John Halliday

In his earlier days, Halliday seems to have relished the life of an adventurer. At one time he fought with the British Army during the Boer War. As a mining engineer he then dug for gold nuggets in Nevada, rapidly made a fortune and lost it as quickly. He eventually switched to the more peaceful pursuit of acting, initially in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, then in dramatic plays on Broadway from 1912 to 1936 (lastly in "Tovarich", as Prince Alexandrovitch). Though Brooklyn-born, Halliday was raised in England and often adopted an upper-crust British accent. An incisive and debonair actor with a penchant for sophisticated comedy, he received good reviews as co-star of _The Woman Accused (1933)_ (qv) with 'Cary Grant' (qv) and 'Nancy Carroll' (qv). He was very much at home playing caddish bon vivants, gleeful villains (such as in _Terror Aboard (1933)_ (qv)) or wily arch rogues (notably _Desire (1936)_ (qv) with 'Marlene Dietrich' (qv)). Halliday had another pivotal role in _Intermezzo (1939)_ (qv) and was then cast to best advantage as Katharine Hepburn's charming philanderer of a father in _The Philadelphia Story (1940)_ (qv). He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, from a heart ailment in October 1947 at the age of 67.::I.S.Mowis