Genealogy profile for David Niven Genealogy for David Niven (1804 - 1872) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. He is the son of actor David Niven and Primula Rollo. He was buried in Natte Yallock Cemetery, Natte Yallock, Victoria, Australia. colony that included Cary Grant, Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, But he wanted something more exciting, and transferred into the Commandos. In 1950 he starred in The Elusive Pimpernel, which was made in Britain and which was to be distributed by Samuel Goldwyn. In 1971 he published his autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon, which was well received, selling over five million copies. Hepburn and her family suffered . In 1933, bored with Army life, he resigned his commission and moved to the USA where he started a new career as an actor. He also worked extensively with Major Glenn Miller, whose Army Air Force big band, formed in the US, was performing and broadcasting for troops in England. Clouseau. recruiting British actors and Niven fitted happily into an expatriate He had more than 100 acting credits to his name and starred as . Sadly, by the summer of 1983, just weeks before Curse was released . Primmie died at the age of 28, only six weeks after the family moved to the US. DAVID NIVEN's former partner 'was a b**** to him', according to James Bond actor Roger Moore. Uncle Tommy was barred I dont know where he went to the Carlton Club I suppose. Niven was the only James Bond actor mentioned by name in the text of Fleming's novels. Together the two Less so was the comedy Bedtime Story (1964) with Marlon Brando. He had an But still he made a high ratio [28] It honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces.[29][30]. Thoughtful and kind, he addressed the boys by their first name, allowed them bicycles and encouraged and nurtured their personal interests. She was 78. The entrepreneur couple succeeded in developing a chain of 10 stores. During this period Niven was largely barred from the Hollywood studios. His range as an actor was limited and [citation needed]. He followed it with Oh, Men! He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey in the Special Memorial Section in Plot F. 10. the right time. I have to catch a train."[16]. In 1978, Niven and Ustinov would star together in a film adaption of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. second volume of reminiscences, concentrating on Hollywood There I saw David lose his British phlegm, his politeness and class. A son, David, Jr., was born in December 1942 and a second son, James Graham Niven, on 6 November 1945. Born August 26, 1951, in Saginaw, a son of Robert and Norma (Sian) Niven, David was raised in Saginaw and graduated from the Arthur Hill High School. She was born in Wales, the daughter of army officer William Degacher (18411879) by his marriage to Julia Caroline Smith, the daughter of Lieutenant General James Webber Smith. As preparation Preminger, who had directed the play in New York, insisted that Niven appear on stage in the West Coast run. Birth 28 October 1914 - St Andrews and St Leonards, Fife, , Scotland. Niven only learned of it from a newspaper report. His first important part came in Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. He was promoted to war-substantive captain on 18 August 1941.[24]. She was so serious about her education that she fell . The plot was plainly autobiographical (although not recognised as such at the time of publication), involving a young soldier, John Hamilton, who leaves the British army, becomes a liquor salesman in New York, is involved in indoor horse racing, goes to Hollywood, becomes a deckhand on a fishing boat, and finally ends up as a highly successful film star. Next image. As more of a raconteur rather than an accurate memoirist, it seems that Niven recounted many incidents from a first-person perspective that actually happened to other people, among them Cary Grant. She fractured her skull in a fall in the Beverly Hills, California home of Tyrone Power, while playing a game of sardines. Niven recalled this as the darkest period of his life, years afterwards thanking his friends for their patience and forbearance during this time. Niven later claimed he was born in Kirriemuir, in the . After his mother remarried, Niven's stepfather had him sent away to boarding school. David's mother Henrietta then married Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt in London in 1917. Right here at FameChain. Father David Pearson Niven. Many Hollywood stars of the wartime generation ended their careers in cameo roles or cult movies, even schlock horror or, worst of all, television soaps. however, mainly because he was content to take what was available Lord wrote that "the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather's funeral, was delivered from the porters at London's Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: 'To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. Hjordis Tersmeden; they had two adopted daughters. 47 sold. After detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he arrived in Hollywood in the summer of 1934. He requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because that regiment wore tartan trews rather than the kilt). David's father, William Edward Graham Niven, was a military man, and his mother's family was also involved in the military. (Another 1981 interview, posted on YouTube, shows Niven on The Merv Griffin Show while publicizing his novel Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly. for chat shows, where his gift for anecdote made him an ideal subject. In 1944 he worked extensively with the BBC and SHAEF to expand these broadcast efforts. David Niven Jr., better known by her family name David Niven Jr., is a popular British actor. Good author, David Niven knows how to tell a Story well and thoroughly, beginning, a middle and an end. He appeared several times on various short-drama shows and was one of the "four stars" of the dramatic anthology series Four Star Playhouse, appearing in 33 episodes. He was working on a third novel at the time of his death. unsettled childhood, being pushed by an unsympathetic step-father into While in Hollywood, Oberon fell desperately in love with actor David Niven, with the two even becoming engaged. In 1974, Barbara Niven wed Ronald Garrison, with whom she had a daughter named Jessica. He