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W. S. Van Dyke

Personal Profile

W. S. Van Dyke
  • Birth Name:
    Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II
  • Nickname:
    "One-Take Woody"
    Woody
  • Date of Birth:
    March 21, 1889
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Aries
  • Place of Birth:
    San Diego, California, U.S.
  • Place of Death:
    Los Angeles, California, U.S.
  • Date of Death:
    February 5, 1943
  • Cause of Death:
    Suicide
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    American

Family

W. S. Van Dyke
  • Spouse:
    Ruth Mannix -
    Zina - divorced

Career

W. S. Van Dyke

Trivia

W. S. Van Dyke
  • Before entering the movie business, Van Dyke was a gold miner, a lumberjack, a railroad worker and a mercenary.
  • Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 1112-1121. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
  • Woody's father died the day after he was born.
  • Directed 4 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Robert Morley and Norma Shearer.
  • Served as a California delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention.
  • He was close friends outside of the studio with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, and at his request they officiated at his funeral and sang.
  • He worked more with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy than any other stars, directing 6-1/2 of the eight MacDonald-Eddy films (the "half" was New Moon (1940), which was completed by Robert Z. Leonard, who received screen credit, when Van Dyke was called away in the middle of shooting for duty with the US Marine Corps). Van Dyke also directed Eddy's solo film, Rosalie (1937), and two other MacDonald films, San Francisco (1936) and Cairo (1938).
  • He saved Jeanette MacDonald's life when she attempted suicide (pills) at the news of Nelson Eddy's marriage in 1939.
  • Louis B. Mayer was deeply shaken by Van Dyke's suicide. Van Dyke was one of his favorite directors (Mayer always admired a director capable of consistently bringing projects in under budget). Those closest to him would remark that Van Dyke's death affected Mayer even more than Irving Thalberg's.
  • He suffered from heart problems and was dying of cancer when he directed his final film, Journey for Margaret (1942). A Christian Scientist, he refused all treatment and remained quiet about his condition. He committed suicide to end his suffering, but the method of suicide remains unknown and obituaries of the day did not mention suicide at all. It is likely that it was a suicide planned somewhat in advance.

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