Mickey Kuhn
Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (born September 21, 1932) is an American former child actor. He was active on-screen in Hollywood during the Golden Age of Hollywood from age 18 months in 1934. As an adult actor, he appeared primarily in smaller parts before leaving the industry in 1956.
Mickey Kuhn | |
|---|---|
 Kuhn in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) | |
| Born | September 21, 1932 |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1934–1956 |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Marie Hannick
(m. 1956; div. 1962)Barbara Traci (m. 1984) |
His most notable role was playing Beau Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939).[1] He also appeared in Juarez (1939), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Red River (1948), and Broken Arrow (1950). He made his final acting appearance on the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1956.
Biography
Career as a child star
Born in Waukegan, Illinois of German descent to Mickey Snr. and Pearl Hicks, he gained fame as child actor in the 1930s and appeared opposite Conrad Nagel and Leslie Howard, amongst others.[2] His first fame came when he won the role auditioned for by 100 other child actors in playing Beau Wilkes, the son of Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland's characters Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind in 1939. He later went on to appear in Juarez (1939) opposite Bette Davis, as the adoptive son of John Wayne in Red River, Broken Arrow starring James Stewart and in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role in which he was reunited with Vivien Leigh a dozen years after they first worked together in Gone with the Wind. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Kuhn played a sailor who directs Leigh's character Blanche to the correct streetcar which will take her to her sister's neighborhood at the beginning of the film. He is the only actor to share screen time with Leigh in each of her Oscar-winning performances.[3]
Navy career
In the Navy from 1951 until 1955, Kuhn worked as an aircraft electrician.[1]
Post-acting career
Kuhn left the film business in 1956 and worked for American Airlines (from 1965 to 1995)[1] and the Boston airport in administrative positions until his retirement. He now regularly visits film festivals dealing with his old films.
Later life
Following Dame Olivia de Havilland's death on July 26, 2020, Kuhn, now aged 88, is the last surviving credited cast member from Gone with the Wind.[4] Caren Marsh Doll and Patrick Curtis are also living, although their parts were uncredited. Kuhn is also the last surviving cast member from A Streetcar Named Desire.
Kuhn currently lives in Naples, Florida and volunteers four hours per week at a local hospital.[5]
Awards
In 2005, Kuhn received a Golden Boot Award, an award given to acknowledge significant contributions to the Western genre.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Change of Heart | Adopted baby (film debut, uncredited) |
| 1937 | A Doctor's Diary | Boy in hospital |
| 1939 | King of the Underworld | Young Boy |
| Juarez | Agustín de Iturbide y Green | |
| S.O.S. Tidal Wave | Buddy Shannon | |
| When Tomorrow Comes | Boy (uncredited) | |
| Bad Little Angel | Bobby Creighton - Age 5 (uncredited) | |
| Gone with the Wind | Beau Wilkes | |
| 1940 | I Want a Divorce | David Holland, Jr. |
| Slightly Tempted | Boy (uncredited) | |
| 1941 | One Foot in Heaven | Boy (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Beneath Western Skies | Teddy (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Roughly Speaking | John |
| A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Boy at Christmas Tree Throw (uncredited) | |
| This Love of Ours | Youngster (uncredited) | |
| Dick Tracy | Junior | |
| 1946 | Roaring Rangers | Larry Connor (uncredited) |
| The Strange Love of Martha Ivers | Young Walter | |
| The Searching Wind | Sam as a Boy | |
| The Return of Rusty | Marty Connors | |
| Three Little Girls in Blue | Farm boy | |
| 1947 | High Conquest | Peter Oberwalder Jr. |
| Magic Town | Hank Nickleby | |
| 1948 | Red River | Young Matt |
| 1949 | Scene of the Crime | Ed Monigan, Jr. |
| 1950 | Broken Arrow | Bob Slade (uncredited) |
| 1951 | That's My Boy | Student (uncredited) |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | A Sailor | |
| On the Loose | Bob Vance | |
| 1955 | The Last Frontier | Luke |
| 1956 | Away All Boats | Seaman (final film) |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Bellhop/Ellerbee | |
References
- Fan's Guide to Gone With The Wind eBook Bundle: Collected Biographies of Margaret Mitchell, Vivien Leigh, and Gone With the Wind Trivia. Rowman & Littlefield. 2014. ISBN 9781493017010. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- Mickey Kuhn: Boy Actor of the Golden Age
- Argetsinger, Amy (December 15, 2014). "A quiet 75th anniversary for 'Gone With the Wind' and one of its last surviving actors, Mickey Kuhn". Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- Noland, Claire (April 8, 2014). "Mary Anderson dies at 96; actress had role in 'Gone With the Wind'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- "Mickey Kuhn, child actor during Hollywood's Golden Age, lives in Naples, Florida". Naples Daily News. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- "The Golden Boot Awards". Golden Boot Awards. Motion Picture and Television Fund. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
Bibliography
- Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 178–185. ISBN 1476613702.
- Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 178.
