Tay Garnett
Encyclopedia
Tay Garnett was an American film director
and writer.
Born in Los Angeles, California
, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I
and entered films as a screenwriter
in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett
and Hal Roach
, then joined Pathé
and began to direct films in 1928. Among his films are One Way Passage
(1932), China Seas (1935), Eternally Yours
(1939), Seven Sinners (1940), Cheers for Miss Bishop
(1941), The Cross of Lorraine (1943), and Bataan
(1943). He is best known as the director of the 1946
thriller The Postman Always Rings Twice
with John Garfield
and Lana Turner
. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
(1949) with Bing Crosby
and Rhonda Fleming
was also well-received. Garnett also worked in radio as a writer, director and narrator. He created a show titled "Three Sheets to the Wind"(1942) which starred John Wayne as Dan O'Brien, an American private eye posing as a drunk on a luxury liner sailing from England in 1939.
After directing one of Loretta Young
's last theatrical films Cause for Alarm! (1951), Garnett travelled to the United Kingdom
in the early 1950s for a few films. Upon his return to the U.S., he worked mainly in television in popular series such as The Loretta Young Show, Wagon Train
, Laramie
, The Untouchables
, Naked City
, Rawhide
, and Bonanza
.
Garnett died from leukemia
in Sawtelle, California at the age of 83.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
Garnett published a book titled Directing: Learn from the Masters ISBN 0-8108-3046-9 as well as his autobiography, titled Light Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights ISBN 0-8700-0204-X
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and writer.
Born in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Garnett served as a naval aviator in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and entered films as a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
in 1920. He was a gagwriter for Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
and Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
, then joined Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and began to direct films in 1928. Among his films are One Way Passage
One Way Passage
One Way Passage is a romantic film starring William Powell and Kay Francis as star-crossed lovers, directed by Tay Garnett and released by Warner Bros.It was remade in 1940 as Til We Meet Again, featuring Merle Oberon and George Brent.-Plot:...
(1932), China Seas (1935), Eternally Yours
Eternally Yours (film)
Eternally Yours is a 1939 American comedy film made by Walter Wanger and released by United Artists. The film was produced and directed by Tay Garnett with Walter Wanger as executive producer, from a screenplay by C. Graham Baker and Gene Towne....
(1939), Seven Sinners (1940), Cheers for Miss Bishop
Cheers for Miss Bishop
Cheers for Miss Bishop is a film based on the novel Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was directed by Tay Garnett and stars Martha Scott in the title role. The other cast members include William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Peterson, Marsha Hunt, Don Douglas, and Sidney...
(1941), The Cross of Lorraine (1943), and Bataan
Bataan (1943 film)
Bataan is a war film about the defense of the Bataan Peninsula at the start of World War II. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Tay Garnett and produced by Irving Starr, with Dore Schary as executive producer...
(1943). He is best known as the director of the 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...
thriller The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 drama-film noir based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel is the best known, featuring Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter...
with John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
and Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949 film)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a 1949 musical comedy film adaptation of the Mark Twain novel of the same name that was distributed by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...
(1949) with Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming , is an American film and television actress.She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most beautiful and glamorous actresses of her day...
was also well-received. Garnett also worked in radio as a writer, director and narrator. He created a show titled "Three Sheets to the Wind"(1942) which starred John Wayne as Dan O'Brien, an American private eye posing as a drunk on a luxury liner sailing from England in 1939.
After directing one of Loretta Young
Loretta Young
Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
's last theatrical films Cause for Alarm! (1951), Garnett travelled to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the early 1950s for a few films. Upon his return to the U.S., he worked mainly in television in popular series such as The Loretta Young Show, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
, The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
, Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
, Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
, and Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
.
Garnett died from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in Sawtelle, California at the age of 83.
He 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...
.
Garnett published a book titled Directing: Learn from the Masters ISBN 0-8108-3046-9 as well as his autobiography, titled Light Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights ISBN 0-8700-0204-X