"silent movies" "
silent film" "silent
era"
Brian Aherne
Born on May 2, 1902 in King's Norton, Worcestshire,
England, Aherne performed as an actor as a child. At age 18 he
made his debut as an adult with the company that would evolve
into the world-famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Three years
later, he made his debut in London's West End, the English equivalent
of Broadway. After his experience in Birmingham, Aherne studied
architecture, but a life as an actor was too strong to resist,
so he returned to the theater in 1923. He also appeared in eight
silent feature in Britain between 1924 and 1928, the most notable
of which is "Shooting Star" (1928), producer, director,
actor and writer Anthony Asquith's first effort which was a great
success and was restored in 2016 by the British Film Institute.
In 1931, he made his Broadway debut playing Robert Browning in
"The Barretts of Wimpole Street." However, Hollywood
discovred Aherne in the 1930's, and he went on to become very
popular in leading and supporting roles in both American and British
films. In 1940, he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best
Supporting Actor for Juarez (1939) for playing the Emperor Maximillian.
Brian Aherne published his autobiography in 1969, and 10 years
later, he published a biography of his friend George Sanders,
entitled "A Dreadful Man". He died at age 83 of heart
failure on February 10, 1986 in Venice, Florida.
Selected films of this star available for viewing:
Shooting
Stars (1928)
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