Lloyd Nolan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lloyd Nolan
Nolan as Martin Kane, around 1951
Born	Lloyd Benedict Nolan (1902-08-11)August 11, 1902 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	September 27, 1985(1985-09-27) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1929–1985
Notable work	1986 Hannah and Her Sisters
Spouse(s)	Mell Efrid ​ ​ (m. 1933; died 1981)​ Virginia Dabney ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2

Lloyd Benedict Nolan (born August 11, 1902 – died September 27, 1985) was an American actor. He performed in plays, movies, and TV shows for over 50 years! He started out in smaller roles but became very well known after playing Captain Queeg in the play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial in the 1950s.

Lloyd Nolan even won an Emmy Award for Best Actor when he played Captain Queeg again in a TV version of the story in 1955. As he got older, he often played doctors in movies and TV shows. One famous role was in the movie Peyton Place. He also appeared in Julia, which was a groundbreaking TV series because it starred an African American woman. For his role in Julia, he was nominated for another Emmy Award in 1969.

His very last movie was Hannah and Her Sisters, which came out in 1986, the year after he passed away. People respected him so much that his obituary (a notice about someone's death) in the Los Angeles Times newspaper called him "Lloyd Nolan, the Actor’s Actor." This means other actors looked up to him.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Lloyd Nolan was born in San Francisco, California. He was the youngest of three children. His father, James Nolan, was an Irish immigrant who made shoes. Lloyd went to Santa Clara Preparatory School and then Stanford University. However, he didn't finish college because he loved acting so much! He once said he "never got around to attending any other class but dramatics."

His parents wanted him to join the family shoe business, which was very successful. But Lloyd chose acting instead. Before becoming a full-time actor, he served in the United States Merchant Marine, which is a group of ships that carry goods and people. After that, he joined a theater group called the Dennis Players in Cape Cod. He started his career on stage and then moved to Hollywood to act in movies. In many of his early film roles, he played doctors, private detectives, and policemen.

Movie Career Highlights

The Los Angeles Times newspaper said that Lloyd Nolan was an actor who "works often and well regardless of his material." This means he always did a great job, no matter what kind of movie he was in. Even though critics often praised his acting, he mostly appeared in "B pictures." These were usually lower-budget movies.

Despite this, Lloyd Nolan acted alongside many famous actresses like Mae West and Dorothy McGuire. He had contracts with big studios like Paramount and 20th Century Fox. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he played leading roles. He was also the main character in the Michael Shayne detective movie series.

Some of his well-known movies were action-packed and fun. These include Atlantic Adventure, Ebb Tide, Wells Fargo, and Every Day's a Holiday with Mae West. He also appeared in the war movie Bataan.

Lloyd Nolan was also excellent at playing important supporting roles. In the 1940 movie Johnny Apollo, he played a charming but dangerous gang leader. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, he was a kind police officer. Later, in the 1957 film Peyton Place, he played a doctor who spoke his mind about the secrets in a small town.

One of his movies, The House on 92nd Street (1945), was very special. It was based on real events where the Nazis tried to cause trouble during World War II. Many scenes were filmed in New York City, which was unusual back then. Real FBI agents even acted alongside Nolan in the film! He played FBI Agent Briggs again in the 1948 movie The Street with No Name.

One of his last military roles was playing an admiral in the movie Ice Station Zebra.

Television Appearances

Later in his career, Lloyd Nolan returned to the stage and also became very popular on television. He won a 1955 Emmy award for playing Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial on TV. This role was also famously played by Humphrey Bogart.

Nolan also made guest appearances on many TV shows, including The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Bing Crosby Show, and The Barbara Stanwyck Show. He appeared on the Western series Wagon Train and Laramie multiple times, playing different characters like a sheriff and a general. He was also in an episode of The Outer Limits called "Soldier".

From 1968 to 1971, Nolan co-starred in the important NBC series Julia. In this show, he acted alongside Diahann Carroll, who was the first African American woman to star in her own TV series where she played a professional, not a servant.

One of his final TV appearances was in 1984 on the detective series Remington Steele, where he played himself.

On February 8, 1960, Lloyd Nolan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his great work in television. In his later years, he also appeared in commercials for Polident, a product for cleaning dentures.

Personal Life and Advocacy

Lloyd Nolan married Mell Efrid in 1933. They had a daughter named Melinda and a son named Jay. They were married until Mell passed away in 1981.

Their son, Jay Nolan, had autism. When he was 13, he moved to a special care center. Sadly, Jay passed away at age 26. In 1972, Lloyd Nolan bravely spoke publicly about his son's autism. At that time, autism was not well understood, and Jay was one of the first children in the United States to be diagnosed with it.

Lloyd Nolan became a strong advocate for people with autism. He spoke to Congress in 1973, asking them to recognize autism as a developmental disability. He also helped convince Ronald Reagan, who was then the governor of California, to sign a bill that required education for children with autism. Lloyd Nolan even started the Jay Nolan Autistic Center (now called Jay Nolan Community Services) in honor of his son. He also led a yearly event called the Save Autistic Children Telethon to raise money and awareness.

In 1983, Lloyd Nolan married Virginia Dabney, and they were together until his death.

Death

Lloyd Nolan was a long-time cigar and pipe smoker. He passed away from lung cancer on September 27, 1985, at his home in Brentwood, California. He was 83 years old. He is buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Lloyd Nolan para niños