American Actor who starred in The Bad and the Beautiful and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. In 1942, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Mrs. Miniver.
He studied law and drama at the University of New Brunswick but dropped out to enlist in the 65th Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery during World War I. He later moved to Boston, Massachusetts to study voice at the New England Conservatory of Music.
He served as President of Screen Actors Guild from 1952 to 1957.
He was married to Ruth Walker from 1931 until his death in 1984. He had one daughter, Edna, from a previous marriage to Edna Pickles.
He returned to Broadway in the 1950s after a twenty-year hiatus to star in Take Me Along with Jackie Gleason.
