Biography for
Walter Pidgeon More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

23 September 1897, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Date of Death

25 September 1984, Santa Monica, California, USA (stroke)

Birth Name

Walter Davis Pigeon

Height

6' 2½" (1.89 m)

Mini Biography

Walter Pidgeon, a handsome, tall and dark haired man, began his career studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He then did theater, mainly stage musicals. He went to Hollywood in the early 1920s where he made silent films, such as Mannequin (1926) and Sumuru (1927). When talkies arrived, Pidgeon made some early talkie musicals, but never received top billing or recognition. In 1937, MGM put Walter under contract but only in supporting roles and the other man roles - such as in Saratoga (1937) opposite Jean Harlow and Clark Gable and in The Girl of the Golden West (1938) opposite Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Although the 2 films were big successes, Pidgeon was overlooked for his contribution to the films. MGM loaned him out to Fox where he finally had top-billing in How Green Was My Valley (1941). When he returned to MGM, they tried to give him bigger roles and cast him opposite frequent co-star Greer Garson. But Greer seemed to come up on top in Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), although Pidgeon did receive an Oscar nomination for his role in the latter movie. He remained with MGM till the mid-1950s, making films like Dream Wife (1953) and Hit the Deck (1955) with Jane Powell and old pal, Gene Raymond. In 1956, he left the movies to do some theater, but returned in 1961. He retired in 1977, and suffered several strokes which eventually led to his death in 1984.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Donovan Webber

Spouse

Ruth Walker	(12 December 1931 - 25 September 1984) (his death)
Edna (Muriel) Pickles	(1922 - 26 October 1926) (her death) 1 child

Trivia

First wife Edna died in 1926 giving birth to their daughter, also named Edna. His widowed mother Hannah came out to California to help care for his child. She lived there for the next 38 years, dying at age 94.

Became U.S.Citizen

Featured baritone in the Broadway production "The Puzzles of 1925."

His body donated to UCLA Medical School, Los Angeles, California, USA.

President of Screen Actors Guild (SAG). [1952-1957]

Had a notoriously poor memory for names, referring to anyone whose name he could not remember as "Joe." This became such a habit that, for his birthday one year, the cast and crew of the picture he was working on bought him a present: A director's chair enscribed "Joe Pidgeon."

Daughter, Edna Pidgeon Atkins, born in 1924, once worked at the Animation Department of MGM before marrying in 1947. She gave Walter 2 granddaughters, Pat and Pam.

Wife Ruth was his secretary before he married her.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Take Me Along" -- a award that was won by his co-star Jackie Gleason .

According to Salt of the Earth (1954) producer Paul Jarrico, who had been blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s, Pidgeon tried to stop the production of the film (which was being made by blacklistees) in his capacity as president of the Screen Actors Guild, which had signed off on the blacklist. In a 1997 interview, Jarrico said, "There was a concerted effort to stop the making of the film after it became known that we were making the film. We had started the film in quite a normal fashion with contracts with Pate Lab to develop our film and rental of the equipment from Hollywood, people who supplied such things. A whistle was blown by Walter Pidgeon, the then president of the Actors Guild, and the FBI swung into action and movie industries swung into action and we found ourselves barred from laboratories, barred from sound studios, barred from any of the normal facilities available to film makers, and we found ourselves hounded by all kinds of denunciations on the floor of Congress and by columnists. The public was told that we were making a new weapon for Russia, that since we were shooting in New Mexico, where you find atom bombs, you find Communists, and every kind of scurrilous attack - vigilante attacks - on us while we were still shooting developed."

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 640-642. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

During his early performances on stage, he played a Mountie in the play Rose Marie. After playing this character on stage, Pidgeon became so enthused that he actually applied to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Unfortunately he was medically rejected due to his injuries in the army.

He ran off to join his brother, Don, in the Canadian Army but his age (16) was detected and he was sent back home. He eventually enlisted with the 65th Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery but was injured during training when he was crushed by two guns carriages at Camp Petawawa and caught pneumonia. As a result he spent 17 months recovering at a hospital in Toronto, having never been sent to France.

Fred Astaire heard him singing at a party while appearing with an amateur company in Boston and got him an agent. Walter was more interested in acting, however, and joined E.E. Clive's repertory stage company where he worked on his craft. Thanks also to Astaire, the deep baritone auditioned for and became the singing partner for singer/entertainer Elsie Janis which toured for six months in the mid-1920s. Pidgeon's first wife traveled with the company as an understudy for Janis.

Initially performed in early talking musicals for Warner Bros.

Turned down the role of Gaylord Ravenal in the Universal remake of Show Boat (1936) because he did not want to be typecast in musicals. Allan Jones played the role instead opposite Irene Dunne's Magnolia.

Was the last of the four stars (including Bette Davis, Michael Rennie and Hugh O'Brian) who played a "substitute attorney" on Perry Mason in 1963 when the series' titular star, Raymond Burr suffered a heart attack. The pressures of doing that guest role convinced him that starring in a TV series was not to his liking.

Hobbies included tending to his rose garden and playing bridge.

Personal Quotes

[On Hollywood] "It was like an expensive, beautifully-run fan club. You didn't need to carry money. Your face was your credit card - all over the world."

"I was like a kept woman during my twenty-one years at MGM."

I didn't demand any vetoes over the films I didn't like, as they do today. I asked nicely and discovered a secret that has stayed with me for my entire career -- that a request spoken softly usually brings results and demands rarely do.

I was called to [Louis B. Mayer's] office to discuss a long-term contract he wanted me to sign. He told me he had been impressed by my work at other studios and that he felt I would be an asset to MGM. He peered at me over his glasses and suggested I tell him about myself. I started by saying I came from New Brunswick. 'That's in Canada,' I added. 'I know where New Brunswick is,' said Mayer rather snippy. 'Where in New Brunswick were you born?' 'Saint John,' I replied. Mayer jumped to his feet and thumped on his desk. 'Young man,' he shouted, 'you can't influence me with lies like that. Who told you to say you came from Saint John?' Finally I quietened him down and convinced him I really was from Saint John. I had to tell him where half-a-dozen streets and buildings were that he remembered. But I left his office with a contract for much more money than I expected and we were friends until the day he died.

Maybe it was better never to become red hot. I'd seen performers like that and they never lasted long. Maybe a long glow is the best way. At Metro I was never considered big enough to squire around Norma Shearer or Joan Crawford or Greta Garbo. Well, I outlasted them all at MGM, didn't I? It takes a lot of work to appear easy going and I tried to avoid being stuffy.

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