George Sanders facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Sanders
Portrait of Sanders by Allan Warren, 1972
Born	George Henry Sanders (1906-07-03)3 July 1906 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	25 April 1972(1972-04-25) (aged 65) Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spanish State
Alma mater	Manchester Technical College
Occupation	Actor singer writer
Years active	1929–1972
Spouse(s)	Susan Larson ​ (m. 1940⁠–⁠1949)​ Zsa Zsa Gabor ​ (m. 1949⁠–⁠1954)​ Benita Hume ​ (m. 1959⁠–⁠1967)​ Magda Gabor ​ (m. 1970⁠–⁠1971)​
Partner(s)	Lorraine Chanel (1968–1972; his death)
Relatives	Tom Conway (brother)

George Henry Sanders (born 3 July 1906 – died 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer. His career lasted for over 40 years! He was known for his deep, smooth voice and an upper-class English accent. This often led him to play sophisticated, sometimes villainous, characters in movies.

You might remember him from many famous films. He was Jack Favell in Rebecca (1940) and Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950), for which he won an Oscar. He also played Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert in Ivanhoe (1952) and even King Richard the Lionheart in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954). Later, he was Mr. Freeze in the Batman TV series (1966) and the voice of Shere Khan in Disney's The Jungle Book (1967). If you like detective stories, he was also famous for playing Simon Templar, known as The Saint, and the clever crimefighter The Falcon.

Early Life and Education

George Sanders was born on 3 July 1906 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire. His father, Henry Sanders, made ropes, and his mother, Margaret, was a gardener. His mother was also born in Saint Petersburg and had German, Estonian, and Scottish family roots.

In 1917, when the Russian Revolution began, George and his family moved to Great Britain. He went to Bedales School and Brighton College, which are schools for boys. After that, he studied at Manchester Technical College. He then worked in textile research.

Later, Sanders traveled to South America and managed a tobacco farm. When times got tough, he returned to Britain. He found a job at an advertising agency. There, a company secretary named Greer Garson, who wanted to be an actress, suggested that he try acting too!

Becoming an Actor

George Sanders learned to sing and got a part in a play called Ballyhoo. It didn't run for long, but it helped him start his acting career. He began working regularly on the British stage, appearing with famous actors like Edna Best.

He even went to New York to perform on Broadway in a play called Conversation Piece in 1934.

Hollywood Films

Some of George Sanders's British films were shown by a big movie company called 20th Century Fox. This company was looking for an actor to play a villain in their Hollywood movie Lloyd's of London (1936). Sanders got the part! His smooth, upper-class English accent and calm, confident manner made him perfect for playing sophisticated characters, often villains. Lloyd's of London was a huge success, and Fox signed Sanders to a long contract.

Playing Famous Characters

Sanders returned to Hollywood, where another studio, RKO, wanted him to play the hero in a series of movies about a character called The Saint. He took over the role for The Saint Strikes Back (1939). In 1940, he also played Jack Favell in Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie Rebecca.

RKO later started a new detective series called The Falcon in 1941, and George Sanders played the main role, Gay Laurence. He played this character in four films. His brother, Tom Conway, later took over the role.

Sanders also starred in a major film called The Moon and Sixpence (1942). He was lent to other studios for films like This Land Is Mine (1943) and Appointment in Berlin (1943). In 1947, he played King Charles II in the movie Forever Amber.

Winning an Oscar

As Addison DeWitt in the trailer for All About Eve (1950)

One of George Sanders's most famous roles was as the sharp-tongued theater critic Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950). For this amazing performance, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

After this, he continued to play important roles. He signed a deal with MGM and appeared in The Light Touch (1951) and Ivanhoe (1952). In Ivanhoe, he played Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a knight who fights Robert Taylor's character. This movie was a big hit!

Sanders also traveled to Italy to act with Ingrid Bergman in Journey to Italy (1954). He made several more movies for MGM, including Jupiter's Darling (1955) and The King's Thief (1955), where he played King Charles II again.

He starred in the TV series The George Sanders Mystery Theater in 1957. He also worked with Tyrone Power one last time in Solomon and Sheba (1959). Later, he appeared with Peter Sellers in A Shot in the Dark (1964), which was a sequel to The Pink Panther.

Final Films

As Lord Henry Wotton in the trailer for The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

George Sanders continued acting in the late 1960s. He had a supporting role in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter (1969). In 1969, he announced he was stepping away from acting. His last film roles included Doomwatch (1972) and Endless Night (1972). His very last film was Psychomania (1973).

Writing and Singing

George Sanders also had two crime novels published under his name. They were Crime on My Hands (1944) and Stranger at Home (1946). These books were written by someone else but used his name because he was so famous from his movies.

During the making of The Jungle Book, George Sanders was the voice of Shere Khan. However, he wasn't able to sing the song "That's What Friends Are For" for his character. So, another singer named Bill Lee sang it instead.

Personal Life

George Sanders was married four times. His first wife was Susan Larson, from 1940 to 1949. Then, he married Zsa Zsa Gabor from 1949 to 1954. He even starred with her in the film Death of a Scoundrel (1956).

In 1959, he married Benita Hume. She passed away in 1967. Sadly, his brother Tom Conway also died that same year. George Sanders wrote an autobiography called Memoirs of a Professional Cad in 1960, which was praised for being very clever. His fourth and final marriage was to Magda Gabor in 1970, who was the older sister of his second wife.

Later Years and Passing

Sanders as Captain Billy Leech in The Black Swan (1942)

In his later years, George Sanders became more private and faced some difficult times, including the deaths of his third wife, his mother, and his brother. He also had some health challenges. He decided to sell his beloved house in Majorca, Spain, which he later regretted.

George Sanders passed away on 25 April 1972, in Castelldefels, a town near Barcelona, Spain.

He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor his contributions to film and television.

Complete Filmography

Television Roles

• Screen Directors Playhouse (1956) as Charles Ferris / Baron
• Ford Star Jubilee "You're the Top" (1956)
• The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957)
• What's My Line? 15 September 1957 (Episode No. 380) (season 9, episode 3) Mystery Guest
• The Rogues (1965) as Leonard Carvel
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea "The Traitor" (1965) as Fenton
• The Man From U.N.C.L.E. "The Gazebo in the Maze Affair" and "The Yukon Affair" (1965) as G. Emory Partridge
• Daniel Boone (1966) as Col. Roger Barr
• Batman (1966) as Mr. Freeze
• Mission: Impossible - The Merchant (1971) as Armand Anderssarian

Broadway Shows

• Conversation Piece, at the 44th Street Theatre, 1934

See also

In Spanish: George Sanders para niños