Jean Hersholt

Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series Dr. Christian (1937–1954) and in the film Heidi (1937).[2] Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "In English, her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult."[3] Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films (140 total); he directed four.

Jean Hersholt
Hersholt in 1929
Born
Jean Pierre Carl Buron[1]

(1886-07-12)12 July 1886
Copenhagen, Denmark
Died2 June 1956(1956-06-02) (aged 69)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Other namesJean Pierre Hersholt
Jean Buron Hersholt
OccupationActor
Years active1906–1955
Spouse(s)
Via Hersholt
​
(m. 1914)​
Children2 sons

Early life

Hersholt was born Jean Pierre Carl Buron in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hersholt claimed to be born into a family of actors,[4] but in reality both of his parents Henri Pierre Buron (1859-1922, the son of a French Catholic father and a Danish Christian mother) and Clara (née Petersen) (1854-1931, the daughter of a Danish Christian father and a Danish Jewish mother) were hairdressers though the father later was a cigar and wine retailer/vendor.) [5] He appeared in two of the first short films of Danish film studio Nordisk Film in 1906, but didn't find much success in his early years in Denmark.[6] He was embroiled in a scandal surrounding the so-called "big sexual offence trial" in Copenhagen 1906/07 as an informant for the tabloid newspaper Middagsposten.[5] The ensuing moral panic and outing of several prominent men as homosexuals eventually involved Hersholt (then Buron) who was reported to the police. He admitted to prostitution and was sentenced to 8 months in prison.[5] He emigrated to the United States in 1913, and the remainder of his career was in America.

Career

Hersholt's best-remembered film roles include Marcus Schouler in Erich von Stroheim's 1924 Greed and Shirley Temple's beloved grandfather in the 1937 film version of the 1880 children's book, Heidi, written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. During his long career in the movies, his roles ran the gamut from early silent villains to secondary parts in which his mild Danish accent and pleasant voice suited him to depict a succession of benevolent fathers, doctors, professors, and European noblemen. Hersholt's last role was in the 1955 movie Run for Cover.

Promotional flyer for Seattle station KIRO

In The Country Doctor (1936), a movie starring the Dionne quintuplets, Hersholt portrayed Dr. John Luke, a character based on Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the Canadian obstetrician who delivered and cared for the Dionne quintuplets. Two sequels followed. Hersholt wanted to do the role on radio, but could not get the rights. He decided to create his own doctor character for radio, and since he was a Hans Christian Andersen enthusiast, he borrowed that name for his character of the philosophical Dr. Paul Christian who practiced in the Midwest town of River's End with the assistance of Nurse Judy Price. With the opening theme music of "Rainbow on the River", Dr. Christian was introduced on CBS on 7 November 1937 on The Vaseline Program, or Dr. Christian's Office and later Dr. Christian.

The small-town physician's good humor, innate common sense, and scientific training helped drive off a series of villainous types who tried to interfere with the peaceful lifestyle of River's End. Produced by Dorothy McCann, the radio series became a popular long-running hit, continuing on CBS until 6 January 1954, with Hersholt so strongly identified with the role that he received mail asking for medical advice. Various spin-offs were produced, as Hersholt co-wrote a Dr. Christian novel and made a series of six family films as Christian from 1939 to 1941, for instance Dr. Christian Meets the Women in 1940. In 1956, his Dr. Christian character made the transition to television, scripted by Gene Roddenberry, with Macdonald Carey as his nephew Dr. Mark Christian. From the '30s through the '50s, Neil Reagan, brother of Ronald Reagan, directed the radio series Dr. Christian, starring Jean Hersholt.

In 1939, Hersholt helped form the Motion Picture Relief Fund to support industry employees with medical care when they were down on their luck. The fund was used to create the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and it led to the creation in 1956 of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Academy Award given to an "individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry".[7]

While serving as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hersholt undertook to present the founders of the American film industry with Oscars on the 20th anniversary of the Academy's founding on March 20, 1948. The four men who received this special award from Hersholt were Colonel William N. Selig, Albert E. Smith, George K. Spoor and Thomas Armat. Only Selig and Smith were able to attend the award ceremony.[8]

Hersholt's large collection of Hans Christian Andersen books is now in the Library of Congress. He translated over 160 of Andersen's fairy tales into the English language. These were published in 1949 in six volumes as The Complete Andersen, this work is "... rated as the standard translation, being one of the best" in English.[9] Hersholt was appointed a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1948, partly due to this endeavour.[10]

Family

Hersholt married Via Andersen (1893–1983), on 11 April 1914. They had two sons: Allan Hersholt (1914–1990) and Jean Hersholt Jr.

He was the paternal half-uncle (by marriage) of actor Leslie Nielsen and former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Erik Nielsen.[11]

Death
Jean Hersholt's grave

Hersholt died of cancer in Hollywood, and is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. His grave is marked with a statue of Klods-Hans (English: Clumsy Hans), a Hans Christian Andersen character who left home to find his way in the world — much as Hersholt himself had done.[12]

Honors and awards

Hersholt was honored for his services to the industry twice with an honorary Academy Award, first in 1940 and the second time in 1950, and in his honor the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[13] He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in motion pictures and another one at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in radio.

Selected filmography

Radio appearances
YearProgramEpisode/source
1943Lady Esther Screen Guild TheatreMen in White[14]

References
  1. According to the State of California. California Death Index, 1940–1997. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/caldeaths
  2. Obituary Variety, 6 June 1956, p. 63.
  3. Funk, Charles Earle (1936). What's the Name, Please? A Guide to the Correct Pronunciation of Current Prominent Names. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. OCLC 1463642.
  4. Current biography yearbook, Volume 5. H. W. Wilson Co. 1945. p. 288.
  5. Kastrup, Kim (28 September 2017). "Dansk Hollywood-stjerne var trækkerdreng" [Danish Hollywood star was a rent boy]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. "Jean Hersholt". Danish Film Institute (in Danish). Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  7. "Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  8. Erish, Andrew A. (2012). Col. William N. Selig: The Man Who Invented Hollywood. University of Texas Press. p. 1. ISBN 0292728700. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  9. Lars Bo Jensen (2008). "The Complete Andersen – Edition info". The Hans Christian Andersen Center, University of Southern Denmark. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
  10. "Danish-American Medal Recipient Index" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  11. Carr, Jay (13 March 1994). "If Leslie Nielsen has learned anything, it's how to play slapstick with a ... straight face". The Boston Globe. p. 83. I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better.
  12. Andersen, Hans Christian. "Clumsy Hans". Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  13. "Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  14. "Allbritton, Louise". radioGOLDINdex. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Walter Wanger		 President of Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences
1945–1949		 Succeeded by
Charles Brackett
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