ROBERT DONAT
Name: Friedrich Robert Donath
Born: 18 March 1905 Withington, Manchester, England
Died: 9 June 1958 London, England
Friedrich Robert Donath (March 18, 1905 - June 9, 1958), better known by his
stage name Robert Donat, was a distinguished Academy Award-winning English film
and stage actor of English, Polish and German descent. He was born in Withington,
Manchester, England.
Donat made his first stage appearance in 1921 and his film debut in 1932 in Men
of Tomorrow. His first great screen success came with The Private Life of Henry
VIII (playing Thomas Culpepper), under the renowned film director and producer
Alexander Korda. He had a successful screen image as an English gentleman who
was neither haughty nor common. That made him something of a novelty in British
films at the time, and he was likened by critics to Hollywood's Clark Gable and
Gary Cooper. His most successful films included The Ghost Goes West (1935),
Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), The Citadel (1938), for which he received his
first Oscar nomination, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939). For the latter, he won
the Academy Award for Best Actor, beating out Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind,
Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights and James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington. He was a major theatre star, noted for his performances in The Devil's
Disciple (1938), Heartbreak House (1942), Much Ado About Nothing (1946), and
especially as Thomas Becket in T. S. Elliot's Murder in the Cathedral at the Old
Vic Theatre (1952).
However, he suffered from ill-health (chronic asthma) which shortened his career
and limited him to twenty films. His final role was as the mandarin of Yang
Cheng in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). He died of an asthma attack on
June 9 of that year at age 53 in London, England.
Donat was twice married, first to Ella Annesley Voysey (1929-1946), by whom he
had 3 children, and subsequently to British actress Renée Asherson (1953-1958).
Robert Donat has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for motion pictures at
6420 Hollywood Blvd.
Name: Friedrich Robert Donath
Born: 18 March 1905 Withington, Manchester, England
Died: 9 June 1958 London, England
Friedrich Robert Donath (March 18, 1905 - June 9, 1958), better known by his
stage name Robert Donat, was a distinguished Academy Award-winning English film
and stage actor of English, Polish and German descent. He was born in Withington,
Manchester, England.
Donat made his first stage appearance in 1921 and his film debut in 1932 in Men
of Tomorrow. His first great screen success came with The Private Life of Henry
VIII (playing Thomas Culpepper), under the renowned film director and producer
Alexander Korda. He had a successful screen image as an English gentleman who
was neither haughty nor common. That made him something of a novelty in British
films at the time, and he was likened by critics to Hollywood's Clark Gable and
Gary Cooper. His most successful films included The Ghost Goes West (1935),
Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), The Citadel (1938), for which he received his
first Oscar nomination, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939). For the latter, he won
the Academy Award for Best Actor, beating out Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind,
Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights and James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington. He was a major theatre star, noted for his performances in The Devil's
Disciple (1938), Heartbreak House (1942), Much Ado About Nothing (1946), and
especially as Thomas Becket in T. S. Elliot's Murder in the Cathedral at the Old
Vic Theatre (1952).
However, he suffered from ill-health (chronic asthma) which shortened his career
and limited him to twenty films. His final role was as the mandarin of Yang
Cheng in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). He died of an asthma attack on
June 9 of that year at age 53 in London, England.
Donat was twice married, first to Ella Annesley Voysey (1929-1946), by whom he
had 3 children, and subsequently to British actress Renée Asherson (1953-1958).
Robert Donat has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for motion pictures at
6420 Hollywood Blvd.