Biography for
George Sanders (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

3 July 1906, St. Petersburg, Russia

Date of Death

25 April 1972, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain (suicide)

Birth Name

George Henry Sanders

Height

6' 3½" (1.92 m)

Mini Biography

George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in Find the Lady (1936). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd's of London (1936). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941)), royalty (Charles II in Otto Preminger's Forever Amber (1947)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, "The George Sanders Mystery Theater" (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan

Spouse

Magda Gabor	(5 December 1970 - 1971) (divorced)
Benita Hume	(10 February 1959 - 1 November 1967) (her death)
Zsa Zsa Gabor	(2 April 1949 - 1 April 1954) (divorced)
Susan Larson	(1940 - 1949) (divorced)

Trade Mark

His deeply charming and sexy voice, combined with urbane manner.

Often played the "cad" in his films, such as Jack Favell in Rebecca (1940).

Trivia

Brother of the actor Tom Conway. The two appeared together in The Falcon's Brother (1942), in which they portrayed -- appropriately enough -- brothers, and which was Sanders' final appearance as "The Falcon," a role he had grown tired of. In this entry, Sanders hands off the role to Conway, who took it up for nine subsequent films through 1946.

Sanders told David Niven in 1937, that he intended to commit suicide when he got older. In 1972, he fulfilled his promise, leaving this note: "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.".

After being convinced by a woman he had taken up with, George Sanders sold his beloved house in Majorca. Soon after, he checked into a hotel in Barcelona, and two days later, his body was discovered next to five empty tubes of Nembutal.

George is also joined by his real life brother in the 1956 film Death of a Scoundrel (1956) (again playing his screen brother).

First got involved in acting when a secretary in the same advertising firm suggested it. That secretary was Greer Garson.

Was appearing as the lead in the Broadway-bound musical Sherry! (with Dolores Gray) at the time of Benita Hume's death. He was so upset by her death that he left the show in its Boston try-out and was replaced by Clive Revill.

Featured in a crime novel, "Crime On My Hands," in which he solved a murder on a film set. The book was ghost-written by Falcon screenwriter Craig Rice. The Author's Dedication reads "To Craig Rice, without whom it would not have been possible.".

Possessed of a fine baritone singing voice, often raised at parties, Sanders released an album entitled "The George Sanders Touch: Songs for the Lovely Lady" (ABC-Paramount: 1958), today a much sought-after collector's item.

Credited as the author of the mystery novel, "Stranger at Home." Book was actually ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett. Book dedication reads, "To Leigh Brackett, whom I have never met".

Is portrayed by Neil Hunt in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV).

Was one of two stars of the "Pink Panther" series to commit suicide. Capucine, who played Inspector Clouseau's wife in The Pink Panther (1963), killed herself in 1990.

His ex-wives Zsa Zsa Gabor and Magda Gabor were sisters.

Personal Quotes

"A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more you beat them, the better they be."

"Acting is like roller-skating. Once you know how to do it, it is neither stimulating nor exciting."

I am not one of those people who would rather act than eat. Quite the reverse. My own desire as a boy was to retire. That ambition has never changed.

I don't ask questions. I just take their money and use it for things that really interest me.

I was beastly but never coarse. A high-class sort of heel.

I never really thought I'd make the grade. And let's face it, I haven't.

The important thing for a star is to have an interesting face. He doesn't have to move it very much. Editing and camerawork can always produce the desired illusion that a performance is being given.

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