Who Am I? December 2022

I was born in Georgia to a strange mix of parents. Mom was a direct descendent of the Pilgrims and dad was a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. Dad was both a pianist and a composer and taught music at different universities. His concert performances on tour gave me an opportunity to see a good part of the U.S., Canada and Europe.

I didn’t actually finish high school because I enlisted and served very briefly in WWI. I took odd jobs reading members and selling hats but my life’s ambition was to become an actor and, in that pursuit, I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. I was to enjoy a long career in film, in the theatre and on TV. Some of my luminous co-stars included Joan Crawford and the divine Greta Garbo. I was usually cast as a suave and sophisticated leading man but later in life I took demanding roles as a character actor. People are still surprised that I could sing and dance.

My politics were always liberal and progressive. I defined myself as an anti- communist liberal. In the 1930’s and 1940’s I was active in the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and the Motion Picture Artists Committee. I was a personal friend of FDR and acted as a delegate in one of the presidential conventions. I was a strong supporter of the U.S. entry into WWII and served as a major in India. My political affiliations caused me a lot of trouble after the war. I was targeted during the red scares and ended up “gray-listed” whereby I was barely offered roles at all during the 1950’s.

I won many accolades during my acting career to include two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor as well as an Emmy and a Tony. You could say I was a “Triple Crown” winner. I was also a happily married man and almost got to celebrate a 50 year anniversary with my beloved wife. Incidentally, my actress/politician wife was my link to north Jersey because she was born in Boonton, NJ. Someone once dubbed her the “pink lady” and it wasn’t because of her affinity for gin, egg whites and grenadine. Acting must be in the family blood because my granddaughter became an actress as well.

That’s me in one of my more debonair roles in the picture below. (1)Who Am I? And where did my stage name come from? (2)I won my first prize in 1903. Where? What? (3) Where did I serve in WWI and what was my duty there? (4)Where did I sell hats? (5)In which 2 films did I earn my Oscars? (6)Who was it that labeled my dear wife the ‘pink lady’? What was the motive behind it?