Quick Facts
| Intro | Actor, film director | ||
| Was | Actor Film director | ||
| From | United States of America United Kingdom | ||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||
| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 12 March 1902, Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside, North West England | ||
| Death | 25 March 1978, Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A. (aged 76 years) | ||
| Star sign | Pisces | ||
| Family |
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Biography
Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English-born American actor and film director. He appeared in 62 films between 1923 and 1945.
Early life
Fenton was born on 12 March 1902 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He moved to America with his mother, Elizabeth Carter, and his brothers when he was six years old. They sailed as steerage passengers on board the R.M.S. Celtic, which departed from Liverpool, 11 September 1909, and arrived at New York, where they were ferried over to Ellis Island for "U.S. Immigrant Inspection" on 19 September; they were quickly admitted and continued their journey by rail to join his father, shoe manufacturer's representative Richard Fenton, in Mifflin, Ohio.
Career
As a teenager, Leslie worked as an office clerk. He moved to New York and began a career on the stage. His film career began later with Fox Studios. He also directed 19 films between 1938 and 1951.
Military service
Fenton saw active service during the Second World War. In spring 1941, he was commissioned into the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. In 1942, as commander of a motor launch vessel, he took part in the St Nazaire Raid. He was injured in the raid and spent months convalescing in Devon. Unable to return to sea, he took a desk job at the War Office.
Personal life
He married American actress Ann Dvorak in 1932. Dvorak (Anna May McKim) moved to Britain with Fenton while he served in the British armed forces during the Second World War. The union was childless and ended in divorce in 1945. Fenton died 25 March 1978 in Montecito, California, aged 76. Some sources, including IMDB, incorrectly cite Frank Fenton, the noted screenwriter and novelist, as his younger brother. Frank Fenton's parents were John Fenton and Eveline Edgington (married Liverpool, 1900), as evidenced by the ship's manifest for the RMS Caronia (page 0817, line 0008), aboard which Frank Fenton arrived in the US on 21 April 1906.
Selected filmography
As actor:
- Gentle Julia (1923)
- East Lynne (1925)
- The Ancient Mariner (1925)
- What Price Glory? (1926)
- The Shamrock Handicap (1926)
- The Last Performance (1927)
- The Showdown (1928)
- The Drag Net (1928)
- The First Kiss (1928)
- Girls Gone Wild (1929)
- Paris Bound (1929)
- Broadway (1929)
- Woman Trap (1929)
- The Man I Love (1929)
- Dynamite (1929)
- The Office Scandal (1929)
- The Guilty Generation (1931)
- Murder at Midnight (1931)
- The Public Enemy (1931)
- The Pagan Lady (1931)
- The Hatchet Man (1932)
- The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932)
- Air Mail (1932)
- Thunder Below (1932)
- Lady Killer (1933)
- Night Flight (1933) as Fabian's Radio Operator
- Strange Wives (1934)
- White Lies (1935)
- House of Secrets (1936)
- Two in the Dark (1936)
- China Passage (1937)
- Boys Town (1938)
As director:
- Tell No Tells (1939)
- The Man from Dakota (1940)
- The Saint's Vacation (1941)
- Whispering Smith (1948)
- Streets of Laredo (1949)
- The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951)
