Paul Muni
Encyclopedia
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian
-born American stage and film actor. During the 1930s, he was considered the most prestigious actor at Warner Brothers studios, and one of the rare actors who was given the privilege of choosing which parts he wanted.
His acting quality, usually playing a powerful character, such as Scarface, was partly a result of his intense preparation for his parts, often immersing himself in study of the real character's traits and mannerisms. He was also highly skilled in using makeup techniques, a talent he learned from his parents, who were also actors, and from his early years on stage with the Yiddish Theater, in New York. At the age of 12, he played the stage role of an 80-year-old man; in one of his films, Seven Faces, he played seven different characters.
He was nominated six times for an Oscar, winning once as Best Actor in The Story of Louis Pasteur.
He began his acting career on the Yiddish stage in New York City, where his parents were actors with the Yiddish theatre
. As a teenager, he developed an affinity for makeup and often played characters much older. Film historian Robert Osborne
notes that his makeup skills were so creative, that for most of his roles, "he transformed his appearance so completely, he was dubbed 'the New Lon Chaney
.'" In his first stage role, at the age of 12, he played the role of an eighty-year-old man.
He was quickly recognized by Maurice Schwartz
, who signed him up with his Yiddish Art Theater. Edward G. Robinson
and Paul Muni were cousins to Charles M. Fritz, who was a notable actor during the Great Depression
. In 1921, he married Bella Finkel (February 8, 1898 - October 1, 1971), an actress in the Yiddish theatre. They remained married until Muni's death in 1967.
A 1925 New York Times article singled out his and Sam Kasten
's performances at the People's Theater as among the highlights of that year's Yiddish theater season, describing them as second only to Ludwig Satz
.
in 1926. His first role was that of an elderly Jewish man in the play We Americans, written by playwrights Max Siegel and Milton Herbert Gropper; it was also the first time that he ever acted in English. He was signed by Fox three years later, in 1929, and received an Oscar
nomination for his first film The Valiant, although the film did poorly at the box office. His second film, Seven Faces, was also a financial failure. Unhappy with the roles offered him, he returned to Broadway, where he starred in a major hit play, Counselor at Law.
In 1932, Paul Muni returned to Hollywood to star in such harrowing pre-Code
films as the original Scarface
and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
, for which he received his second Oscar
nomination for Best Actor. The acclaim that Muni received as a result of this performances so impressed Warner Brothers, they signed him to a long-term contract, "publicizing him as the screen's greatest actor."
Scarface, also became one of Hollywood's first major gangster films, and was written by Ben Hecht
, a leading screenwriter. The film, notes critic Richard Corliss
, while a serious gangster film, also "manages both to congratulate journalism for its importance and to chastise it for its chicanery, by underlining the newspapers' complicity in promoting the underworld image."
In 1935, Muni persuaded Warner Bros. to take a financial risk by producing its first historical biography, The Story of Louis Pasteur
. This became Muni's first of many later biographical roles, and in it he starred as a crusading scientist who fights derision in his native country to prove that his medical theories will save lives. Until that film, most Warner Bros. stories originated from current events and major news stories.
After the sudden success of the film, it gave Warners "box office gold", notes Osborne. Muni won an Oscar
for his performance. He then went on to play other historical figures, including Emile Zola
, in The Life of Emile Zola
(1937) and Juarez
(1939).
In 1937, he played the starring role as a Chinese peasant, with a new bride, in The Good Earth
. It costarred Luise Rainer
as his humble wife, who won an Academy Award for her part. The film was a re-creation of a revolutionary period in China, and included special effects for a locust attack and the overthrow of the government. It was based on the classic novel, by Pearl Buck, of the same name. Because he was not of Asian descent, when producer Irving Thalberg
offered him the role, he stated, "I'm about as Chinese as Herbert Hoover."
