- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Conrad Nagel
- Nickname
- Prince Consort
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Conrad Nagel was born on March 16, 1897 in Keokuk, Iowa, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Quality Street (1927), Red Wine (1928) and The Ship from Shanghai (1930). He was married to Michael Coulson Smith, Lynn Merrick and Ruth Helms. He died on February 24, 1970 in New York City, New York, USA.
- SpousesMichael Coulson Smith(August 31, 1955 - March 9, 1956) (divorced, 1 child)Lynn Merrick(December 21, 1945 - August 26, 1948) (divorced)Ruth Helms(June 24, 1924 - August 7, 1934) (divorced, 1 child)
- RelativesPeter Jones(Grandchild)
- During 1928 Nagel, whose career was waning, became invaluable to MGM and Warner Bros. by assisting them on passing judgment on their contract players regarding the suitability of their voices for the movie microphone. His salary was raised to $2500 a week and he was loaned out to other studios for a sum of $30,000 for his services in aiding the transition to "talkies.".
- Hosted the Academy Awards in 1953 alongside Bob Hope.
- One of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
- Hosted the Academy Awards in 1930 and 1932.
- Active on Broadway from 1918 to 1962. Tall, blue-eyed matinee idol of the 1920's, successfully making the transition to sound. Towards the end of his film career, acted as host for radio and TV shows. Awarded a Special Oscar in 1947 for his work on the Motion Picture relief Fund.
- At the time (1927), I was under contract to MGM. So Louis Mayer was mad at me. The worst punishment he could think of was to lend me to Warner Brothers for a picture.
- I was never a big star, so I never had a role like Moses or D'Artagnan. But being assigned to 31 pictures in 24 months, I had an opportunity to play every type of part. The variety, though, didn't keep me from becoming a drug on the market. My wife would say, "Well, let's go out and see a movie tonight." We'd get in the car and discover that I'm playing at the Paramount Theater. And I'm playing at the Universal Theater. And the MGM Theater. We couldn't find a theater where I wasn't playing. So we'd go back home. I was an epidemic.
- The Mysterious Lady (1928) - $2,500 per week
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
