Victor Mature

Victor Mature

Biography: Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor. In July 1942 Mature attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy but was rejected for color blindness. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after taking a different eye test the same day. He was assigned to the USCGC Storis (WMEC-38), which was doing Greenland patrol work. After 14 months aboard the Storis, Mature was promoted to the rate of Chief Boatswain's Mate. In 1944 he did a series of War Bond tours and acted in morale shows. He assisted Coast Guard recruiting efforts by being a featured player in the musical revue "Tars and Spars" which opened in Miami, Florida in April of 1944 and toured the United States for the next year. In May 1945 Mature was reassigned to the Coast Guard manned troop transport USS Admiral H. T. Mayo (AP-125) which was involved in transferring troops to the Pacific Theater. Mature was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard in November 1945 and he resumed his acting career. Film career After the war, Mature was cast by John Ford in My Darling Clementine, playing Doc Holliday opposite Henry Fonda's Wyatt Earp. For the next decade, Mature settled into playing hard-boiled characters in a range of genres such as Westerns and Biblical films, such as The Robe (with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons) and its popular sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators (with Susan Hayward). Mature also starred with Hedy Lamarr in Cecil B. DeMille's Bible epic, Samson and Delilah (1949) and as Horemheb in The Egyptian (1954) with Jean Simmons and Gene Tierney. He reportedly stated he was successful in Biblical epics because he could "make with the holy look". He also starred with Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) and, according to her autobiography, had a romantic relationship with her.  After five years of retirement, he was lured back into acting by the opportunity to parody himself in After the Fox (1966), co-written by Neil Simon. In a similar vein in 1968 he played a giant, The Big Victor, in Head, a potpourri movie starring The Monkees. The character poked fun at both his screen image and, reportedly, RCA Victor who distributed Colgems Records, the Monkees's label. Mature enjoyed the script while admitting it made no sense to him, stating "All I know is it makes me laugh." Mature was famously self-deprecatory about his acting skills. Once, after being rejected for membership in a country club because he was an actor, he cracked, "I'm not an actor — and I've got sixty-four films to prove it!" He was quoted in 1968 on his acting career: "Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics." Victor Mature died of leukemia in 1999, at his Rancho Santa Fe, California home, at the age of 86. He was buried in the family plot at St. Michael's Cemetery in his hometown of Louisville. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Victor Mature has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6780 Hollywood Blvd.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: January 29, 1913

Deathday: August 04, 1999

Popularity:

10.1

Known For

My Darling Clementine
My Darling Clementine

1946-10-17

One Million B.C.
One Million B.C.

1940-04-05

Cry of the City
Cry of the City

1948-09-29

The Last Frontier
The Last Frontier

1955-12-07

Chief Crazy Horse
Chief Crazy Horse

1955-04-01

Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death

1947-08-27

I Wake Up Screaming
I Wake Up Screaming

1941-10-31

The Egyptian
The Egyptian

1954-08-25

The Las Vegas Story
The Las Vegas Story

1952-01-30

The Robe
The Robe

1953-09-16

Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah

1949-12-21

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

1976-07-26

The Shanghai Gesture
The Shanghai Gesture

1941-12-25

Demetrius and the Gladiators
Demetrius and the Gladiators

1954-06-16

Million Dollar Mermaid
Million Dollar Mermaid

1952-12-04

Footlight Serenade
Footlight Serenade

1942-08-01

Moss Rose
Moss Rose

1947-05-30

The Long Haul
The Long Haul

1957-08-27

Interpol
Interpol

1957-04-02

Gambling House
Gambling House

1950-12-27

Violent Saturday
Violent Saturday

1955-04-01

Escort West
Escort West

1959-01-23

Head
Head

1968-11-06

Safari
Safari

1956-06-20

Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion

1952-12-01

After the Fox
After the Fox

1966-09-08

Betrayed
Betrayed

1954-09-07

The Glory Brigade
The Glory Brigade

1953-05-20

The Sharkfighters
The Sharkfighters

1956-11-01

Easy Living
Easy Living

1949-10-08

Affair with a Stranger
Affair with a Stranger

1953-06-20

Seven Days' Leave
Seven Days' Leave

1942-11-13

Every Little Crook and Nanny
Every Little Crook and Nanny

1972-06-14

My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal

1942-04-30

House of Dreams
House of Dreams

1951-07-05

Wabash Avenue
Wabash Avenue

1950-03-31

Dangerous Mission
Dangerous Mission

1954-03-06

Uncertain Verification
Uncertain Verification

1965-04-30

Captain Caution
Captain Caution

1940-08-09

Fury at Furnace Creek
Fury at Furnace Creek

1948-04-30

The Big Circus
The Big Circus

1959-07-05

China Doll
China Doll

1958-06-06

Hannibal
Hannibal

1959-12-21

The Bandit Of Zhobe
The Bandit Of Zhobe

1959-04-01

Stella
Stella

1950-07-20

Timbuktu
Timbuktu

1959-11-22

The Tartars
The Tartars

1961-04-01

The Housekeeper's Daughter
The Housekeeper's Daughter

1939-10-26

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

1986-04-19

Red, Hot and Blue
Red, Hot and Blue

1949-09-05

Tank Force!
Tank Force!

1958-04-22

Zarak
Zarak

1956-12-01

Song of the Islands
Song of the Islands

1942-03-13

Something for the Birds
Something for the Birds

1952-09-30

Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah

1984-03-31

Firepower
Firepower

1979-04-27

The Veils of Bagdad
The Veils of Bagdad

1953-10-06

No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette

1940-12-19

Show-Business at War
Show-Business at War

1943-05-21

Mi Marilyn
Mi Marilyn

1975-01-02