Born: May 30th, 1896 (Indiana)
Died: December 26th, 1977 (stroke)
Marriages: Athole Shearer (1928-1940), Nancy Gross (1941-1949), Dee Hartford (1953-1960).
Children: He had four children from his three marriages: David, Greg, Barbara and Kitty.
Interesting Fact: His wife, Nancy, was credited for discovering Lauren Bacall on the cover of a magazine and recommended her to Hawks. Lauren was then showcased in To Have and Have Not (1944).
Success: He had directed almost every genre and succeeded very well in each one. Near the end of his career he turned to westerns with John Wayne, ending on Rio Lobo (1970).
Awards: He was only nominated once and that was for Sergeant York (1941). In 1974 he was given an Honorary Award from the Oscars. He was nominated three different times for the Director's Guild of America and twice for the Laurel Awards. He did, however, achieve a star on the Walk of Fame and a Western Heritage Award for his contributions to the West through motion pictures.
My Favorite Films: Sergeant York (1941) & I Was a Male War Bride (1949).
Howard Hawks may be one of the most under appreciated film directors of Hollywood. He started before talkies and color and made the transition without a stop. He has quite an impressive list of films which involved some of the major stars of his day like; Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson, John Wayne & Humphrey Bogart. He directed one of the most famous; gangster films, Scarface (1932), WWI films, Sergeant York (1941), & comedic films, Bringing Up Baby (1938). All of this was accomplished without much praise from the Academy and other institutions until his retirement.
Near the end of his life he teamed up with John Wayne in some of my favorite films like; Hatari (1962), El Dorado (1966) & Rio Lobo (1970). Another team up that I enjoyed was with Cary Grant in films like; Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940) & I Was a Male War Bride (1949).
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