Brian Ahern is a theater and film actor. Known for his main male roles with the beauties of Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s. His colleagues on the set were Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn and others. The actor preferred to appear in dramatic and romantic films, which gained success and popularity not only thanks to their talent, but also to their natural charm.
Biography of Brian Ahern
Brian de Lacey Ahern was born on May 2, 1902 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, UK, to a middle-class family with affluence. His father was a successful architect, and his mother was a failed actress who "charged" her children with spark and interest in dramatic art. Brian's brother Patrick and sister Elena also began their creative path, but only Brian was able to achieve real fame. As a child, he loved to mime and play on the school stage.
In his youth, Ahern entered Malvern College, where he began to study architecture. However, he soon left school to play in the comedy production "Paddy the Next Best Thing" in 1923. The debut was successful and Brian Ahern later landed roles in several British silent films. The aspiring actor did not leave the theater stage and went with his troupe and new performances on a tour of Australia.
Actor career in Hollywood
In 1931, Brian Ahern hit Broadway to portray Robert Browning on stage. Critics of the New York Times spoke positively about the young actor's acting, calling it "strong and sincere."
Soon the film company Paramount noticed him and signed a contract with Ahern. The first significant film in his career was a melodrama with a sensational and glamorous girl with German roots - Marlene Dietrich. In 1933, they starred together in the film "Song of Songs". For Ahern, this was his first experience in Hollywood; for Dietrich, it was the fifth American film. An interesting fact that Marlene complained a lot and did not want to act with Brian Ahern together: after working together with actor Gary Cooper, Ahern seemed to her not courageous and romantic enough to be suitable for the main male role. However, Brian was able to embody all the necessary qualities for a romantic character, and Marlene Dietrich was pleased with the work of the rising star.
In the melodrama Song of Songs, he played a young sculptor for whom his beloved (Dietrich) poses, and Brian's character creates a female nude. The image of the lovers was transferred to real life, according to rumors, a romance really began between the two actors behind the screen.
After his role in Song of Songs, Brian Ahern woke up famous - the most popular beauties in Hollywood wanted to get a joint role with him.
Film after film was replaced by famous heartbreakers of their time: Anne Harding ("The Fountain"), Helen Hayes ("What Every Woman Knows"), Joan Crawford ("I Live My Life"), Katharine Hepburn ("Sylvia Scarlett"), Merle Oberon ("The Beloved Enemy"), Olivia de Havilland ("The Great Garrick"), Bette Davis ("Juarez"), Madeleine Carroll ("My Son, My Son"), Loretta Young ("An Unforgettable Night"), Rosalind Rousel (" Wife for Rent”,“My Sister Eileen”,“Oh, What a Woman”and the last film in Ahern's career -“Rosie”).
During World War II, Brian Ahern toured American military camps. Abroad, he played in productions, embodying the well-established image of Robert Browning. After the war, he went to Hollywood to star in the noir film Medallion, and then returned to Broadway performances again.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Brian Ahern played several of the first roles with famous actresses, among them Barbara Stanwick (Titanic), Gene Simmons (Bullet Awaits), Grace Kelly (The Swan). After that, Ahern decided to leave Hollywood.
The best films with the participation of Brian Ahern
- Alfred Hitchcock's crime drama "I Confess" (1953), nominated for the Palme d'Or film award;
- melodrama and drama "Titanic" (1953), in which Ahern played the role of the captain of a famous ship. The film was awarded an Oscar for Best Screenplay;
- comedy melodrama "The Swan" (1956).
In 1940, the actor was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the biographical drama Juarez about the life of Mexico's national hero Benito Juarez.
Brian Ahern's personal life
In 1939, he married actress Joan Fontaine, a Hollywood beauty. The marriage lasted six years, and in 1945 the couple decided to divorce.
Two years later, Ahern married Eleanor Labroth; he called their life together "quiet and calm." However, the marriage did not alienate the actor from the world of cinematography, but, on the contrary, brought it closer: the second wife of Ahern was the sister of a wealthy Broadway producer Alfred de Lajagra Labroth Jr.
The Achern family first lived in a Santa Monica beach house purchased from celebrities Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton. The actor was on good terms with George Sanders, an Oscar-winning actor best known for his starring role in Rebecca, All About Eve, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The couple lived in a villa in Switzerland for some time, but then the Achern family settled in Florida.
From his second marriage, the actor has a daughter - Leonie Labroth.
In 1969, Brian published his own autobiography, The Right Job. According to the author, he jokingly named his work, since he did not consider the actor's work to be serious.
Brian Ahern died at the age of 83, on February 10, 1986 in the hospital, where he was admitted with a heart attack. The second wife of the actor lived to the venerable age - 90 years old and died in 2000.
