A multifaceted individual, having already received training in dance and theater by a young age, he made the bold decision to leave school at 13 to pursue a passion for music and painting. By the time he reached 19, he had transformed into a professional ballroom dancer in New York, and by his mid-twenties, he was taking to the stages of Broadway and London, performing in musicals, dramas, and even silent movies.
His journey to stardom was marked by a series of notable milestones, with his first major success in film arriving in his middle age as the suave and sophisticated villain Waldo Lydecker in Laura (1944). This performance earned him an Oscar nomination, followed by another nomination for his portrayal of Elliott Templeton in The Razor's Edge (1946).
One of his most iconic roles was that of the priggish Mr. Belvedere, a character that was reportedly not far removed from his own fastidious and condescending personality. He was deeply devoted to his overbearing mother, Maybelle, with whom he lived until her passing at the ripe age of 91, six years before his own death.
In recent years, the success of Titanic (1997) sparked renewed interest in his work, particularly his earlier collaboration with Barbara Stanwyck in the 1953 adaptation of the story. Today, he is laid to rest at the Abbey of the Psalms, Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, now known as Hollywood Forever.