Dissatisfied with life in Hollywood, Muni chose not to renew his contract, and returned to the screen only occasionally for such roles as Frederick Chopin's teacher in A Song to Remember (1945). In 1946, he starred in a rare comic performance, Angel on My Shoulder
, playing a gangster whose early death prompts the Devil (played by Claude Rains
) to make mischief by putting his soul into the body of a judge, only to have his new identity turn the former criminal into a model citizen.
However, he focused most of his energies on stage work. Also in 1946, he appeared on Broadway in A Flag is Born
, also written by Ben Hecht
, to help promote the creation of a Jewish state in Israel
. Directed by Stella Adler's brother and acted alongside Marlon Brando
. Ten years later, in 1955-1956, he had his biggest stage success as the crusading lawyer, Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow
), in Inherit the Wind
, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
.
In late August 1955, Muni was forced to withdraw from the play Inherit the Wind due to a serious eye ailment causing deterioration in his eyesight. He was later replaced by actor Melvyn Douglas
. In early September 1955, Muni, then 59 years old, was diagnosed with a tumor of the left eye. The eye was removed in an operation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. His right eye was reported to be normal. In early December 1955, Muni returned to his starring role as Henry Drummond in the play Inherit the Wind.
After one more film role as an aging doctor in The Last Angry Man
(1959), for which he was again nominated for an Oscar, his failing eyesight and other health problems forced him to retire from acting. Muni was nominated six times for Academy Awards, winning once, although he appeared in only twenty-five films during his career.
by Arthur Miller
, on July 28, 1949 at the Phoenix Theatre, London. He took over from Lee J. Cobb
who played the principal role in the original Broadway production. Both productions were directed by Elia Kazan
.
commented that Muni "was pursued by a fear of failure."
As Muni was born into a theater atmosphere, with both of his parents actors, "he learned his craft carefully and thoroughly." On stage, "a Muni whisper could reach the last balcony of any theater", writes the Times. It adds that his style "had drawn into it the warmth of the Yiddish stage", in which he made his debut at the age of 12. In addition, his techique in using makeup "was a work of art." Combined with acting which followed no "method", he perfected his control of voice and gestures into an acting style that was "unique."
Film critic David Shipman called Muni "an actor of great integrity" and he prepared for his roles meticulously. Muni was widely recognized as an eccentric if talented individual. He would go into a rage whenever anyone wore red, but at the same time he could often be found between sessions relaxing with his violin
. Over the years, he also became increasingly dependent on his wife, Bella, who terrified directors by forcing them to redo scenes that did not meet her satisfaction. However, Muni himself was "inflexible on matters of taste and principle", once turning down an $800,000 movie contract because he wasn't happy with the studio's choice of film roles.
; however, he made a final television appearance in the series Saints and Sinners
in 1962.
In his private life, he was considered "exceedingly shy", and would show agony anytime he was recognized while out shopping or dining. He enjoyed reading and going for walks with his wife in secluded sections of Central Park, and would be at the theater by 7:30PM to prepare for his performances each night. After retiring from acting, he lived in California, in what was considered an "austere" setting, where he and his wife enjoyed their privacy. In his den, which he called his "Shangri-La", he spent his time reading books and listening to the radio.
Muni died of a heart disorder in Montecito, California
in 1967, aged 71. Muni died the same year that his Angel On My Shoulder co-star Claude Rains
, and another co-star, Spencer Tracy
, also died. Muni has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6435 Hollywood Blvd. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, CA.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
-born American stage and film actor. During the 1930s, he was considered the most prestigious actor at Warner Brothers studios, and one of the rare actors who was given the privilege of choosing which parts he wanted.
His acting quality, usually playing a powerful character, such as Scarface, was partly a result of his intense preparation for his parts, often immersing himself in study of the real character's traits and mannerisms. He was also highly skilled in using makeup techniques, a talent he learned from his parents, who were also actors, and from his early years on stage with the Yiddish Theater, in New York. At the age of 12, he played the stage role of an 80-year-old man; in one of his films, Seven Faces, he played seven different characters.
