David Bacon (actor)

David Bacon (actor)

David Bacon (March 24, 1914 – September 13, 1943) was an American film actor.

Contents

Biography

He was born Gaspar Griswold Bacon, Jr. in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and his family was one of the prominent, politically active Boston Brahmin families. His father, Gaspar G. Bacon, was on the board of Harvard University, and later, in the 1930s, served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.

Born to a life of privilege and wealth, David Bacon graduated from Harvard. He summered with his family at Woods Hole on Cape Cod, where he became involved during the early 1930s with the "University Players," at West Falmouth. There he met then unknown performers James Stewart and Henry Fonda, with whom he later shared accommodations while he struggled to establish himself.

His acting career failed to progress, and he drifted for several years. He moved to New York City, where he was sponsored by a wealthy British patron, and although he once again failed to secure employment, he began to wear expensive clothes and jewelry, leading to speculation that he was acting as a gigolo.

He moved to Los Angeles, California where he met and married an Austrian singer, Greta Keller. In her later years, Keller disclosed that Bacon was homosexual, and that she was lesbian, and that their lavender marriage partly served as what she referred to as a "beard", allowing both of them to maintain a respectable facade in Hollywood, where they were both attempting to establish film careers.

In 1942, Howard Hughes met Bacon, and signed him to an exclusive contract, with the intention of casting him in The Outlaw (1943) as Billy the Kid. Bacon was screen-tested for the role and found unsuitable. Though Hughes later decided not to use Bacon in Outlaw, replacing him with actor Jack Beutel, he kept Bacon to the terms of his contract, casting him in several smaller roles, usually as college boys. Keller alleged that there was a homosexual relationship between Hughes and Bacon, and she blamed the alleged relationship for Bacon's being replaced. Hughes, however, was widely known as a womanizer and was often the target of unscrupulous claims to cash in on his money. Later, Hughes did cast Bacon for a role in the serial The Masked Marvel (1943).[1] The serial was produced with a low budget, and marked a low point in Bacon's career, with Keller recalling that he was completely humiliated. Today it remains his best-remembered work, however.

In September 1943, Bacon was seen driving a car erratically in Santa Monica, California before running off the road and into the curb. Several witnesses saw him climb out of the car and stagger briefly before collapsing. As they approached he asked them to help him, but he died before he could say anything more. A small knife wound was found in his back – the blade had punctured his lung and caused his death. Keller, in an advanced stage of pregnancy, collapsed when she heard of her husband's death, and later her baby was stillborn.

When he died, Bacon was wearing only a swimsuit, and a wallet and camera were found in his car. The film from the camera was developed and found to contain only one image, that of Bacon, nude and smiling on a beach. Police theorized that the photograph had been taken shortly before his death by his killer. The case attracted publicity for a time and remains unsolved.

References

  1. ^ "'Masked Marvel' Believed to Have Had Premonition of Tragedy". United Press in the New York Times. September 17, 1943. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B12FE3954107B93C5A81782D85F478485F9. Retrieved 2011-03-11. "David Gaspar G. Bacon, "Masked Marvel" of the movies, wrote a penciled will three months before he was stabbed to death, his attorney said today" 

Further reading

  • "Howard Hughes, The Untold Story;" pg. 100, Brown and Broske, DaCapo Press 1996

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David Bacon — may refer to: David Bacon (actor) (1914–1943), American film actor David Bacon (missionary) (1771–1817), American missionary and explorer who founded Tallmadge, Ohio David William Bacon, 1st bishop of Portland, Maine David Bacon (Power Rangers… …   Wikipedia

  • David Andrews (actor) — For other people named David Andrews, see David Andrews (disambiguation). David Andrews Born David Andrews 1952 (age 58–59) Baton Rouge, Louisiana David Andrews (born 1952) is an American actor, best known for his role as General Robert… …   Wikipedia

  • Bacon (surname) — * Anthony Bacon (industrialist) (1718–1786), English Industrialist * Anthony Bacon (British Army officer) (1796 1864), cavalry officer during the Napoleonic wars * Albion Fellows Bacon (1865 ndash;1933), American reformer and writer. * Augustus… …   Wikipedia

  • David Lynch — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda David Lynch David Lynch en Cannes (2001) Nombre real David Keith Lynch Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • David Levy (psychologist) — David Levy Born 1954 Occupation Psychologist Known for Psychology David Anthony Levy (born 1954) is an American psychologist …   Wikipedia

  • David Yezzi — David Dalton Yezzi (born 1966) is an American poet, actor and executive editor of The New Criterion. Yezzi is a former associate editor of Parnassus: Poetry in Review and a former poetry editor at The New Criterion.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • David Rakoff — at the 2006 Texas Book Festival Born November 27, 1964 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Occupation Essayist, journalist, actor Nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Bacon's College — is a secondary school and sixth form college in England, located in Rotherhithe, London.Bacon s College was one of the handful of CTC s, however it officially changed to Academy Status in 2007.HistoryFounded in 1703 by Josiah Bacon, the college… …   Wikipedia

  • David Andrews — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda David Andrews Nombre real David Andrews Nacimiento 1952 Baton Rouge,Louisiana Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • David Lynch — For other people named David Lynch, see David Lynch (disambiguation). David Lynch Lynch in Washington D.C., January 23, 2007 Born David Keith Lynch January 20, 1946 (194 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”