Howard Hawks

Classic films I Was a male War Bride in 1949, Scarface in 1932, Twentieth Century in 1934 and Bringing Up Baby 1938 are films done by director Howard Hawks born on May 30, 1896 in Goshen Indiana. Can you ever forget Rio Bravo in 1959, Land of the Pharaohs in 1955 and Hatari! in 1962. How about El Dorado in 1966. Howard Hawks was a first rate director who was little awarded by his peers during his career.
In 1974 the Academy voted Hawks as an honorary Academy Award winner. Hawk's career spanned the era of the independents in the 1910s through the early 1970s. He was one of the most versatile of all directors and earned a reputation as a first rate director.
Hawks was very wealthy as a child and was given flight lessons at an early age. He served as a lieutenant in the Signal Corps and later joined the Army Air Corps in WWI. He worked as an aviator and a professional race car driver after the war. He also designed race cars. He eventually decided on a career in Hollywood and was employed as an assistant director, script supervisor, editor and producer. He was hired as a screenwriter in 1922. He directed eight silent films in the 1920s and he established himself with his first talking film in 1930 The Dawn Patrol. Scarface in 1932 catapulted him into the ranks of directors.
Hawks encouraged his actors to be a part of the creative feeling of the movies and encourage actors to improvise. He had a great eye for talent and was responsible for giving breaks to Paul Muni, Carole Lombard, Lauren Bacall and James Caan. Hawks was really the one who turned John Wayne in to a superstar with Red River in 1948. Hawks definition of a good director was someone who doesn't annoy you.
Hawks was married to Athole Shearer from1928 to 1940 and they had two children. He married Mary Raye Gross in 1941 and they divorced in 1949 leaving one child. He married Dee Harford in 1953 and they divorced in 1960. They had one child.