Jack La Rue

Jack La Rue
Jack La Rue in For Heaven's Sake (1950)
Born	Gaspere Biondolillo (1902-05-03)May 3, 1902 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film and stage actor
Years active	1923-1977
Spouse(s)	Constance Deighton Simpson (1938-1946) (divorce) Violet Edith von Rosenberg (1949-1955) (annulment) Anne Giordano (1962-1967) (annulment)

Jack La Rue (May 3, 1902 in New York City, New York – January 11, 1984 in Santa Monica, California) was an American film and stage actor.

Born Gaspere Biondolillo, he went from high school to his first acting job, in Otis Skinner's road company production of Blood and Sand. He performed in Broadway plays from around 1923 to 1931. According to La Rue, while appearing in Mae West's play Diamond Lil, he was spotted by Howard Hawks, who offered him a part in the film Scarface (1932), starring Paul Muni.

He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films. However, Scarface was not one of them. La Rue stated in a newspaper article that, after four days, Hawks had to replace him with George Raft because La Rue was taller than Muni and had a more powerful voice. Later, however, Raft turned down the role of the despicable villain in The Story of Temple Drake (1933), fearing it would damage his screen image, so the part went to La Rue. Sometimes mistaken for Humphrey Bogart, he played thugs and gangsters for the most part. However, director Frank Borzage atypically cast him as a priest in the 1932 version of A Farewell to Arms simply because, according to newspaper columnist Hubbard Keavy, he was "tired of seeing conventional characters". La Rue stated he turned down a role in The Godfather (1972) and many parts in the television series The Untouchables because of the way they portrayed Italian-Americans.

He was married three times. La Rue married Los Angeles socialite Constance Deighton Simpson on September 22, 1938, in London. She obtained a divorce on December 17, 1946, charging him with mental cruelty. In 1955, he obtained an annulment from former Baroness Violet Edith von Rosenberg after six years of marriage, claiming she had only married him to obtain American citizenship and that they separated after less than two months. He married Anne Giordano on August 12, 1962; she obtained an annulment in 1967. Actor Jack La Rue, Jr. is his son.

La Rue died of a heart attack at the age of 81. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Partial filmography

• Night World (1932) (uncredited)
• Virtue (1932)
• A Farewell to Arms (1932)
• Christopher Strong (1933)
• Gambling Ship (1933)
• The Woman Accused (1933)
• The Story of Temple Drake (1933)
• Headline Shooter (1933)
• To the Last Man (1933)
• Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)
• Special Agent (1935)
• Remember Last Night? (1935)
• The Headline Woman (1935)
• Little Big Shot (1935)
• Strike Me Pink (1936)
• Yellow Cargo (1936)
• That I May Live (1937)
• Captains Courageous (1937)
• Under the Big Top (1938)
• The Gang's All Here (1939)
• Murder in Soho (1939)
• Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)
• Enemy Agent (1940)
• The Sea Hawk (1940)
• Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
• The Desert Song (1943)
• The Law Rides Again (1943)
• Dangerous Passage (1944)
• The Last Ride (1944)
• The Spanish Main (1945)
• Dakota (1945)
• Cornered (1945)
• Road to Utopia (1946)
• Murder in the Music Hall (1946)
• Robin Hood of Monterey (1947)
• Bush Pilot (1947)
• My Favorite Brunette (1947)
• No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948)
• For Heaven's Sake (1950)
• Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
• Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)

External links

• Jack La Rue at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack La Rue at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jack La Rue at Find a Grave