Kenneth MacKenna

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Kenneth MacKenna was an American actor and director

Kenneth MacKenna (August 19, 1899 - January 15, 1962) was stage name of Leo Mielziner, Jr. He was born in Canterbury, New Hampshire.

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[edit] Family

Parents were portrait artist Leo Mielziner, Sr.(December 7, 1868 - August 11, 1935), the son of a rabbi, and Ella Lane McKenna Friend (March 18, 1873 – February 2, 1968). They were married October 20, 1896 in Boston, Massachusetts. Leo, Sr. was born in New York City and died in Truro, Massachsetts, Ella was born in Manchester, New Hampshire of Anglo-Irish descent and was a Catholic, she died in NYC. Her mother’s maiden name was Margaret A. McKenna & Ella was also named McKenna and Leo, Jr. took MacKenna as his stage surname, changing spelling slightly. His younger brother was theatrical production designer Joseph Mielziner. He married actress Kay Francis on January 17, 1931. They divorced in February 1933. He married actress Mary Philips in August 1938 and they remained married until his death from cancer. They had appeared in the Broadway play ‘’Nerves’’ in September 1924 with Mary’s later husband Humphrey Bogart. He had also dated Mary Pickford and Katharine Hepburn.

[edit] Biography

Before Leo, Jr. was 10 years old his family had moved to NYC. He acted in and directed plays while in his teens. He served in the military. After returning to NYC he signed a three year acting contract with producer William A. Brady. He appeared in seven Broadway shows by 1923 and toured the country in two of those. After sound films became the rage he signed a contract with Fox Films in 1929 and moved to California. Starting in 1931 he also directed a few films. He resumed his Broadway theatre career in the mid 1930s. Soon MGM hired him as a story editor in New York and later back in Hollywood he was made department head. He returned to acting in the late 1950s both on stage and in film.

[edit] Broadway stage

  • 1920 Opportunity as Jimmy Dow
  • 1920 Immodest Violet as Arthur Bodkin
  • 1922 The Nest as Max Hamelin
  • 1922 The Endless Chain as Kenneth Reeves
  • 1922 The World We Live In as Commander-in-Chief of Yellow Ants and as Felix
  • 1923 The Mad Honeymoon as Wally Spencer
  • 1923 The Crooked Square as Robert Colby
  • 1923 Windows as Johnny March
  • 1923 Dumb-bell as Ted Stone
  • 1924 We Moderns as Richard
  • 1924 Catskill Dutch as Peetcha
  • 1924 Nerves as Jack Coates
  • 1924 The Far Cry as Dick Clayton
  • 1925 The Sapphire Ring as Dr. Erno Nemeth
  • 1925 Oh, Mama as Georges La Garde
  • 1926 The Masque of Venice as Jack Cazeneuve
  • 1926 What Every Woman Knows as John Shand
  • 1928 The Big Pond as Pierre Dimarande
  • 1928 A Play without a Name as John Russell
  • 1934 By Your Leave as David MacKenzie
  • 1934 Wife Insurance as Gregory Landon
  • 1934 Merrily We Roll Along as Richard Niles
  • 1935 Othello as Iago
  • 1935 Macbeth as Macduff
  • 1936 Aged 26 as Charles Armitage Brown
  • 1937 Penny Wise as Gordon
  • 1959 The Highest Tree as Aaron Cornish

Produced & directed

  • 1936 Co-respondent Unknown

[edit] Film Appearances as Actor

  • 1925 Miss Bluebeard as Bob Hawley
  • 1925 A Kiss in the Dark as Johnny King
  • 1926 The American Venus as Horace Niles
  • 1927 The Lunatic at Large as William Carroll & Henry Carroll
  • 1929 Pleasure Crazed as Capt. Anthony Dean
  • 1929 South Sea Rose as Dr. Tom Winston
  • 1930 Forever Yours (film left unfinished)
  • 1930 Men without Women as Chief Torpedoman Burke
  • 1930 Crazy That Way as Jack Gardner
  • 1930 The Three Sisters as Count d'Amati
  • 1930 Virtuous Sin as Lt. Victor Sablin
  • 1932 Those We Love as Freddie Williston
  • 1961 Judgment at Nuremberg as Judge Kenneth Norris

[edit] Films as Director

  • 1931 Always Goodbye Fox Film Corp.
  • 1931 The Spider Fox Film Corp.
  • 1931 Good Sport Fox Film Corp.
  • 1932 Careless Lady Fox Film Corp.
  • 1933 Walls of Gold Fox Film Corp.
  • 1934 Sleepers East Fox Film Corp.

[edit] Television

[edit] References

[edit] External links