Leopold John Genn (/ɡɛn/ GHEN; 9 August 1905 – 26 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice,[1] he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocratic or gentlemanly, sophisticate roles.[1]
Born to a Jewish family in London, Genn was educated as a lawyer and was a practising barrister until after World War II, in which he had served in the Royal Artillery as a Lieutenant-Colonel. He began his acting career at The Old Vic and made his film debut in 1935, starring in a total of 85 screen roles until his death in 1978. For his portrayal of Petronius in the 1951 Hollywood epic Quo Vadis, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Early life and family
Genn was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, the son of Jewish parents Woolfe (William) Genn and Rachel Genn (née Asserson).[2]
Genn attended the City of London School, having gained scholarships in both classics and mathematics,[3] and studied law at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he became captain of both the football and tennis teams.[3] He went on to study at the Middle Temple, qualifying as a barrister in 1928.[4][2] He finally ceased practising as a lawyer after serving as an assistant prosecutor at the Belsen War Trials.[5]
Career
Theatre career
Genn originally entered acting, with the Berkley Players (attached to the West London Synagogue),[4] in order to increase his chances of finding prospective clients for his legal work.[3] Actor/manager Leon Lion saw Genn act and offered him a contract.[6] Genn's theatrical debut was in 1930 in A Marriage has been Disarranged at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne and then at the Royalty Theatre in Dean Street, London. Lion had engaged him simultaneously as an actor and attorney. In 1933 he appeared in Ballerina by Rodney Ackland. Between September 1934 and March 1936, Leo Genn was a member of the Old Vic Company where he appeared in many productions of Shakespeare. In 1934 he featured in R. J. Minney's Clive of India.
In 1959 Genn gave a reading[7] in Chichester Cathedral. In 1974, a recording of The Jungle Book was released with Genn as narrator and Miklós Rózsa conducting the Frankenland Symphony Orchestra with the music from the film.
Film career
Genn's first film role was as Shylock in Immortal Gentleman (1935), a biography of Shakespeare. Douglas Fairbanks Jr hired Genn as a technical adviser on the film Accused (1936). He was subsequently given a small part in the film on the strength of a "splendid voice and presence". Genn received another small role in Alexander Korda's The Drum (1938) and was the young man who danced with Eliza Doolittle at the duchess's ball in Pygmalion, a film made in the same year, although he was uncredited.
Screenshot of Leo Genn from the trailer for the film Quo Vadis
On 14 May 1933, Genn married Marguerite van Praag (1908–1978), a casting director at Ealing Studios. They had no children.
Genn died in London on 26 January 1978.[9] The immediate cause of death was a heart attack, brought on by complications of pneumonia. He is buried in Etretat Churchyard, Seine-Maritime, France.
1953 Henry VIII, as Buckingham, with Paul Rogers as Henry VIII, Old Vic. A Coronation Gala performance, held on 6 May 1953, in the presence of the Queen.
^ a b"Leo Genn, British Actor, 72, Dies;. Van With the Black Velvet Voice'". The New York Times. 27 January 1978. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
^ a bJohn Arthur Garraty; Mark Christopher Carnes (1999). American National Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 841. ISBN 978-0-19-512787-4.
^ a b c"Leo Genn, British Actor, Dies 72: Man with the black velvet voice". New York Times. 27 January 1978.
^ a bGenn, Leopold John. The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. 27 January 2011. p. 317. ISBN 9780230304666.
^ a b"Forgotten trials: the other side of Nuremberg". HistoryExtra. Retrieved 4 January 2020.