William Hawks
American film producer (1901–1969)
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William Bellinger Hawks (January 29, 1901 – January 10, 1969) was an American film producer.
January 29, 1901
William Hawks | |
|---|---|
Wedding portrait of Hawks and Bessie Love, 1929 | |
| Born | William Bellinger Hawks January 29, 1901 Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 1969 (aged 67) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University[1] |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1930–1958 |
| Spouses | Virginia Walker
(m. 1938; div. 1942)Frances Koshland Judge
(m. 1951) |
| Relatives |
|
Career
Hawks attended Yale University,[1][3] where he was a member of Scroll and Key[4] and graduated in 1923.[5][6][7] In his early career, Hawks was a stockbroker.[8][9][10] By the early 1930s, Hawks was a Hollywood talent agent and, as such, brought novelist William Faulkner to his brother Howard Hawks' attention in 1932, becoming Faulkner's Hollywood agent.
He created United Producers Corporation in 1940[11] with Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Irene Dunne, Anatole Litvak, and Lewis Milestone. They intended to produce ten films for RKO Pictures.[3] My Life with Caroline was the first of the intended series, thus Hawks became a film producer.
Personal life
Hawks married actress Bessie Love at St. James' Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, California, on December 27, 1929.[12] Mary Astor, Carmel Myers, and Norma Shearer were her bridesmaids, and Howard Hawks and MGM wunderkind Irving Thalberg ushered. Mary Astor was William's sister-in-law, married to brother Kenneth Hawks. Their reception was held at the Ambassador Hotel.[13]
Hawks and Love then lived at the Havenhurst Apartments in Hollywood.[14][15] They had a daughter, Patricia Hawks (February 19, 1932, Los Angeles), who had some bit parts in 1952 movies.[2] They divorced in 1936.[2]
He married actress Virginia Walker (July 31, 1916, Boston, Massachusetts – December 23, 1946, Los Angeles) in late June 1938 in Mexico.[16] She had played Miss Alice Swallow in the 1938 comedy film Bringing Up Baby, her first film role.[16] They divorced in 1942.[17]
He was married to Boston socialite Frances Koshland Judge (1916–1993)[18] on October 3, 1951, in West Los Angeles by Municipal Judge Louis Kaufmann.[19]
Hawks died in Santa Monica, California, of a respiratory illness, on January 10, 1969.[1]
Croquet
He was a member of the United States Croquet Association and was inducted posthumously into their Croquet Hall of Fame in 1981,[20] as was brother Howard in 1980.[21] He often played with actor George Sanders,[22] who was also a posthumous 1980 inductee.[23] Hawks most often played with a Jaques mallet,[20] as did Sanders.[23]
Filmography
- My Life with Caroline (1941)
- The Tall Men (1955)
- The Last Wagon (1956)
- The Law and Jake Wade (1958)
- Imitation General (1958)