He was nominated six times for an Oscar, winning once as Best Actor in The Story of Louis Pasteur.
Early life and career
Muni was born to a Polish Jewish family in Lemberg, Galicia, a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Lviv, Ukraine (formerly Lwów, Poland). His family emigrated to the United States in 1902.He began his acting career on the Yiddish stage in New York City, where his parents were actors with the Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and...
. As a teenager, he developed an affinity for makeup and often played characters much older. Film historian Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
notes that his makeup skills were so creative, that for most of his roles, "he transformed his appearance so completely, he was dubbed 'the New Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
.'" In his first stage role, at the age of 12, he played the role of an eighty-year-old man.
He was quickly recognized by Maurice Schwartz
Maurice Schwartz
Maurice Schwartz was a Russian-born film and theatre actor active in the United States. He was also a film director, film producer, theatrical producer, screenwriter and theatre director.-Theatre:...
, who signed him up with his Yiddish Art Theater. Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
and Paul Muni were cousins to Charles M. Fritz, who was a notable actor during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In 1921, he married Bella Finkel (February 8, 1898 - October 1, 1971), an actress in the Yiddish theatre. They remained married until Muni's death in 1967.
A 1925 New York Times article singled out his and Sam Kasten
Sam Kasten
Sam Kasten was a comic actor in Yiddish Theater. A 1925 New York Times article singled out his and Moony Weisenfreund's performances at the People's Theater as among the highlights of that year's Yiddish theater season, describing them as second only to Ludwig Satz. [Melamed 1925]-References:*...
's performances at the People's Theater as among the highlights of that year's Yiddish theater season, describing them as second only to Ludwig Satz
Ludwig Satz
Ludwig Satz was an actor in Yiddish theater and film, best known for his comic roles. A 1925 New York Times article singles him out as the greatest Yiddish comic actor of the time....
.
Broadway and Hollywood
Muni began acting on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1926. His first role was that of an elderly Jewish man in the play We Americans, written by playwrights Max Siegel and Milton Herbert Gropper; it was also the first time that he ever acted in English. He was signed by Fox three years later, in 1929, and received an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for his first film The Valiant, although the film did poorly at the box office. His second film, Seven Faces, was also a financial failure. Unhappy with the roles offered him, he returned to Broadway, where he starred in a major hit play, Counselor at Law.
In 1932, Paul Muni returned to Hollywood to star in such harrowing pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
films as the original Scarface
Scarface (1932 film)
Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a Pre-Code crime/drama film starring Paul Muni as a wrongfully convicted convict on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. The film was written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from Robert Elliott Burns's autobiography, I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain...
, for which he received his second Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Actor. The acclaim that Muni received as a result of this performances so impressed Warner Brothers, they signed him to a long-term contract, "publicizing him as the screen's greatest actor."
Scarface, also became one of Hollywood's first major gangster films, and was written by Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
, a leading screenwriter. The film, notes critic Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
, while a serious gangster film, also "manages both to congratulate journalism for its importance and to chastise it for its chicanery, by underlining the newspapers' complicity in promoting the underworld image."
In 1935, Muni persuaded Warner Bros. to take a financial risk by producing its first historical biography, The Story of Louis Pasteur
The Story of Louis Pasteur
The Story of Louis Pasteur is a 1936 American biographical film. It starred Paul Muni as the renowned scientist. It was written by Toni Pollastre and Sheridan Gibney, and Edward Chodorov , and directed by William Dieterle....
. This became Muni's first of many later biographical roles, and in it he starred as a crusading scientist who fights derision in his native country to prove that his medical theories will save lives. Until that film, most Warner Bros. stories originated from current events and major news stories.
After the sudden success of the film, it gave Warners "box office gold", notes Osborne. Muni won an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for his performance. He then went on to play other historical figures, including Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, in The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus...
(1937) and Juarez
Juarez (1939 film)
Juarez is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie, John Huston, and Wolfgang Reinhardt is based on the novel The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel.-Plot:The film focuses on the conflict...
