Fredric March Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood And Early Life

American Fredric March was born on the 31 August 1897 to Cora Marcher and John Bickel. He later used a combination of his second name and his mother’s maiden name to form a stage name: Fredric March.

Education

Fredric March graduated from Racine High School, and after returning from serving a lieutenant in WWI, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin where he obtained a degree in economics.

Rise To Stardom

After getting his degree, Fredric March worked at the First National City Bank before falling ill. When he recovered, he decided to move to New York and pursue a career as an actor. Initially, he did various jobs in the financial sector, while at the same time taking multiple small roles in the silent movies made in New York City at the time. March’s first film was The Great Adventure (1921) which starred Lionel Barrymore. In 1926, he had his primary starring role in the Broadway production of The Devil the Cheese. He had a role in appeared The Dummy (1921) with Ruth Chatterton. The same year he appeared on stage in the play The Royal Family. Shortly afterward Paramount Pictures offered him a five-year contract

The 1930s And 1940s

Fredric March received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1930 when he starred in The Royal Family of Broadway. The appointment established him as one of Hollywood’s leading men, and he continued acting throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Including roles in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, March acted in film and on stage. Some of his movies including Design for Living (1933) which also starred Gary Cooper. Death Takes a Holiday (1934). The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934).  Les Miserables (1935), Anna Karenina (1935),  A Star is Born (1937), The Buccaneer (1939) I Married a Witch (1942). The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944). March won another Academy Award Best Actor Oscar for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and tied with Jose Ferrer for the Best Actor Tony Award for Years Ago. By winning the Tony, he became the first actor to win a Tony and an Oscar for best actor in the same year.

Later Life

One of his following films was Death of a Salesman (1951) for which he received a 5th Academy Award Best Actor Oscar nomination. Fredric March also appeared in The Desperate House (1955) with Humphrey Bogart, Alexander The Great (1956) with Richard Burton and the Man In A Gray Flannel Suit (1956) with Gregory Peck. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was in Inherit the Wind (1960), Seven Days in May (1964), Tick, Tick, Tick (1970) and his last film The Iceman Cometh (1973).

Awards And Achievements

March won two Academy Award Best Actor Oscars: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). He was also nominated for an Academy Award  Best Actor Oscar: The Royal Family of Broadway (1930), A Star is Born (1937) and Death of a Salesman (1951).

Personal Life

Fredric March’s first wife was Ellis Baker (m.1924-div.1927). He then married Florence Eldridge in 1927, and they were together for forty-six years until his death on the 14 April 1975. March and Eldridge adopted two children Penelope (1932) and Anthony (1934).