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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Richard Barthelmess

Who? Richard "Dick" Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was a silent film star and the first nominee of the Academy Award for Best Actor.
He was one of Hollywood's highest paid performers of the era, starring in such classics as The Patent Leather Kid (1927) and The Noose (1928); he was nominated for Best Actor at the first Academy Awards for his performance in both these films.
With the advent of the sound era, Barthelmess' fortunes changed. He made several films in the new medium, but he failed to maintain the stardom of his silent film days and gradually left entertainment. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in World War II, served as a lieutenant commander, and never returned to film, preferring instead to live off his investments. He died of cancer in 1963.
Barthelmess was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For his contribution as an actor, Richard Barthelmess was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Read more about Richard Barthelmess at wikipedia or The Internet Movie Database.

We don't know the names of the family's red smooth dachshunds, but if anyone has any more information, please send it in. The above photo was taken in 1937, as Mr. and Mrs Barthelmess and their doxies arrived back in the US for Christmas aboard the S.S. Manhattan.


Stepping back to 1932, the Barthelmess family returns to New York from a European sojourn aboard the S.S. Resolute. With them are the two German dogs which they bought while abroad.




Listen to Bette Davis tell Richard Barthelmess she'd like to kiss him in in a classic line from the 1932 film The Cabin in the Cotton.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Third pix down - is that where you got the blog name?! Tres cool!

Rowdy and Bette said...

Hi Mare,
Nah, it's kind of a finishing touch or 'seal of approval' we put on many of the famous dachshund stories.

Unknown said...

I wonder how I didn't notice before! Thanks for the explanation.

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