Gregory La Cava was an American film director best known for his comedies ‘My Man Godfrey’ and ‘Stage Door.’ This biography of Gregory La Cava provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Gregory La Cava
@Film Director, Family and Personal Life
Mar 10, 1892
Biography
Personal Details
- Birthday: March 10, 1892
- Died on: March 1, 1952
- Nationality: American
- Famous: Film Director, Film & Theater Personalities, Directors
- Spouses: Beryl Morse (1924—1930), Grace Olive Nicholls Hoyt Garland (1940—1945)
- Birth Place: Towanda, Pennsylvania
- Gender: Male
Gregory La Cava born at
Towanda, Pennsylvania
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Birth Place
Gregory La Cava was twice married and twice divorced. He married Beryl Morse Greene in 1924. The couple had one child in their six years of marriage and divorced in 1930.
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Personal Life
His second marriage was to Grace Olive Nicholls Hoyt Garland in 1940. This marriage ended within five years in 1945.
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Personal Life
He was an alcoholic and died of a heart attack nine days before his 60th birthday on March 1, 1952.
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Personal Life
Gregory La Cava was born on March 10, 1892, in Towanda, Pennsylvania, U.S. into a family of modest means. Artistic from a young age, he started displaying his creativity early on in life.
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Childhood & Early Life
After leaving school he began to study painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students' League of New York. However, he had to drop out due to his family’s dire financial situation and take up a job.
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Childhood & Early Life
He started working as a newspaper reporter in Rochester, New York, and also took up assignments as a cartoonist with two papers, ‘The New York Globe’ and the ‘Evening World.’
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Career
In 1913, his success as a cartoonist led him to a job in animated movie work at the studio of the silent era animator, Raoul Barre. The young man impressed Barre with his skills and determination and was soon made one of the principal animators on the popular ‘Animated Grouch Chaser’ series.
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Career
In 1915, the multi-millionaire and newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, started a rival animation studio, called International Film Service (IFS), and hired La Cava from his competitor. La Cava, who was made editor-in-chief of the new organization, held this position until the company closed in 1918.
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Career
Even after IFS closed, La Cava continued to make animated shorts. During the early 1920s he set his eyes on films and transitioned to live-action productions, writing and directing two-reel comedy shorts and features.
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Career
He made his Hollywood directorial debut with 'His Nibs' in 1921, starring Colleen Moore. A series of short comedies followed which included 'A Social Error' in 1922, 'Helpful Hogan' and 'The Fiddling Fool' in 1923, and 'Restless Wives' and 'The New Professor' in 1924.
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Career
The screwball comedy film ‘My Man Godfrey’ is probably one of the director’s best known films. The story of a socialite who falls in love with a butler was a runaway hit and earned huge profits. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
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Major Works
La Cava directed the film ‘Stage Door,’ adapted from the play by the same name, which is counted among his greatest films. The story of several aspiring actresses portrayed by Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier, and Andrea Leeds, received very good reviews and was nominated for four Academy Awards.
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Major Works