Brian Aherne

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Actor Born Brian De Lacy Aherne on May 2, 1902 in Worcesteshire, United Kingdom

Brian Aherne epitomized the debonair, self-assured British gentleman in more than three dozen films.

Aherne in his prime played opposite some of the most glamorous actresses of the century — Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Cornell, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Madeleine Carroll and Bette Davis. In most of those appearances he was the impeccably mannered and meticulously groomed consort to their more tempestuous characters.

In 1931 he came to Broadway to portray Robert Browning opposite Cornell in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street." A New York Times critic hailed his performance as "all strength, kindness and sincerity."

He was lured from the touring company of "Barretts" to appear on screen opposite Dietrich in "Song of Songs" in 1933, launching a film career that was to end in 1967 in "Rosie" with Rosalind Russell. In between were "Beloved Enemy," "Juarez" (as the Emperor Maximilian, his only Academy Award nomination), "My Son, My Son!," "Skylark," "My Sister Eileen," "Forever and a Day" and "The Swan," among others.

— Burt A. Folkart in the Los Angeles Times Feb. 11, 1986

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• Debonair Actor Brian Aherne Dies at 83