(1939).
In 1937, he played the starring role as a Chinese peasant, with a new bride, in The Good Earth
The Good Earth (film)
The Good Earth is a film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the play by Donald Davis and Owen Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S...
. It costarred Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer is a former German film actress. Known as The "Viennese Teardrop", she was the first woman to win two Academy Awards, and the first person to win them consecutively. She was discovered by MGM talent scouts while acting on stage in Austria and Germany and after appearing in Austrian...
as his humble wife, who won an Academy Award for her part. The film was a re-creation of a revolutionary period in China, and included special effects for a locust attack and the overthrow of the government. It was based on the classic novel, by Pearl Buck, of the same name. Because he was not of Asian descent, when producer Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
offered him the role, he stated, "I'm about as Chinese as Herbert Hoover."
Angel on My Shoulder (film)
Angel on My Shoulder is a 1946 American fantasy film about a deal between the Devil and a dead man. It was an independent production, produced by Charles R. Rogers and David W. Siegel, directed by Archie Mayo, written by Harry Segall and Roland Kibbee, and released by United Artists...
, playing a gangster whose early death prompts the Devil (played by Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
) to make mischief by putting his soul into the body of a judge, only to have his new identity turn the former criminal into a model citizen.
However, he focused most of his energies on stage work. Also in 1946, he appeared on Broadway in A Flag is Born
A Flag is Born
A Flag Is Born was a play promoting the creation of a Jewish State in the ancient land of Israel. It opened on Broadway on September 4, 1946. The cast included Paul Muni, Celia Adler and Marlon Brando. Hollywood’s most successful screenwriter, Ben Hecht, was the playwright; it was directed by...
, also written by Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
, to help promote the creation of a Jewish state in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Directed by Stella Adler's brother and acted alongside Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. Ten years later, in 1955-1956, he had his biggest stage success as the crusading lawyer, Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
), in Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind (play)
Inherit the Wind is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. The play, which debuted in 1955, is a parable that fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss the then-contemporary McCarthy trials.-Background:...
, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
.
In late August 1955, Muni was forced to withdraw from the play Inherit the Wind due to a serious eye ailment causing deterioration in his eyesight. He was later replaced by actor Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
. In early September 1955, Muni, then 59 years old, was diagnosed with a tumor of the left eye. The eye was removed in an operation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. His right eye was reported to be normal. In early December 1955, Muni returned to his starring role as Henry Drummond in the play Inherit the Wind.
After one more film role as an aging doctor in The Last Angry Man
The Last Angry Man
The Last Angry Man is a drama film which tells the story of a television producer who profiles the life of a physician. It stars Paul Muni, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Billy Dee Williams , and Godfrey Cambridge....
(1959), for which he was again nominated for an Oscar, his failing eyesight and other health problems forced him to retire from acting. Muni was nominated six times for Academy Awards, winning once, although he appeared in only twenty-five films during his career.
Other productions
Paul Muni starred as Willy Loman in the English opening of Death of a SalesmanDeath of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
by Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
, on July 28, 1949 at the Phoenix Theatre, London. He took over from Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
who played the principal role in the original Broadway production. Both productions were directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
.
Acting techniques
Muni was noted for his intense preparation for his roles, especially his biographies. While preparing for The Story of Louis Pasteur, Muni states that "I read most everything that was in the library, and everything I could lay my hands on that had to do with Pasteur, with Lister, or with his contemporaries." He did the same in preparing for his role as Henry Drummond, in the stage production of Inherit the Wind. He read what he could find, talked to people who knew Darrow personally, and even studied mannerisms from his photographs. "To Paul Muni, acting was not just a career, but an obsession", writes the New York Times. They note that despite his enormous success on both Broadway and in films, "he threw himself into each role with a sense of dedication." Playwright Arthur MillerArthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
commented that Muni "was pursued by a fear of failure."
