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IMDbPro

Freddie Bartholomew(1924-1992)

  • Producer
  • Actor
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Freddie Bartholomew in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:12
A Yank at Eton (1942)
3 Videos
99+ Photos
One of the most popular child actors in film history, Child superstar Freddie Bartholomew was born Frederick Cecil Bartholomew in Harlesden, London, the son of Lilian May (Clarke) and Cecil Llewellyn Bartholomew. From age three, he grew up in the town of Warminster under the care of his father's unmarried sister Millicent. A precocious lad, Freddie was reciting and performing on stage at three years of age, and was soon singing and dancing as well. By age six he had appeared in his first movie, a short called Toyland (1930). Three other British film appearances and the recommendation of his teacher Italia Conti led him to be cast in the MGM film David Copperfield (1935), as the title character, resulting in a seven-year MGM contract and a move to Hollywood with his aunt. The illustrious, star-studded and highly successful David Copperfield (1935) made Freddie an overnight sensation, and he went on to star in a succession of high-quality films through 1937, including Anna Karenina (1935); Professional Soldier (1935); the riveting Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936); Lloyd's of London (1936); The Devil Is a Sissy (1936); and Freddie's biggest success, Captains Courageous (1937), opposite Spencer Tracy.

Following the success of Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), Freddie's birth parents, who were strangers to him, stepped in and attempted for seven years to gain custody of him and his fortune. His aunt Millicent attempted to offset these legal expenses and payouts by demanding a raise in Freddie's MGM salary in 1937. Another slew of court cases ensued, this time over the MGM contract, and Freddie missed a critical year's work and some golden film opportunities. By the time he resumed acting work in 1938, he was well into his teens, and audiences grew less interested in literary period pieces as World War II erupted in Europe. Following Kidnapped (1938), many of his ten remaining films through 1942 were knock-offs or juvenile military films, and only two were for MGM. The best of the films after Kidnapped (1938) were Swiss Family Robinson (1940), Lord Jeff (1938), Listen, Darling (1938), and Tom Brown's School Days (1940). His salary soared to $2,500 a week making him filmdom's highest paid child star after Shirley Temple.

In 1943, Freddie enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for a year to work in aircraft maintenance, exiting with both a back injury and American citizenship.

The additional time away from the screen had not done him any favors, though, and efforts to revive his career on film were unsuccessful. His efforts performing in regional theaters and vaudeville did not spark a comeback either. Aunt Millicent left for England when Freddie married publicist Maely Daniele in 1946 against her wishes. Freddie toured a few months in Australia doing nightclub singing and piano, but when he returned to the U.S. in 1949 he switched to television, making a gradual move from performer to host to director, at New York station WPIX. In 1954, re-married to TV cookbook author Aileen Paul, he moved to Benton & Bowles advertising agency, as a television director and producer. He remarked at the time that the millions he had earned as a child had been spent mostly on lawsuits, many of which involved headline court battles between his parents and his aunt for custody of young Freddie and his money. "I was drained dry," he said.

He became vice president of television programming in 1964, directing and producing several prominent long-running soap operas. Bartholomew retired due to emphysema by the late 1980s, and eventually moved with his third wife Elizabeth to Florida, where he died in 1992, but not before being filmed in several lovely interview segments for the lengthy 1992 documentary, MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992).
BornMarch 28, 1924
DiedJanuary 23, 1992(67)
BornMarch 28, 1924
DiedJanuary 23, 1992(67)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos152

Freddie Bartholomew, Gloria Stuart, and Michael Whalen in Professional Soldier (1935)
Freddie Bartholomew and Gloria Stuart in Professional Soldier (1935)
Freddie Bartholomew and W.C. Fields in David Copperfield (1935)
Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew and Terry Kilburn in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew and Gale Sondergaard in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew and Herbert Mundin in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew and Terry Kilburn in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew in Lord Jeff (1938)
Freddie Bartholomew in Lord Jeff (1938)

Known for

Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, and Freddie Bartholomew in Captains Courageous (1937)
Captains Courageous
7.9
  • Harvey Cheyne
  • 1937
Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Freddie Bartholomew, and Walter Pidgeon in Listen, Darling (1938)
Listen, Darling
6.5
  • 'Buzz' Mitchell
  • 1938
Lord Jeff (1938)
Lord Jeff
6.6
  • Geoffrey Braemer
  • 1938
David Copperfield (1935)
David Copperfield
7.4
  • David - the Child
  • 1935

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • Jane Krakowski, Matthew Ashford, Domini Blythe, Colleen Dion, Terri Eoff, David Forsyth, Louan Gideon, Lee Godart, Marcia McCabe, Jeffrey Meek, Jacqueline Schultz, and Mary Stuart in Search for Tomorrow (1951)
    Search for Tomorrow
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1982–1983
  • As the World Turns (1956)
    As the World Turns
    • executive producer (as Fred Bartholomew, 1980-1981)
    • TV Series
    • 1979–1980

Actor

  • Nina Foch, Dick Haymes, Lionel Stander, and Roland Young in St. Benny the Dip (1951)
    St. Benny the Dip
    • Reverend Wilbur
    • 1951
  • Lights Out (1946)
    Lights Out
    • TV Series
    • 1950
  • Cameo Theatre (1950)
    Cameo Theatre
    • (as Fred Bartholomew)
    • TV Series
    • 1950
  • The Ford Theatre Hour (1948)
    The Ford Theatre Hour
    • Tom Prior
    • TV Series
    • 1949
  • Edward Everett Horton and Tom Tully in The Town Went Wild (1944)
    The Town Went Wild
    • David Conway
    • 1944
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Rudolph Anders, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, and Bobby Jordan in Junior Army (1942)
    Junior Army
    • Freddie Hewlett
    • 1942
  • Mickey Rooney in A Yank at Eton (1942)
    A Yank at Eton
    • Peter Carlton
    • 1942
  • Freddie Bartholomew and Jimmy Lydon in Cadets on Parade (1942)
    Cadets on Parade
    • Austin Shannon
    • 1942
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Billy Cook, and Jimmy Lydon in Naval Academy (1941)
    Naval Academy
    • Steve Kendall
    • 1941
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Cedric Hardwicke, and Jimmy Lydon in Tom Brown's School Days (1940)
    Tom Brown's School Days
    • Ned East
    • 1940
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Edna Best, Tim Holt, Terry Kilburn, Thomas Mitchell, and Bobbie Quillan in Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
    Swiss Family Robinson
    • Jack Robinson
    • 1940
  • Freddie Bartholomew, Alan Dinehart, and Jackie Cooper in Two Bright Boys (1939)
    Two Bright Boys
    • David Harrington
    • 1939
  • Freddie Bartholomew and Jackie Cooper in The Spirit of Culver (1939)
    The Spirit of Culver
    • Bob Randolph
    • 1939
  • Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Freddie Bartholomew, and Walter Pidgeon in Listen, Darling (1938)
    Listen, Darling
    • 'Buzz' Mitchell
    • 1938
  • Lord Jeff (1938)
    Lord Jeff
    • Geoffrey Braemer
    • 1938

Director

  • Sharon Gabet and Larkin Malloy in The Edge of Night (1956)
    The Edge of Night
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1956

Videos3

Official Trailer
Trailer 3:26
Official Trailer
A Yank at Eton
Trailer 2:12
A Yank at Eton
Captains Courageous
Trailer 2:27
Captains Courageous

Personal details

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  • Alternative name
    • Fred Bartholomew
  • Born
    • March 28, 1924
    • London, England, UK
  • Died
    • January 23, 1992
    • Sarasota, Florida, USA(heart failure and emphysema)
  • Spouses
      Aileen PaulDecember 1953 - 1977 (2 children)
  • Children
      Kathleen Millicent Bartholomew
  • Parents
      Cecil Llewellyn Bartholomew
  • Relatives
    • Jesse Zuretti(Grandchild)
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Portrayals
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby and was raised by his aunt. After he became a successful child actor, his birth parents filed more than six years of lawsuits attempting to get a piece of his earnings.
  • Trademarks
      Curly-haired Hollywood child star whose earnest presence, refined English diction and angelic looks established him as a box office favorite in the 1930s
  • Salary
    • Captains Courageous
      (1937)
      $1,250 / week

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