Roddy McDowall
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==Roddy McDowall== | ==Roddy McDowall== | ||
| − | Born in London in 1928 to Thomas Andrew McDowall (1896-1978) and his wife Winsfriede L. Corcoran (1899-1965), Roddy McDowall had already been in several British films when his family moved to the United States "at the end of 1940" (Roddy McDowall interview on YouTube) to escape the war. (see [http://books.google.com/books?id=OIQumuY6auEC&pg=PA219&dq=Roddy+mcDowall&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0TK1BdpDrU-HW7DSwKSn66PLU8rg here]). His big break came when he was cast in 1941's ''[[How Green Was My Valley]]'', an emotional drama directed by John Ford. Not as well known, the original director of this movie was | + | Born in London in 1928 to Thomas Andrew McDowall (1896-1978) and his wife Winsfriede L. Corcoran (1899-1965), Roddy McDowall had already been in several British films when his family moved to the United States "at the end of 1940" (Roddy McDowall interview on YouTube) to escape the war. (see [http://books.google.com/books?id=OIQumuY6auEC&pg=PA219&dq=Roddy+mcDowall&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0TK1BdpDrU-HW7DSwKSn66PLU8rg here]). His big break came when he was cast in 1941's ''[[How Green Was My Valley]]'', an emotional drama directed by John Ford. Not as well known, the original director of this movie was William Wyler. He is the one who saw Roddy's screen-test and chose him for the part. Wyler is also known for being the second husband, of [[Henry Fonda]]'s first wife Margaret Sullavan. |
Close on that role, Roddy McDowall was cast in ''My Friend Flicka'' (watch the first 35 seconds [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4GjaWmmASk here]). He is also well-known, from his childhood, for his role opposite, the then-unknown [[Elizabeth Taylor]], in her screen debut, in 1943's ''Lassie Come Home''. It is possibly from this time that Elizabeth and Roddy became close friends. Elizabeth's selection for this movie was an absolute fluke. The director wanted a young girl with an English accent. Elizabeth had been born and lived for some years in London where her father had run an art gallery. | Close on that role, Roddy McDowall was cast in ''My Friend Flicka'' (watch the first 35 seconds [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4GjaWmmASk here]). He is also well-known, from his childhood, for his role opposite, the then-unknown [[Elizabeth Taylor]], in her screen debut, in 1943's ''Lassie Come Home''. It is possibly from this time that Elizabeth and Roddy became close friends. Elizabeth's selection for this movie was an absolute fluke. The director wanted a young girl with an English accent. Elizabeth had been born and lived for some years in London where her father had run an art gallery. | ||
