Actor
Leslie Howard
Born 3 April 1893 · Forest Hill, London, England, UK — died 1 June 1943
Leslie Howard was an English actor, director and producer who became a major 1930s screen idol in both Britain and Hollywood, often playing sensitive, refined Englishmen. He is best remembered as Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. During World War II he made patriotic films; he died in 1943 when his airliner was shot down.
Key films
Gone with the Wind (1939)On Cinespective
His best-known role, as the gentle Ashley Wilkes in one of Hollywood's biggest epics.
The Petrified Forest (1936)
Hollywood drama in which he played a disillusioned writer opposite Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.
Pygmalion (1938)
He played Professor Higgins and co-directed this acclaimed Shaw adaptation, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
Defined his suave, witty image as the hero in this popular British adventure.
The First of the Few (1942)
He directed and starred in this wartime tribute to Spitfire designer R. J. Mitchell.
Key awards
- Academy Award nomination, Best Actor, for Berkeley Square (1933 film)
- Academy Award nomination, Best Actor, for Pygmalion (1938 film)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 54
- 1920Bookworms · as RichardActor
- 1930Outward Bound · as Tom PriorActor
- 1931A Free Soul · as Dwight WinthropActor
- 1931Five and Ten · as Berry RhodesActor
- 1931Never the Twain Shall Meet · as DanActor
- 1931Devotion · as David TrentActor
- 1932Smilin' Through · as Sir John CarteretActor
- 1932The Animal Kingdom · as TomActor
- 1932Service for Ladies · as Max TraceyActor
- 1933Berkeley Square · as Peter StandishActor
- 1933Secrets · as John CarltonActor
- 1933Captured! · as Captain Fred AllisonActor
- 1934Of Human Bondage · as Philip CareyActor
- 1934The Scarlet Pimpernel · as Sir Percy Blakeney / The Scarlet PimpernelActor
- 1934British Agent · as Stephen 'Steve' LockeActor
- 1934The Lady Is Willing · as Albert LatourActor
- 1936The Petrified Forest · as Alan SquierActor
- 1936Romeo and Juliet · as RomeoActor
- 1936Master Will Shakespeare · as Romeo (uncredited)Actor
- 1936Breakdowns of 1936 · as SelfActor
- 1937It's Love I'm After · as Basil UnderwoodActor
- 1937Stand-In · as Atterbury DoddActor
- 1938Pygmalion · as Henry HigginsActor
- 1938PygmalionDirector
- 1939Gone with the Wind · as Ashley WilkesActor
- 1939Intermezzo: A Love Story · as Holger BrandtActor
- 194149th Parallel · as Philip Armstrong ScottActor
- 1941"Pimpernel" SmithDirector
- 1941"Pimpernel" Smith · as Professor Horatio SmithActor
- 1941From the Four Corners · as Himself (as A Passer-By)Actor
- 1942In Which We Serve · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)Actor
- 1942The First of the Few · as R.J. MitchellActor
- 1942The First of the FewDirector
- 1942The White Eagle · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1942Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1943The Gentle SexDirector
- 1943The Gentle Sex · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1969The Happy Ending · as Self - Actor in 'Smilin' Through' (archive footage) (uncredited)Actor
- 1983Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Actor
- 1984Going Hollywood: The '30s · as (archive footage)Actor
- 1988South of RenoActor
- 1988The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1996Ingrid Bergman Remembered · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1997The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1997Bogart: The Untold Story · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1998Glorious Technicolor · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Actor
- 2000Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2003Complicated Women · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2004Melanie Remembers: Reflections by Olivia de Havilland · as Himself (archive footage)Actor
- 2005The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2007Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2013Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2019Churchill and the Movie Mogul · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2020Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests · as Self (archive footage)Actor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.