As Muni was born into a theater atmosphere, with both of his parents actors, "he learned his craft carefully and thoroughly." On stage, "a Muni whisper could reach the last balcony of any theater", writes the Times. It adds that his style "had drawn into it the warmth of the Yiddish stage", in which he made his debut at the age of 12. In addition, his techique in using makeup "was a work of art." Combined with acting which followed no "method", he perfected his control of voice and gestures into an acting style that was "unique."
Film critic David Shipman called Muni "an actor of great integrity" and he prepared for his roles meticulously. Muni was widely recognized as an eccentric if talented individual. He would go into a rage whenever anyone wore red, but at the same time he could often be found between sessions relaxing with his violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. Over the years, he also became increasingly dependent on his wife, Bella, who terrified directors by forcing them to redo scenes that did not meet her satisfaction. However, Muni himself was "inflexible on matters of taste and principle", once turning down an $800,000 movie contract because he wasn't happy with the studio's choice of film roles.
Personal life
He retired from filmmaking in 1959, soon after receiving his sixth Academy Award nomination for The Last Angry ManThe Last Angry Man
The Last Angry Man is a drama film which tells the story of a television producer who profiles the life of a physician. It stars Paul Muni, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Billy Dee Williams , and Godfrey Cambridge....
; however, he made a final television appearance in the series Saints and Sinners
Saints and Sinners (1962 TV series)
Saints and Sinners is an 18-episode American television series that appeared on NBC for the 1962-63 television season. The program starred 31-year-old Nick Adams as newspaper reporter Nick Alexander, and John Larkin as his mentor, newspaper editor Mark Grainger...
in 1962.
In his private life, he was considered "exceedingly shy", and would show agony anytime he was recognized while out shopping or dining. He enjoyed reading and going for walks with his wife in secluded sections of Central Park, and would be at the theater by 7:30PM to prepare for his performances each night. After retiring from acting, he lived in California, in what was considered an "austere" setting, where he and his wife enjoyed their privacy. In his den, which he called his "Shangri-La", he spent his time reading books and listening to the radio.
Muni died of a heart disorder in Montecito, California
Montecito, California
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa...
in 1967, aged 71. Muni died the same year that his Angel On My Shoulder co-star Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
, and another co-star, Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, also died. Muni has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6435 Hollywood Blvd. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, CA.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 1929 in film -Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors.... |
The Valiant | James Dyke | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
| Seven Faces | Papa Chibou, Diablero, Willie Smith, Franz Schubert Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music... , Don Juan Don Juan Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630... , Joe Gans, Napoleon |
||
| 1932 1932 in film -Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released.... |
Scarface Scarface (1932 film) Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail... |
Antonio "Tony" Camonte | |
| I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a Pre-Code crime/drama film starring Paul Muni as a wrongfully convicted convict on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. The film was written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from Robert Elliott Burns's autobiography, I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain... |
James Allen | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
|
| 1933 1933 in film -Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded.... |
The World Changes The World Changes The World Changes is a 1933 drama film starring Paul Muni as an ambitious farm boy who becomes rich, but does not handle success well. Aline MacMahon and Mary Astor play his mother and wife respectively.-Cast:*Paul Muni as Orin Nordholm Jr.... |
Orin Nordholm Jr. | |
| 1934 1934 in film -Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade... |
Hi, Nellie! | Brad Bradshaw | |
| 1935 1935 in film -Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:... |
Bordertown Bordertown (1935 film) Bordertown is a 1935 American drama film directed by Archie Mayo. The screenplay by Laird Doyle and Wallace Smith is based on Robert Lord's adaptation of the 1934 novel Border Town by Carroll Graham.... |
Johnny Ramirez | |
| Black Fury Black Fury (1935 film) Black Fury is a 1935 American crime film starring Paul Muni, Karen Morley, and William Gargan. It was adapted from the short story "Jan Volkanik" by Judge Michael A. Musmanno and the play Bohunk by Harry R... |
Joe Radek | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
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| Dr. Socrates | Dr. Lee Cardwell, also called Dr. Socrates | ||
