For the historian and biographer, see D. R. Thorpe .
For his son, see Jerry Thorpe . Richard Thorpe
File:Richard Thorpe.jpg Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe
(1896-02-24 ) February 24, 1896Hutchinson, Kansas
Died May 1, 1991(1991-05-01) (aged 95)Palm Srings, California
Resting place Cremated, Ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean
Richard Thorpe (February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at MGM .[ 1]
Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas , he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more than one hundred and eighty films. The first full length motion picture he directed for MGM was Last of the Pagans (1935) starring Ray Mala . After directing The Last Challenge in 1967, he retired from the film industry. He died in Palm Springs, California on May 1, 1991.
His two favourite films were Night Must Fall (1937) and Two Girls and a Sailor (1944).[ 2]
Wizard of Oz Thorpe is also known as the original director of The Wizard of Oz . He was fired after two weeks of shooting, because it was felt that his scenes did not have the right air of fantasy about them. Thorpe notoriously gave Judy Garland a blonde wig and cutesy "baby-doll" makeup that made her look like a girl in her late teens rather than an innocent Kansas farm girl of about thirteen. Both makeup and wig were discarded at the suggestion of George Cukor , who was brought in temporarily. Stills from Thorpe's work on the film survive today.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Thorpe has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. He also has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California .
Partial filmography (director)
Rarin' to Go (1924)
Gold and Grit (1925)
Deuce High (1926)
The Meddlin' Stranger (1927)
Ride 'em High (1927)
Desperate Courage (1928)
Vultures of the Sea (1928)
The Vanishing West (1928)
The Fatal Warning (1929)
The King of the Kongo (1929)
The Utah Kid (1930)
The Lady From Nowhere (1931)
Slightly Married (1932)
Murder at Dawn (1932)
Forgotten (1933)
Notorious But Nice (1933)
Green Eyes (1934)
Secret of the Chateau (1934)
Last of the Pagans (1935)
Strange Wives (1935)
Tarzan Escapes (1936) with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
Dangerous Number (1937)
The Crowd Roars (1938) with Robert Taylor , Edward Arnold , Frank Morgan , and Maureen O'Sullivan
Man-Proof (1938) with Myrna Loy , Franchot Tone , Rosalind Russell , and Walter Pidgeon
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) with Mickey Rooney , Walter Connolly , and William Frawley
20 Mule Team (1940) with Wallace Beery
Wyoming (1940) with Wallace Beery
The Earl of Chicago (1940)
Barnacle Bill (1941) with Wallace Beery
The Bad Man (1941) with Wallace Beery , Lionel Barrymore , Laraine Day , and Ronald Reagan
Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
White Cargo (1942) with Hedy Lamarr as Tondelayo
Above Suspicion (1943)
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) with William Powell and Myrna Loy
Thrill of a Romance (1945) with Esther Williams
Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) with Hedy Lamarr and Robert Walker
Fiesta (1947) with Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán
This Time for Keeps (1947) with Esther Williams and Jimmy Durante
On an Island with You (1948) with Esther Williams , Peter Lawford , and Jimmy Durante
A Date With Judy (1948) with Wallace Beery , Jane Powell , and Elizabeth Taylor
Malaya (1949) with Spencer Tracy and James Stewart
Big Jack (1949) with Wallace Beery , Richard Conte , Marjorie Main , and Edward Arnold
Challenge to Lassie (1949) with Donald Crisp and Alan Napier
Black Hand (1950) with Gene Kelly
Three Little Words (1950) with Fred Astaire and Red Skelton
The Unknown Man (1951) with Walter Pidgeon
Vengeance Valley (1951) with Burt Lancaster
Carbine Williams (1952) with James Stewart
Ivanhoe (1952) with Robert Taylor , Elizabeth Taylor , and Joan Fontaine
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) with Stewart Granger , Deborah Kerr , and James Mason
The Girl Who Had Everything (1953) with Elizabeth Taylor , Fernando Lamas , and William Powell
Knights of the Round Table (1953) with Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner
All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) with Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger
Athena (1954) with Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds
The Student Prince (1954), based on the famous operetta, with Ann Blyth , Edmund Purdom , and the singing voice of Mario Lanza .
The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) with Robert Taylor and Robert Morley
Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) with Robert Taylor and Dorothy Malone
Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) with Dean Martin (Martin's first non-Martin and Lewis movie)
Jailhouse Rock (1957) with Elvis Presley
Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959) with Robert Taylor and Anthony Newley
The House of the Seven Hawks (1959) with Robert Taylor
The Honeymoon Machine (1961) with Steve McQueen
The Tartars (1961)
The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) with Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss
Follow the Boys (1963)
Fun in Acapulco (1963) with Elvis Presley and Ursula Andress
The Golden Head (1964) with George Sanders and Buddy Hackett
The Truth About Spring (1964)
That Funny Feeling (1965) with Sandra Dee , Bobby Darin , and Donald O'Connor
The Last Challenge (1967)
References
External links
Films
1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
Serials
Template:Persondata