Walter Houghston
11 min read
Reading time
2,089
Words
Published
80
Film credits
3
Awards
Walter Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in 1948. He left his engineering career for the stage in 1909. After a Broadway debut in 1924, he moved to Hollywood in 1929. He also introduced ‘September Song’ in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Walter Huston — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Walter Huston by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Walter Huston — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 6, 1883, to Robert Moore Huston and Elizabeth McGibbon, Walter Huston worked as an engineer before turning to theatre in 1909. His parents were both born and raised in Ontario; his father’s family came from Ireland.
Walter Huston made his Broadway debut in 1924 in Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms. O’Neill later called this performance the greatest in any of his works. Huston moved to Hollywood in 1929. His film breakthrough came with Dodsworth 1936, earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He received another Best Actor nomination for The Devil and Daniel Webster 1941 and a Best Supporting nomination for Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942. In 1948 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, directed by his son John Huston. He also introduced September Song in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday.
Walter Huston married Rhea Katherine Gore in 1904 and Ninetta Sunderland in 1931. His only child, John Huston, became a film director. The two collaborated on three films: The Maltese Falcon 1941, In This Our Life 1942, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948. The Huston family includes three generations of Oscar winners: Walter, John, and granddaughter Anjelica.
Walter Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948. He was the first actor to earn Oscar nominations in both lead and supporting categories. His recording of September Song became a best-seller. The Huston family is the first three-generation Oscar-winning family in Hollywood. He appeared in four Best Picture nominees: Dodsworth 1936, The Maltese Falcon 1941, Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948.
The complete filmography of Walter Huston — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Walter Huston — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Walter Huston — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Hell, I Ain’t Paid to Make Good Lines Sound Good. I’m Paid to Make Bad Lines Sound Good.
I Was Certainly a Better Actor After My Five Years in Hollywood. I Had Learned to Be Natural – Never to Exaggerate. I Found I Could Act on the Stage in Just the Same Way as I Had Acted in a Studio: Using My Ordinary Voice, Eliminating Gestures, Keeping Everything Extremely Simple.
Barbara Stanwyck Loved Doing Westerns More Than Anything Where She Had to Dress up Frilly and Chase After a Man. at Heart, She’s a Cowgirl. or a Cowboy – She’s One of the Toughest, Most No-nonsense Women in This Town, and She Stopped Playing the Old Cat-and-mouse Game Years Ago.
Son, Give ‘Em a Good Show, and Always Travel First Class.
Little-known facts about Walter Huston — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Three films directed by his son John Huston featured Walter Huston: The Maltese Falcon 1941, In This Our Life 1942, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948.
He performed in the original Provincetown Players’ production of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms. O’Neill deemed Huston’s performance as Ephraim Cabot the greatest in any of his works.
Three generations of Oscar winners exist in the Huston family: Walter, his son John, and his granddaughter Anjelica Huston — the first family to achieve this.
On April 6, 1933, he spent the night at the Los Angeles Brewing Co. with Jean Harlow, celebrating the end of Prohibition at midnight.
He died only nine days before the birth of his grandson, Tony Huston.
He was the first actor to receive Academy Award nominations for both Best Actor for Dodsworth and The Devil and Daniel Webster and Best Supporting Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy, eventually winning his Oscar for his fourth nomination.
He was the father of John Huston.
Canadian-born Huston played Uncle Sam in John Ford’s Oscar-winning documentary short December 7th 1943.
By his own admission not much of a singer, Huston introduced the American pop standard September Song in the 1938 Broadway show Knickerbocker Holiday.
He was the father-in-law of Evelyn Keyes.
He was the grandfather of Tony Huston, Anjelica Huston, and Danny Huston.
He appeared in four Oscar Best Picture nominees: Dodsworth 1936, The Maltese Falcon 1941, Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948.
His parents, Robert and Elizabeth Huston, were both born and raised in Ontario, Canada.
His maternal grandparents were Dougald McGibbon born in Scotland and Mary Stewart McGibbon born in Ontario.
His gravestone lists his birth year as 1894, 11 years younger than his actual year.
His paternal grandparents, Alexander and Margaret Huston, were born and raised in Ireland and died in Ontario.
He was the great-grandfather of Jack Huston, Laura Huston, and Matthew Huston.
He lived at 596 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, California.
He was the great-great-grandfather of Sage Lavinia Huston and Cypress Night Huston.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Walter Huston.
Celebrities similar to Walter Huston — same craft, ranked by reach.
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