Charles Bickford

Charles Ambrose Bickford was born on January 1, 1891, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the fifth of seven children born to Loretus and Mary Ellen Bickford. His early years were marked by independence and restlessness; at nine years old he was tried and acquitted of the attempted murder of a trolley motorman who had run over his dog. He attended Foster School and Everett High School, and his maternal grandfather, a sea captain, was a formative influence on him during childhood. Before settling into a career, Bickford worked as a lumberjack, an investment promoter, and briefly operated a pest-extermination business. He also served as a stoker and fireman in the United States Navy, and later held the rank of engineer lieutenant in the United States Army during World War I.

Bickford had originally intended to pursue an engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but a chance encounter with the manager of a burlesque show led him in a different direction. He debuted in Oakland, California in 1911 and made his legitimate stage debut with the John Craig Stock Company at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston in 1912. He subsequently joined a road company and spent more than a decade traveling throughout the United States in various productions. His Broadway career spanned from 1904 to 1938 and included productions such as The Baroness Fiddlesticks, No More Women, Bless You Sister, Casey Jones, and Gods of the Lightning, among others. In 1925, while appearing in the Broadway production Outside Looking In, he and co-star James Cagney — in Cagney's first Broadway role — both received strong critical notices. He was offered a role in Herbert Brenon's 1926 film adaptation of Beau Geste but declined, reluctant to leave Broadway, a decision he later regretted.

His appearance in Gods of the Lightning, the Maxwell Anderson and Harold Hickerson drama drawn from the Sacco and Vanzetti case in which Bickford played the Sacco character, brought him to the attention of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille offered him a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to star in Dynamite, DeMille's first talking picture. During production of that film, Bickford struck his director following a series of disputes over his character's interpretation. His time at MGM was contentious; he argued repeatedly with studio chief Louis B. Mayer and other figures of authority. He eventually requested and received a release from his contract, after which he found himself blacklisted at other studios and was compelled to work as an independent actor for several years. His profile rose considerably when he played Greta Garbo's lover in Anna Christie in 1930, though he never transitioned into a leading-man career.

In 1935, while filming East of Java, Bickford was mauled by a lion and nearly killed. The attack left extensive scarring on his neck, and he subsequently lost his contract with Twentieth Century-Fox along with his leading-man status. He shifted into character roles, which he regarded as offering greater range and opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. His burly build, craggy features, and gruff voice made him well suited to playing father figures, authority figures, ship captains, stern businessmen, and heavies. During the 1940s he received three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor: for The Song of Bernadette in 1943, The Farmer's Daughter in 1947, and Johnny Belinda in 1948. His other notable film appearances included Whirlpool in 1950, A Star Is Born in 1954, and The Big Country in 1958, in which he played a wealthy and ruthless rancher alongside Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston. President Dwight D. Eisenhower screened The Big Country four consecutive nights at the White House upon its release. Bickford also appeared in Days of Wine and Roses in 1962, playing the father of an alcoholic alongside Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.

Bickford's career extended into television, where he served as host of the 1950s series The Man Behind the Badge and guest-starred on The Islanders, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and The Eleventh Hour, as well as appearing in a 1958 episode of Wagon Train. In his final years he played rancher John Grainger on The Virginian, a role that, according to author Paul Green, helped restore the quality of the series following a difficult fourth season. In 1960, Bickford received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard and one for television at 1620 Vine Street.

In his personal life, Bickford married actress Beatrice Ursula Allen, who performed under the stage name Beatrice Loring, in Manhattan in 1916. The couple had two children, a daughter named Doris and a son named Rex. In 1965, he published his autobiography, Bulls, Balls, Bicycles, and Actors. Bickford died in Los Angeles on November 9, 1967, at the age of 76, from pneumonia and a blood infection following an extended hospitalization.