Leslie Fenton
| Leslie Fenton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
12 March 1902 Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Died |
25 March 1978 (aged 76) Montecito, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor, film director |
| Years active | 1923-1951 |
| Spouse(s) |
Ann Dvorak (1932-1945) (divorced) Marcella Zabala Howard (1952-1978) |
Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English-born American actor and film director. He appeared in 62 films between 1923 and 1945.
Fenton went to America with his mother, Elizabeth Carter, and his brothers when he was six years old - they sailed as steerage passengers on board the R.M.S. Celtic, which departed from Liverpool, 11 September 1909, and arrived at New York, where they were ferried over to Ellis Island for "U.S. Immigrant Inspection" on 19 September; they were quickly admitted and continued their journey by rail to join his father, shoe manufacturer's representative Richard Fenton, in Mifflin, Ohio. As a young immigrant, Leslie worked in a shoe factory then ran away to New York and began a career on the stage. His film career began later with Fox Studios.
During the Second World War he was commissioned in the Royal Navy. In 1942 in command of a Motor Launch he took part in the St Nazaire Raid. He also directed 19 films between 1938 and 1951.
He married American actress Ann Dvorak in 1932. Dvorak (Anna May McKim) moved to England with Fenton while he served in the British military during World War II. The union was childless and ended in divorce in 1945. Fenton died 25 March 1978 in Montecito, California, aged 76. Some sources, including IMDB, incorrectly cite Frank Fenton, the noted screenwriter and novelist, as his younger brother. Frank Fenton's parents were John Fenton and Eveline Edgington (married Liverpool, 1900), as evidenced by the ship's manifest for the SS Caronia (page 0817, line 0008), aboard which Frank Fenton arrived in the US on Apr 21 1906.
Selected filmography
As Actor:
- East Lynne (1925)
- What Price Glory? (1926)
- The Shamrock Handicap (1926)
- The Last Performance (1927)
- The Showdown (1928)
- The Drag Net (1928)
- The First Kiss (1928)
- Girls Gone Wild (1929)
- Paris Bound (1929)
- Broadway (1929)
- Woman Trap (1929)
- The Man I Love (1929)
- The Guilty Generation (1931)
- Murder at Midnight (1931)
- The Public Enemy (1931)
- The Pagan Lady (1931)
- The Hatchet Man (1932)
- The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932)
- Air Mail (1932)
- Thunder Below (1932)
- Lady Killer (1933)
- White Lies (1935)
- House of Secrets (1936)
- Two in the Dark (1936)
- China Passage (1937)
- Boys Town (1938)
As Director:
- The Man from Dakota (1940)
- The Saint's Vacation (1941)
- Whispering Smith (1948)
- Streets of Laredo (1949)
- The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951)
External links
- Leslie Fenton at the Internet Movie Database
- Leslie Fenton at Find a Grave
- Leslie Fenton at Virtual History
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