Georges Metaxa
Georges Metaxa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | 11 September 1899 Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Died | 8 December 1950 | ||
| Nationality | Romanian | ||
| Citizenship | Romania | ||
| Occupation |
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Georges Radu Metaxa (11 September 1899 - 8 December 1950, occasionally anglicised to George Metaxa) was a Romania-born American singer, film & stage actor. He was known for his crooning high baritone voice and often portrayed genteel antagonists.
Life & Career
Metaxa was born in Bucharest, Romania to Nicholas Metaxa and Emilie Theophilatos.[1] He worked as a civil servant, becoming principle private secretary to the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture before emigrating to London in 1926 to pursue a career in musical comedy.[2]
He first began his showbusiness career recording songs, the first being the Romanian folk song Mandrulita in 1927.[3] After engaging with Charles B. Cochran, his first stage billing was in John Hastings Turner 1929 musical revue Wake Up and Dream (musical). Metaxa was then cast in Noel Coward operetta Bitter Sweet (operetta).[4] He continued to record songs in London until 1931, finishing with Roy Noble Goodnight Sweetheart (Ray Noble, Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly song) before moving to New York City with the Bitter Sweet touring company.[2]
His career in New York was slow to start, perhaps in part due to the saturation of similar male leads at the time. He nevertheless managed to find roles, his first film role being in Secrets of a Secretary in 1931. Metaxa was cast in the musical The Cat and the Fiddle (musical) and later the musical comedy Revenge with Music. He notably starred opposite Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in 1936's Swing Time, playing Astaire's love rival, the band leader Ricky Romero.
He was married to Helene Valoary until their amicable divorce in July 1933, and they had one daughter. He then married 18 year old actress Margaret Stafford in September 1933.[5] In April of 1934, Metaxa and Stafford were involved in an automobile accident in Miami, which killed Margaret and gravely injured Metaxa.[6] He later married Byrnece Macfadden Muckerman (the daughter of American publisher and bodybuilder Bernarr Macfadden) in 1946.[7]
Towards the end of his life, Metaxa's health declined to such a point he had to turn down roles, notably the leading role in South Pacific (musical) that was being shown in London. Metaxa died suddenly of a heart attack 8 December 1950 at a hotel in Monroe, Louisiana, as he and his wife were on their way to their home in Beverley Hills after returning from a seven month long trip around Europe.[8]
Selected Performances
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Soundtrack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Secrets of a Secretary | Frank D'Agnoll | |
| 1931 | The House That Shadows Built | Frank D'Agnoll | Compilation film released by Paramount Pictures to commemorate the studio's 20th anniversary |
| 1933 | Kissing Time (Short film) | Lieutenant Juan Segovia | Performed on the tracks Let's Drink and All My Life I've Waited (For Someone Like You) |
| 1936 | Swing Time | Ricky Romero | Performed on the tracks The Way You Look Tonight and A Fine Romance |
| 1936 | Sheik to Sheik (Short film) | Lieutenant Georges | Performed on the tracks The Song of the Sand and What Makes the Night So Beautiful? |
| 1940 | The Doctor Takes a Wife | Jean Rovere | |
| 1941 | Paris Calling | Waiter | |
| 1943 | Background to Danger | L.V. Bastaki (uncredited) | |
| 1943 | Submarine Base | Nazi Agent Anton Kroll | |
| 1943 | Hi Diddle Diddle | Tony Spinelli | |
| 1943 | West Side Kid | Dr. Kenton | |
| 1944 | The Mask of Dimitrios | Hans Werner | |
| 1945 | Scotland Yard Investigator | Henri |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929-1930 | Bitter Sweet | Carl Linden | |
| 1931-1932 | The Cat and the Fiddle | Victor Florescu | 395 Performances |
| 1933 | Twenty-five Dollars an Hour | Claude de Rozay | |
| 1934-1935 | Revenge with Music | Carlos | 158 performances |
References
- ↑ https://www.myheritage.com/names/george_metaxa
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "ON THIS DAY IN JAZZ AGE MUSIC!: SEPTEMBER 11TH".
- ↑ "George Metaxa – Ideale / Mandrulita (1927, Shellac)" – via www.discogs.com.
- ↑ Dietz, Dan (2018). The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 161. ISBN 9781538102770.
- ↑ "MARGARET STAFFORD TO MARRY WEDNESDAY; Will Become Bride of Georges Metaxa, the Actor, in Civil Ceremony at Greenwich". The New York Times. September 4, 1933.
- ↑ "The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ↑ "Georges Metaxa". IMDb.
- ↑ "Obituary for actor Georges Metaxa, d. 8 Dec 1950, Monroe, Louisiana". The Monroe News-Star. December 11, 1950. p. 2 – via newspapers.com.
External links
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