Cornel Wilde was born in Budapest, Hungary, on October 13, 1912, the son of a doctor. His family moved to New York City when he was four years old. Wilde attended the High School of Music & Art and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1932 in a production of The Immortal Husband.
Wilde’s film career began in 1936 with a small role in The Last Outpost. He appeared in a number of films over the next decade, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Of Human Hearts (1938), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).
Wilde’s breakthrough role came in 1945 with the film noir classic Leave Her to Heaven. He received an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Wilde continued to appear in films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including A Song to Remember (1945), The Naked Jungle (1954), and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Wilde’s career began to decline in the 1960s, but he found success on television, appearing in the series The Virginian and The Big Valley. He also directed a number of films, including Beach Red (1967) and No Blade of Grass (1970).
Wilde’s later years were marred by personal tragedy. His wife, actress Jean Wallace, committed suicide in 1971. Wilde himself died of cancer on October 16, 1989, at the age of 77.
General Info
Full Name
Cornel Wilde
Died
October 16, 1989, Los Angeles, California, United States
Height
1.85 m
Profession
Actor, Film director, Film producer, Screenwriter
Education
Townsend Harris High School, City College of New York, Columbia University
Family
Spouse
Jean Wallace, Patricia Knight
Children
Wendy Wilde, Cornel Wallace Wilde Jr.
Parents
Vojtech Weisz, Renée Mary Vid
Siblings
Edith Weisz
Accomplishments
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actor, Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Movies
The Naked Prey, Leave Her to Heaven, The Big Combo, A Song to Remember, The Greatest Show on Earth, Beach Red, Lancelot and Guinevere, Forever Amber, Road House, Storm Fear, At Sword's Point, No Blade of Grass, A Thousand and One Nights, Sharks' Treasure, California Conquest, The Bandit of Sherwood ...
[on Linda Darnell] Experienced, beautiful and nice--a nice person.
2
[on working with Paul Muni on A Song to Remember (1945)] He was very difficult to work with. He said he didn't want to hear how I did it, he had no interest in how I portrayed it, he had his own conception of [Frédéric Chopin] and he told me he'd worked on his role in relation to that conception, and he didn't care how I played it. And that was the approach to teamwork on that film.
3
Acting is not just "another day, another dollar". If I hate a script or think it's foolish or in bad taste, I'm miserable.
4
I realized long ago that I could not depend on luck to bring me success. I worked hard, extra hard to improve my chance by increasing my abilities and my experience. It was my goal to accomplish, in my life, something of value and to do it with self-respect and integrity.
Facts
#
Fact
1
He and Ida Lupino became good friends while filming Road House (1948). They found common ground in their liberal political beliefs.
2
Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).
3
A vintage year for "beefcake bondage" in his film career was 1952. In At Sword's Point (1952), he appeared bound and stripped to the waist in a torture chamber where his torso was burned with a hot iron. In California Conquest (1952), he appeared stripped to the waist and bound to a tree where he was lashed across the chest with a whip.
4
Interred at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, CA.
5
Although most records indicate Wilde was born in New York City, the 1930 U.S. Census and the California Death Records database both state that he was born in Hungary.
6
His role as Tybalt in the 1940 Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh led to a Warner Brothers contract.
7
Chosen for the 1936 Olympic fencing team in Berlin, he turned down the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actively pursue acting.
8
Enrolled as a pre-med student at the City College of New York (CCNY) and completed the four-year course in three years (CCNY at that time was tuition-free and admitted only the best scholars). He was a member of CCNY's fencing team.
9
Prior to his film career, Wilde had various jobs--commercial artist, toy salesman at Macy's, newspaper advertising and Boys' Club counselor.
10
He graduated from Townsend Harris High School for gifted students in New York at the age of 14. Townsend Harris was affiliated with CCNY, the college he entered upon graduation.
11
At his death he was editing his autobiography, "My Very Wilde Life, " and working on a sequel to his acclaimed film The Naked Prey (1965).
12
Spoke Hungarian, French, German, English, Italian and Russian.
