Laird Cregar

Infobox actor
name = Laird Cregar


imagesize = 200px
caption = as "Natalio Curro" in the trailer for "Blood and Sand" (1941)
birthname = Samuel Laird Cregar
birthdate = birth date|1913|7|28|mf=y [Sources differ about his date of birth. His memorial stone ( [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5648 Findagrave.com] ) says 1914. However, he was listed in the January 1920 census as 6 years old, and the April 1930 census as 16 years old, making his birth year 1913.]
birthplace = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1944|12|9|1913|7|28
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
yearsactive = 1938—1944

Laird Cregar (July 28, 1913 – December 9, 1944) was an American actor.

Biography

Early life and career

Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Laird's mother was the former Elizabeth Smith.

Laird Cregar was educated at Winchester College in England, spending his summers as a page boy and bit player with the Stratford-on-Avon theatrical troupe. Upon completing his schooling, Cregar won a scholarship at California's Pasadena Playhouse, supporting himself as a nightclub bouncer when funds ran out. So broke that at times he had to sleep in his car, Cregar forced Hollywood to pay attention to him by staging his own one-man show, in which he portrayed Oscar Wilde. Laird Cregar was a proud and flamboyant homosexual. This was very uncommon during the time period and thus he has became known as the archetypical homosexual man. He used to wear dresses to award ceremonies and could be succinctly described as 'camp'. At age 23 he undertook a sex change which failed and he soon began to suffer self-esteem issues. He went on an extreme diet due to this and the ultimate strain on his body led to his passing.

After a few minor film roles, Cregar was signed to a 20th Century-Fox contract; among his first major roles was the middle-aged Francis Chesney in "Charley's Aunt" (1941), the first of several showcases for the actor's delightful comic flair. With his sinister portrayal of the psychopathic detective in "I Wake Up Screaming" (1941), he followed that up with the successful screwball comedy "Rings on Her Fingers" (1942) playing a con artist opposite Gene Tierney. Cregar became one of filmdom's top "heavies"--both figuratively and literally. Seldom weighing less than 300 pounds throughout his adult life, Cregar came to a tragic end because of his obsession to become a slim "beautiful man".

After top-billing in "The Lodger" (1944), who may or may not be Jack the Ripper, the increasingly sensitive Cregar was growing tired of being thought of as merely a hulking villain.

Death

When assigned the role of demented pianist George Bone in "Hangover Square" (1945), Cregar decided to give the character a romantic veneer, and to that end, lost one hundred pounds in a crash diet which included prescribed amphetamines. The strain on his system resulted in severe abdominal problems; a few days after undergoing stomach surgery, Cregar died of a heart attack. [Biography attributed to: Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide]

Filmography

References

External links

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Persondata
NAME= Cregar, Laird
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Cregar, Samuel Laird
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= July 28, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= December 9, 1944
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles, California, U.S.