Clarence Brown
Directing
- Born
- May 10, 1890 · Clinton, Massachusetts, USA
- Died
- August 17, 1987 (age 97)
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
After serving as a fighter pilot and flight instructor in the United States Army Air Service during World War I, Brown was given his first co-directing credit (with Tourneur) for The Great Redeemer (1920). Later that year, he directed a major portion of The Last of the Mohicans after Tourneur was injured in a fall.
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Brown moved to Universal in 1924, and then to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he remained until the mid-1950s. At MGM he was one of the main directors of their major female stars, he directed Joan Crawford six times and Greta Garbo seven.
Brown was nominated five times for six films (see below) for an Academy Award as a director, but he never received an Oscar. However, he won Best Foreign Film for Anna Karenina, starring Garbo at the 1935 Venice International Film Festival.
Brown's films gained a total of 38 Academy Award nominations and earned nine Oscars. Brown himself received five Academy Award nominations for six films and in 1949, he won the British Academy Award for the film version of William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust.
In 1957, Brown was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. Brown retired a wealthy man due to his real estate investments, but refused to watch new movies, as he feared they might cause him to restart his career.
The Clarence Brown Theater, on the campus of the University of Tennessee, is named in his honor. He holds the record for most nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director without a win, with six.
Known for
Behind the camera61
- 1953Never Let Me Go Producer
- 1952Plymouth Adventure Director
- 1952When in Rome Director
- 1951It's a Big Country Director
- 1951Angels in the Outfield Director, Producer
- 1950To Please a Lady Director, Producer
- 1949Intruder in the Dust Director, Producer
- 1949The Secret Garden Producer
- 1947Song of Love Director, Producer
- 1946The Yearling