was famous for being a Movie Actor. "[13], In 1928, an 18-year-old Niven had sex with 15-year-old Margaret Whigham (the future socialite and Duchess of Argyll) while she was on holiday in Bembridge. Lieutenant Colonel James David Graham Niven (/nvn/; 1 March 1910 29 July 1983)[1][2] was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. Two years later The Moon Is Blue, a sex comedy, became notorious when it was released without a Production Code Seal of Approval; it was a big hit and Niven won a Golden Globe Award for his role. Niven's professional fortunes were completely restored when cast as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), a huge hit at the box office. Niven joined what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a group of British actors in Hollywood which included Rex Harrison, Errol Flynn, Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Leslie Howard and C. Aubrey Smith. John Le Mesurier . Niven also appeared in the British romantic comedy The Silken Affair (1956) with Genevive Page the same year. Ustinov later appeared with Niven in Death on the Nile (1978). Bitter, estranged and plagued by depression, Hjrdis showed up drunk at the funeral, having been persuaded to attend by family friend Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Grace and Niven became close and lifelong friends, and he and his wife frequently visited the palace at Monaco once Grace became a princess. This brought him to wider attention within the film industry and he was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn. Born in London in 1910, David Niven went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1928 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry the following year. So we rented a helicopter so they immediately went and grabbed him. He supported Mario Lanza in a musical at MGM, The Toast of New Orleans (1950). He made a porter feel like a king.'". She also divorced her second husband. return to Britain to play his part. Presented by Eisenhower himself, it honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces. . Whigham adored Niven until the day he died. In the early 1950s he formed, with Charles Boyer and Dick Powell, a He was lent to MGM for a minor part in Rose Marie (1936), then a larger one in Palm Springs (1936) at Paramount. [15], He did well at Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was his trademark. extra. This meant that Niven had to leave the U.S., so he went to Mexico, where he worked as a "gun-man", cleaning and polishing the rifles of visiting American hunters. Rose, DSO, MC). Back in Hollywood Niven was in Goldwyn's Enchantment (1948) with Teresa Wright. He also began writing books, with considerable commercial success. After a whirlwind two-week romance in 1940, Niven married Primula Susan Rollo (18 February 1918, London 21 May 1946, Beverly Hills, California), the aristocratic daughter of a British lawyer. Niven was a born raconteur Later he went to Stowe and on to Sandhurst to train He was named David for his birth on St. David's Day (1 March). Until then few people outside her family were . When the raw footage was reviewed, his voice was inaudible, and his lines had to be dubbed by Rich Little. Throughout the 1970s, Niven spent much of his time at his home in Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland, near the ski resort of Gstaad. Infantry, mainly on Malta, but resigned his commission after three David Niven was an English actor and author who had a net worth equal to $100 million at the time of his death, adjusting for inflation. that for millions of filmgoers on both sides of the Atlantic he summed I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. He served as an officer with the Highland Light [19] With Rose's assistance, Niven was allowed to escape from a first-floor window. (In fact the book was mostly invented by co-author William Stevenson (no relation), Sir William then being very old.) In 1964, Charles Boyer, Gig Young and top-billed Niven appeared in the Four Star series The Rogues. Niven appeared in 19 films in the next four years. By Allan Warren own work licensed under thehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. This was his last film appearance. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's disease") later that year. She had walked through a door believing it to be a closet, but instead, it led to a stone staircase to the basement.[36][37]. experience, but through a combination of luck, knowing the right The first, Round the Rugged Rocks, was a novel that appeared in 1951 and was forgotten almost at once. for his staying power that he was still in regular demand after nearly The movie was critically acclaimed, popular in England and was selected as the first Royal Film Performance. Hollywood cricket club. Niven resumed his acting career after his demobilization, and was voted the second most popular British actor in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars. The couple had been married since 1940 and were visiting Tyrone Power's home when a game of 'hide and seek' was suggested by someone. $75.58 + $33.58 shipping. She was brought up by her parents David Niven and Primula Rollo. He graduated in 1930 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the British Army. Niven requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch; then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because the HLI wore tartan trews rather than kilts). By 1938, he was starring as the leading man in other 'A' films, including Wuthering Heights (1939). He claimed to have been so grief-stricken that he thought for a while that he had gone mad. Though promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1933,[18] he saw no opportunity for further advancement. He recounted their meeting: I had never seen anything so beautiful in my lifetall, slim, auburn hair, up-tilted nose, lovely mouth and the most enormous grey eyes I had ever seen. Niven took part in the Invasion of Normandy, although he was sent to France several days after D-Day. In 1982, he appeared in Blake Edwards' final Pink Panther films Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, reprising his role as Sir Charles Lytton. After detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he arrived in Hollywood in 1934. contract by Sam Goldwyn and though the relationship was not always He was alone among British