John Huston was born in Nevada, Missouri and one of the most interesting lives in Hollywood history begins. Huston was the only child of actor Walter Huston (whom he would work with) and Rhea a sports editor.
After his parents’ divorce John Huston studied in boarding schools and eventually spent summers going back and forth between parents learning from both. A sickly child by the time he was 15 he was boxing, dropping out of school, and becoming fascinated by the new medium of cinema.
His travels started to begin at this time (along with his marriages – he would have 5 – that we know of) first taking him to Mexico. He would also act for the first time and write his first play.
He would return to LA where his serious writing would begin.
After writing ‘High Sierra’ a bona fide classic he was given the chance to direct and another classic ‘The Maltese Falcon’ was made.
Then came WW2 where Huston again made his mark serving in the Army and earning the Legion of Merit for courageous work in battle.
Upon his return from WW2 Huston would go on to define the art of cinema for decades from ‘Key Largo’ to ‘The African Queen’ to his acting in ‘Chinatown’ there is nothing he couldn’t do – even his children most notably daughter Angelica and son Danny have furthered the family tradition in cinema.
By the time Huston passed in 1987 he had been nominated 13 times for Oscars winning 2 Academy Awards and directed 13 actors to Oscar wins across 5 decades. He was and is unparalleled in his accomplishments.
And the James Bond connection? One only has to look for that guy Guy!
Did you know James Bond director Guy Hamilton was 2nd Unit Director on ‘The African Queen’?
Check out all the seasons of The Latch Key Kids Podcast especially Season One ‘Breaking Bond’ streaming now on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, Audible, and Apple Podcasts on iTunes.