VICTOR MATURE MINI BIOGRAPHY

Always the charming entertainer, Vic was thrown out of more boys schools than Clara cared to remember. Vic's youth was punctuated by frantic calls to Clara from the principals. There was the time she received a call from St. Xavier's and rushed down to the school. "I sat on the one chair and the priest on the other," she says. "Victor sat on the piano stool looking handsome and innocent. The priest said, 'Your son is a perfect nuisance. When I go back into the room, he is the comedian. The place is in an uproar. They sit there entranced.'"

Vic always said that he had aspirations to become an actor since he turned 17 years old. What led him to leave Louisville was supposedly a social rebuff by one of the high society belles when he asked her to dance. He told himself that he would never return "until the Mature name was so big that those society people would eat dirt." He packed up his car and set off to California to become famous with the advice of his father, "As long as people think you're dumber than you are, you'll make money." Victor arrived in California with 11 cents. He registered with casting agencies and went to study at the Pasadena Playhouse while taking various jobs to pay for tuition. On November 16, 1936 Victor made his acting debut in "Paths of Glory" at the Pasadena Playhouse. He sent a message to his father: "I now have more than an ambition. I have a career." He was awarded a fellowship at the recommendation of Gilmor Brown. Victor was a very talented actor and he acted in more than 60 plays at the Pasadena Playhouse including headlining "To Quito and Back." Hal Roach had seen Victor's picture advertising this play and gave him the role of Lefty in "The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939)." He appeared for approximately 5 minutes which caused over 20,000 fans to write letters inquiring about this virile new star. Hal Roach said, "Actors make parts - parts don't make actors" and immediately signed Victor to a contract. Victor acted in the cult classic "One Million B.C. (1940)," "Captain Caution" (1940) and "No, No Nanette." (1940)

Known for his perfect handsome face and muscular physique Victor was the favorite of women all over the world. To further his acting career he appeared on Broadway in Lady In The Dark with Gertrude Lawrence where he would pick up the tag that would be with him for his entire career, "Beautiful Hunk of Man." After that he appeared in von Sternberg's "The Shanghai Gesture" with Gene Tierney. He was much in demand and went on loanout to Twentieth Century-Fox and appeared in the film noir "I Wake Up Screaming" (1941) with two former girlfriends, Carole Landis and Betty Grable. In November 1941 Fox bought Victor's contract. He went on to appear in many more great film noir movies and musical comedies. He is well known for his role as Paul Dresser in "My Gal Sal" (1942) where he met Rita Hayworth, with whom he had one of his most publicized romances.

Victor was extremely popular in the fan movie magazines and his ability to charm the women was well known throughout his whole career. Also mentioned as "The Man No Woman Can Resist" he romanced some of the most beautiful and famous women in the world including Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Veronica Lake, Gene Tierney, Betty Grable and Esther Williams. He was married 5 times and was very happily married to his fifth wife Lorey until his death.

Victor once said that when success really did hit he intended to be a regular guy. "I don't want to get that front, that attitude which demands front tables in clubs, which causes one to forget one's early friends. I know I can keep on being regular." Victor always kept his promise and was a "regular guy" keeping his friends who had been his close friends from the time he first came to Hollywood. He was a very down to earth nice person who always had time for his fans and friends. In addition to being known for his handsome good looks, he was also known for his amazing sense of humor which kept his friends and fans always laughing. Vic was well known for being generous to his friends and acquaintances. On one occasion, during the war, Vic had taken $1,000 in cash with him on a motor trip to Palm Springs. He crammed his car with hitchhiking servicemen on the way there, and when he arrived he had to borrow money for his dinner. He'd given his money all away to help the servicemen. He also was always there to stick up for the underdog. He said, "I can't bear to see anyone belittled even by a glance. Brother, that's something that really sets me off. If I'm on a picture, for instance, and the director heckles some little fellow, then I heckle the director. That "big shot" act some people put on at the expense of the underdog, burns me."

During World War II Victor served in the Coast Guard for 30 months and was the recipient of the Good Conduct Ribbon. After the war Victor lived in his dressing room on the lot for ten months. When a reporter asked him, "Couldn't you find a place to live?" Vic replied, "I could have, but I thought it was rather crummy of me to rent myself a place when veterans with families were sitting on the curbs. The dressing room was okay. It had a bath. I ate all my meals out."

After the war Vic went back to acting and starred in John Ford's classic "My Darling Clementine" (1946) as tubercular Doc Holliday. He received fantastic reviews for his portrayal. He then appeared as Nick Bianco in "Kiss of Death," (1947) for which he received rave reviews. C.B. DeMille noticed Vic's performance in "Kiss of Death" and chose Victor to star in probably his best known role as Samson in "Samson and Delilah" (1949) with Hedy Lamarr. He performed in many other films throughout the 1940s and was an incredibly popular actor. He later appeared as Demetrius in the Biblical classic and first Cinemascope film "The Robe" (1953) with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons. He went on to appear in other costume Biblical pictures such as "Demetrius and the Gladiators" (1954) and "The Egyptian." (1954)

He acted in many other classic movies of the 50s and 60s including the cult classic "Head" (1968) with the Monkees, and in "After the Fox" (1968) with Peter Sellers spoofing his former image. In the 1970s he made a few appearances such as in "Every Little Crook and Nanny" (1972) with Lynn Redgrave. The studios still always asked him to appear in movies but Victor enjoyed staying at home with his wife and his daughter, Victoria. He was an avid golfer who golfed almost every day. He was a very intelligent business man who invested his money wisely in real estate and other ventures. His last movie appearance was in the 1984 remake of "Samson and Delilah" (1984) in which he appeared as Samson's father, Manoah. Victor was an extremely talented actor who took his acting seriously, but he always had a good sense of humor about the acting profession saying "I'm no actor - and I've got the reviews to prove it" when he wasn't given membership in a country club that wouldn't allow actors. He was also known to say "I'm no actor - just watch my movies."

Victor passed away from leukemia on August 4, 1999. In addition to being strikingly handsome with his brawny physique, Victor was a talented actor with a brilliant sense of humor. He was a kind person who has left a legacy of great classic films. He'll always be remembered as a talented actor and as a kind and generous person to his friends, family and fans.