stars in Hollywood in doing so; the British Embassy advised most British actors to stay, and indeed many were over the age for military service anyway and did not have Niven's existing military education and experience. Barbara Niven has only one child in her family, which is her little girl, Jessica Niven, who is also an artist by profession. Updated: August 6, 2022 . son . Having been in more than 90 . His first sizeable role for Goldwyn came in Dodsworth (1936), playing a man who flirts with Ruth Chatterton. In February 1983, using a false name to avoid publicity, Niven was hospitalised for 10 days, ostensibly for a digestive problem; afterwards he returned to his chalet at Chteau-d'x. Even in the '90s, the Austin Powers franchise continued the trend to hilarious results. Goldwyn pulled out, and the film did not appear in the U.S. for three years. Reed as a quasi propaganda piece for the British Army. He continued to make one and In 1981 Niven published a second and much more successful novel, Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly, which was set during and after the Second World War, and which drew on his experiences during the war and in Hollywood. After numerous affairs, Niven refused to change his ways and walk down the aisle. She was rushed into a London nursing home for a secret termination. 10. Boasting a pastel pink exterior and . Obituary. Geni requires JavaScript! he is one of famous actor with the age 78 years old group. After Niven had won the Academy Award, Goldwyn called with an invitation to his home. In 1975 he narrated The Remarkable Rocket, a short animation based on a story by Oscar Wilde. By this time, Niven was having serious health problems. From Maggie Smith to Michael Caine, from Richard Harris . (1957); The Little Hut (1957), from the writer of The Moon is Blue and a success at the box office; My Man Godfrey (1957), a screwball comedy; and Bonjour Tristesse (1958), for Preminger. He followed this with Bring On the Empty Horses in 1975, a collection of entertaining reminiscences from Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1940s. During his work with the AFPU, Peter Ustinov, one of the script-writers, had to pose as Niven's batman. But his birth certificate says something completely different. William Wyler's 1939 film of "Wuthering Heights". Niven had been married twice, latterly to the model Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden. David Niven's former partners: David Niven had an affair with Marilyn Monroe David Niven allegedly had a romance with HRH The Princess Margaret David Niven had an affair with Ava Gardner David Niven had an affair with Princess Grace of Monaco David Niven had a relationship with Rita Hayworth David Niven had an affair with Loretta Young David Niven had a relationship with Merle Oberon David . perfect foil to Peter Sellers as the accident prone Inspector In 1948 Niven met Hjrdis Paulina Tersmeden (ne Genberg, 19191997), a divorced Swedish fashion model. [46], A Thanksgiving service for Niven was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 27 October 1983. None of these films was successful at the box office and Niven's career was struggling. Niven's next few films were made in England: The Love Lottery (1954), a comedy; Carrington V.C. Niven made some popular comedies, Prudence and the Pill (1968) and The Impossible Years (1968). with Laurence Olivier gave a creditable performance as Edgar Linton in dress and behaviour but with mischief lurking not far from the Now years later, the picture was still in exactly the same spot. Education: Attended Stowe House boarding school, near Buckingham, 1923-26; Royal Military College, Sandhurst, 1927-29: commissioned lieutenant in Highland Light Infantry: served in Malta and England to 1932. his life in the forces and in films and literally sprinkled with and better parts came his way. After a whirlwind romance, they married on 16 September 1940. ", A few stories have surfaced. James David Graham Niven was born on 1 March 1910 at Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, London, to William Edward Graham Niven (18781915) and his wife, Henrietta Julia (ne Degacher) Niven (18781932). He reckoned that it was enough to Discover David Niven's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. She focused on her academics and was an exceptional student. Early life and family. Quick access. Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. In 1980 Niven began experiencing fatigue, muscle weakness and a warble in his voice. In 1974, while Niven was co-hosting the 46th Annual Oscars ceremony, a naked man (Robert Opel) appeared behind him, "streaking" across the stage. [5] Niven's paternal great grandfather and namesake, David Graham Niven, (18111884) was from St Martin's, a village in Perthshire, he was a doctor who married in Worcestershire, living in Pershore. Family tree. [10] In his 1971 biography, The Moon's a Balloon, Niven wrote fondly of his childhood home: It became necessary for the house in London to be sold and our permanent address was now as advertised a cottage which had a reputation for unreliability. He then attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and graduated in 1930 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the regular Army. In 1979 he appeared in Escape to Athena, which was produced by his son David Jr. Though his condition continued to worsen he refused to return to the hospital, a decision supported by his family. She kept a photo of David Niven's villa in the family bathroom and told her children that it was the house of her dreams. About to lead his men into action, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "Look, you chaps only have to do this once. 25, was killed in an accidental fall, leaving two small sons. David Niven was in the early stages of motor neurone disease, and his voice had to be overdubbed by impressionist Rich Little. Biografie (1) James David Graham Niven se narodil v Londn. New search. Two weeks later, they were in Hollywood. The show was produced by Four Star Television, which was co-owned by Niven, Robert Montgomery and Charles Boyer. PA Photos. "All hell broke loose," remembered Elizabeth Duckworth, the family cook. He was chosen by Otto Preminger for David Niven Jr. is 79 years old in 2022. David Niven Jr.'s godfather was Nol Coward, who gave him a silver cocktail shaker with the . Niven wrote four books.