| 1936 1936 in film The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon... |
The Story of Louis Pasteur The Story of Louis Pasteur The Story of Louis Pasteur is a 1936 American biographical film. It starred Paul Muni as the renowned scientist. It was written by Toni Pollastre and Sheridan Gibney, and Edward Chodorov , and directed by William Dieterle.... |
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments... |
Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
| 1937 1937 in film The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US.... |
The Good Earth The Good Earth (film) The Good Earth is a film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the play by Donald Davis and Owen Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S... |
Wang | Released in sepia tone |
| The Woman I Love The Woman I Love The Woman I Love is a 1937 American film about a romantic triangle involving two World War I fighter pilots and the wife of one of them. It stars Paul Muni, Miriam Hopkins, and Louis Hayward... |
Lt. Claude Maury | ||
| The Life of Emile Zola The Life of Emile Zola The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus... |
Émile Zola Émile Zola Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism... |
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.... Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
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| 1939 1939 in film The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate... |
Juarez Juarez (1939 film) Juarez is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie, John Huston, and Wolfgang Reinhardt is based on the novel The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel.-Plot:The film focuses on the conflict... |
Benito Juárez Benito Juárez Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872... |
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| We Are Not Alone We Are Not Alone (film) We Are Not Alone is a drama film about a doctor who hires a woman as a nanny for his son. When his wife becomes jealous, tragedy consumes all involved. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Hilton, who adapted his novel with Milton Krims.-Cast:*Paul Muni as Dr... |
Dr. David Newcome | ||
| 1941 1941 in film The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:... |
Hudson's Bay Hudson's Bay (film) Hudson's Bay is a 1941 Historical drama by 20th Century Fox starring Paul Muni, Gene Tierney and Laird Cregar. The film is about a pair of French-Canadian explorers whose findings lead to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company... |
Pierre-Esprit Radisson Pierre-Esprit Radisson Pierre-Esprit Radisson was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer. He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers who was about 20 years older. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company.Born near... |
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| 1942 1942 in film The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:... |
Commandos Strike at Dawn Commandos Strike at Dawn Commandos Strike at Dawn is a 1942 war film directed by John Farrow and written by Irwin Shaw from a story by C.S. Forester, starring Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Robert Coote.-Plot:... |
Erik Toresen | |
| 1943 1943 in film The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films.... |
Stage Door Canteen Stage Door Canteen Stage Door Canteen is a musical film produced by Sol Lesser Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features many cameo appearances by celebrities, and the majority of the film is essentially a filmed concert although there is also a storyline to the... |
Himself | |
| 1945 1945 in film The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins.... |
A Song to Remember A Song to Remember A Song to Remember is a 1945 Columbia Pictures biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin... |
Prof. Joseph Elsner Józef Elsner Józef Antoni Franciszek was a composer, music teacher and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw... |
Filmed in Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952... |
| Counter-Attack Counter-Attack Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II... |
Alexei Kulkov | ||
| 1946 1946 in film The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a... |
Angel on My Shoulder Angel on My Shoulder (film) Angel on My Shoulder is a 1946 American fantasy film about a deal between the Devil and a dead man. It was an independent production, produced by Charles R. Rogers and David W. Siegel, directed by Archie Mayo, written by Harry Segall and Roland Kibbee, and released by United Artists... |
Eddie Kagle/Judge Fredrick Parker | |
| 1952 1952 in film The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.... |
Imbarco a mezzanotte | The Stranger With A Gun | called Stranger on the Prowl in the U.S. |
| 1959 1959 in film The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters.... |
The Last Angry Man The Last Angry Man The Last Angry Man is a drama film which tells the story of a television producer who profiles the life of a physician. It stars Paul Muni, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Billy Dee Williams , and Godfrey Cambridge.... |
Dr. Sam Abelman | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |