Jump to content

John Emery (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Emery
Emery in 1958
Born(1905-05-20)May 20, 1905
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 1964(1964-11-16) (aged 59)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeFerncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum
OccupationActor
Years active1937–1964
Spouses
Patricia Calvert
(m. 1926; div. 1929)
(m. 1937; div. 1941)
(m. 1942; div. 1963)

John Emery (May 20, 1905 – November 16, 1964) was an American actor.

Early years

[edit]

Born in New York City, Emery was the son of stage actors Edward Emery (c. 1861 – 1938) and Isabel Waldron (1871–1950). He was educated at Long Island's La Salle Military Academy.[1]

Film

[edit]

Through the late 1930s to the early 1960s Emery appeared in supporting roles in many Hollywood films, beginning with James Whale's The Road Back (1937) and ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound to Rocketship X-M.

Stage

[edit]
Katharine Cornell, Robert Flemyng and Emery in a revival of W. Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife (1953)

Emery appeared on Broadway in John Brown (1934), Romeo and Juliet (1934-1935), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1935), Flowers of the Forest (1935), Parnell (1935-1936), Alice Takat (1936), Sweet Aloes (1936), Hamlet (1936-1937), Antony and Cleopatra (1937), Save Me the Waltz (1938), The Unconquered (1940), Liliom (1940), Retreat to Pleasure (1940-1941), Angel Street (1941-1944), Peepshow (1944), The Relapse (1950), The Royal Family (1951), The Constant Wife (1951-1952), Anastasia (1954-1955), Hotel Paradiso (1957), and Rape of the Belt (1960).[2]

Peepshow was the first production in which Emery and his third wife, Tamara Geva, appeared together.[3]

Television and radio

[edit]

Emery was also known for his television work, appearing on programs like I Love Lucy and Have Gun Will Travel. In 1946 he starred in a radio program as detective Philo Vance.

Personal life

[edit]

Emery married Patricia Calvert in 1926, ending in divorce in 1929.[4] He married Tallulah Bankhead on August 31, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama (her only marriage), divorcing on June 13, 1941, in Reno, Nevada. The two remained friendly after their marriage. In 1942, Emery married dancer Tamara Geva, divorcing in 1963.[5] Emery had started a long-term relationship with actress Joan Bennett in 1961, who cared for him through his final illness[which?] and death in 1964.[6]

Due to their resemblance, Emery often was rumoured to be the illegitimate child of John Barrymore.[7] As a child, Emery roomed for a while with Barrymore and his first wife, Katherine Corri.[8]

Death

[edit]

Emery died on November 16, 1964, in New York City, aged 59.[9]

Selected filmography

[edit]

Selected television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1958 Colgate Theatre Ralph Carter Season 1 Episode 1: "Adventures of a Model"
1959 Have Gun - Will Travel Merle Corvin Season 2 Episode 36: "The Fifth Man"
1961 The Tom Ewell Show Jack Hunter Season 1 Episode 22: "The Old Magic"
1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Kerwin Drake Season 6 Episode 34: "Servant Problem"

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "John Emery of 'Angel Street' Had Cauliflower Ear". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 7, 1943. p. 29. Retrieved November 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "John Emery". Playbill Vault. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  3. ^ "Emerys Are Together First Time on Stage in 'Peepshow'". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 30, 1944. p. 27. Retrieved November 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Goodridge, Paul F. (April 2, 2015). William Brockman Bankhead. Page Publishing, Incorporated. ISBN 9781634176965.
  5. ^ "JOHN EMERY DIES; ACTOR 40 YEARS; Tallulah Bankhead's Former Husband—Equity Leader". The New York Times. November 17, 1964.
  6. ^ Kellow, Brian. The Bennetts Page 406. The University Press of Kentucky (2004)
  7. ^ Israel, Lee. Miss Tallulah Bankhead. Page 177. Putnam, 1972.
  8. ^ John Barrymore: A Bio-Bibliography c.1995 by Martin Norden
  9. ^ Rainho, Manny (November 2015). "this month in movie history". Classic Images (485): 32–33.
[edit]