Conrad Nagel

Stars

Actor Born March 16, 1897 in Keokuk, IA

Conrad Nagel was a stage and motion picture star of the 1920s and 30s who went on to become one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nagel began his acting career opposite Fay Bainter in productions of the Princess Stock Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, later entering motion pictures as leading man in such films as "Midsummer Madness" "What Every Woman Knows" and "Tin Hats" following his service in the Navy during World War I.

In television, Nagel hosted such shows as "Celebrity Time" and "Broadway to Hollywood" and directed the "Silver Theatre"and "Radio Reader's Digest" radio shows during World War II.

He also appeared in such Broadway shows as "Skin of Our Teeth" and "State of the Union."

He once said that when he first came to Hollywood in 1919, "there wasn't even a restaurant there."

Nagel co-hosted the first televised Oscar ceremony in 1953, working from New York while Bob Hope emceed in Los Angeles.

— Los Angeles Times Feb. 25, 1970

More stars in...

• Oscar Winners
• Silent Screen Stars