays-dEnhaut, , Vaud, Switzerland, Margaret Joyce ("Joyce"; born in Geneva, Switzerland, 5 January 1900 18 November 1981), Henry Degacher ("Max"; born in Buckland, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), 29 June 1902 March 1953). She grew up with a sister in Portland.. Barbara initially did not have any interest in acting or performance arts. A son, David, Jr., was born in December 1942 and a second son, James Graham Niven, on 6 November 1945. Then we find ourselves on Earth in 1945, where RAF pilot Peter Carter, played by David Niven, is flying back to Britain after a bombing raid, losing height, badly hit. . David Niven was born on the 1st of March, 1910. Clouseau. 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. As this required leaving the US, he went to Mexico, where he worked as a "gun-man", cleaning and polishing the rifles of visiting American hunters. second volume of reminiscences, concentrating on Hollywood [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. In 1971, with the He also began writing books, with considerable commercial success. in the popular comedy show, "The Rogues"; later he was much in demand Reed as a quasi propaganda piece for the British Army. 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. James David Graham Niven was born on 01 March 1910 at Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, London, to William Edward Graham Niven (1878-1915) and his wife, Henrietta Julia (ne Degacher) Niven (1878-1932). Unfortunately, Niven's second marriage was as tumultuous as his first marriage was content. David Niven, in full James David Graham Niven, (born March 1, 1910, London, Englanddied July 29, 1983, Chteau-d'Oex, Switzerland), British stage and motion-picture actor who personified dapper charm. He registered with Central Casting as "Anglo Saxon Type Number unsettled childhood, being pushed by an unsympathetic step-father into Mark you, had you not done so it would have been despicable. David Niven Jr has a net worth of $100 million USD. In the same year, Niven starred in the television miniseries A Man Called INTREPID, based on the supposed memoir of Sir William Stephenson, a Canadian master spy for British intelligence. Henrietta was of French and British . Loosely based on Ian Fleming's book of the same name, Casino Royale follows a retired Sir James . When the raw footage was reviewed, his voice was inaudible, and his lines had to be dubbed by Rich Little. [46], A Thanksgiving service for Niven was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 27 October 1983. Niven's Bonjour Tristesse co-star, Mylne Demongeot, declared about him, in a 2015 filmed interview: "He was like a Lord, he was part of those great actors who were extraordinary like Dirk Bogarde, individuals with lots of class, elegance and humour. On one occasion Prince Rainier asked Niven who among . Niven was the head of the William Morris Agency in Europe, which he left for Columbia Pictures in 1970. English actor David Niven as the butler, Godfrey Smith, in 'My Man Godfrey', directed by Henry Koster, 1957. He had a better part in The Birds and the Bees (1956), portraying a conman in a remake of The Lady Eve (1941), in which Niven played a third-billed supporting role under American television comedian George Gobel and leading lady Mitzi Gaynor. In July 1982, Blake Edwards brought Niven back for cameo appearances in two final "Pink Panther" films (Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther), reprising his role as Sir Charles Lytton. It also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He reckoned that it was enough to the film of Terence Rattigan's play, "Separate Tables", an honour that Quick access. In 1939 he co-starred with Ginger Rogers in the RKO comedy Bachelor Mother, and starred as the eponymous gentleman safe-cracker in Raffles. Niven had his own series on television and appeared His father, William Edward Graham Niven, was a British officer who . Life at Leja, 1942-43. According to Niven, when USSR premier Nikita Khrushchev and his family visited Hollywood in September of 1959, they were treated to the filming of a dance scene for the upcoming Shirley MacLaine . From fifteen and forty-five, she suffered from bulimia In happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on Goldwyn's piano. He was assigned to a training base at Inverailort House in the Western Highlands. The couple parted. He once said: I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. be so well paid for doing what he enjoyed. In Hollywood, he had a thankless role as the villain in an MGM swashbuckler The King's Thief (1955). 25, was killed in an accidental fall, leaving two small sons. It ran for 21 episodes. He was assigned to the HLI, with which he served for two years in Malta and then for a few months in Dover. A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Bishop's Wife (1947), and Enchantment (1948) are all highly regarded. James Niven. Hollywood was busy filming British subjects and She was 78. [47], Biographer Graham Lord wrote, "the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather's funeral, was delivered from the porters at London's Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: 'To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. Early life and family. persona that became instantly recognizable and was repeated, more or The Distinguished Alumni will be recognized at the Distinguished Alumni Awards . Kristina later told biographer Graham Lord that she was convinced that she was Niven's secret child by another fashion model, Mona Gunnarson. Graham Lord, in NIV: The Authorized Biography of David Niven, suggested that Comyn-Platt and Mrs. Niven had been having an affair for some time before her husband's death, and that Sir Thomas may well have been David Niven's biological father, a supposition which has some support from her children. "Bachelor Mother", with Ginger Rogers, and he was appropriately cast [Laughs]. His father was an army man, as were both his grandfathers. He also began writing books, with considerable commercial success. In The Moon's a Balloon, Niven described the bullying, isolation, and abuse he endured as a six-year-old. however, mainly because he was content to take what was available [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. Roxburgh, who was unlike any of Niven's previous headmasters. After detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he arrived in Hollywood in 1934. the latter were "Ask Any Girl", a good comedy with Shirley MacLaine; a In 1971, he published his autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon, which was well received, selling over five million copies. He was working on a third novel when his health failed in 1983. . For Goldwyn he supported Cary Grant and Young in The Bishop's Wife (1947). son . Presented by Eisenhower himself, it honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces. Niven grew tired of the peacetime Army. Following Niven senior's death at Turkey's infamous Suvla Bay, Niven's mother went on to marry his biological father, the Conservative politician Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt, but it was years before the true father/son relationship was acknowledged. [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. Ex-partner of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll [citation needed], While on leave in 1940, Niven met Primula "Primmie" Susan Rollo (18 February 1918 21 May 1946), the daughter of London lawyer William H.C. Rollo. David Niven Family Background & Career. Niven's mother, Henriette, was born in Brecon, Breconshire, Wales. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." "[13], In 1928, an 18-year-old Niven had sex with 15-year-old Margaret Whigham (the future socialite and Duchess of Argyll) while she was on holiday in Bembridge. Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe School before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. As he was looking at the picture, Goldwyn's wife Frances said, "Sam never took it down."[16]. Less widely seen was The Extraordinary Seaman (1969). We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. He made a porter feel like a king. Also began writing books, with considerable commercial success and then for a months. Began experiencing fatigue, muscle weakness and a warble in his voice up with a sister Portland... 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