Louis Jean Heydt(1903-1960)
- Actor
An American character actor who specialized in "average joes", often
timid or down-on-their-luck, Louis Jean Heydt was born in Montclair,
New Jersey, and educated at Worcester Academy and Dartmouth College. He
intended a career in journalism and worked as a reporter for the old
New York World, but developed an interest in acting and landed a number
of roles on the New York stage (active there from 1927-48). In the
mid-'30s he traveled to Hollywood and quickly established himself as a
reliable supporting player. He played dozens of roles in many fine
films including
Autant en emporte le vent (1939),
Les sacrifiés (1945)
and Le grand sommeil (1946), and
although his face is exceptionally familiar to viewers of that period's
films, his name never quite broke through. He remained a pleasant
presence in scores of films of the 1940s and 1950s while continuing to
work on the stage and on television. He died backstage at the Colonial
Theatre in Boston during an out-of-town try-out performance of the play
"There Was a Little Girl" in 1960.
