Robert Z. Leonard

American film director (1889–1968)

Mae Murray

(m. 1918; div. 1925)

Gertrude Olmstead

(m. 1926)

Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter.

Biography

He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two forming Tiffany Pictures to film eight motion pictures that were released by MGM.

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Divorcee and The Great Ziegfeld. Both were nominated for Best Picture, and the latter won. Known by his nickname Pop, Leonard was brought in late by MGM as a reliable director who could get its Pride and Prejudice (1940), starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, onto the big screen.^[1] One of the more unusual credits in his filmography is the film noir thriller The Bribe (1949) with its sleazy settings, slippery characters, and steamy atmosphere.

Robert Leonard died in 1968 in Beverly Hills, California of an aneurysm.^[2] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, near his wife Gertrude Olmstead.

Legacy

On February 8, 1960, Robert Leonard received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the motion picture industry, at 6370 Hollywood Blvd.^[3]^[4]

Filmography

Director

Sally Scraggs, Housemaid (1913)
The Ruby Circle (1914)
The Master Key (1914)
Christmas Memories (1915)
Judge Not (1915)
The Crippled Hand (1916)
The Plow Girl (1916)
The Love Girl (1916)
Little Eve Edgarton (1916)
The Eagle's Wings (1916)
Secret Love (1916)
On Record (1917)
A Mormon Maid (1917)
The Primrose Ring (1917)
At First Sight (1917)
Princess Virtue (1917)
The Bride's Awakening (1918)
Danger, Go Slow (1918)
Her Body in Bond (1918)
Face Value (1918)
Modern Love (1918)
Big Little Person (1919)
The Miracle of Love (1919)
The Scarlet Shadow (1919)
The Delicious Little Devil (1919)
The Way of a Woman (1919)
What Am I Bid? (1919)
Stronger Than Death (1920)
April Folly (1920)
The Restless Sex (1920)
Heedless Moths (1921)
The Gilded Lily (1921)
Peacock Alley (1922)
Fascination (1922)
Broadway Rose (1922)
Jazzmania (1923)
The French Doll (1923)
Fashion Row (1923)
Love's Wilderness (1924)
Mademoiselle Midnight (1924)
Circe, the Enchantress (1924)
Cheaper to Marry (1925)
Time, the Comedian (1925)
Bright Lights (1925)
Dance Madness (1926)
Mademoiselle Modiste (1926)
The Waning Sex (1926)
A Little Journey (1927)
The Demi-Bride (1927)
Adam and Evil (1927)
Tea for Three (1927)
The Cardboard Lover (1928)
A Lady of Chance (1928)
Baby Mine (1928)
Marianne (1929, silent)
Marianne (1929, musical)
In Gay Madrid (1930)
Let Us Be Gay (1930)
The Divorcee (1930)
The Bachelor Father (1931)
Five and Ten (1931)
It's a Wise Child (1931)
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931)
The Son-Daughter (1932)
Strange Interlude (1932)
Dancing Lady (1933)
When Ladies Meet (1933)
Peg o' My Heart (1933)
Outcast Lady (1934)
After Office Hours (1935)
Naughty Marietta (1935)
Escapade (1935)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935) (Uncredited fill-in director)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Small Town Girl (1936)
Piccadilly Jim (1936)
The Firefly (1937)
Maytime (1937)
The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
Broadway Serenade (1939)
New Moon (1940)
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
When Ladies Meet (1941)
Stand by for Action (1942)
We Were Dancing (1942)
The Man from Down Under (1943)
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944)
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
The Secret Heart (1946)
Cynthia (1947)
B.F.'s Daughter (1948)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
The Bribe (1949)
Duchess of Idaho (1950)
Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
Grounds for Marriage (1951)
Too Young to Kiss (1951)
Everything I Have Is Yours (1952)
The Clown (1953)
The Great Diamond Robbery (1953)
Her Twelve Men (1954)
Beautiful But Dangerous (1955)
The King's Thief (1955) (replaced Hugo Fregonese during filming)
Kelly and Me (1957)

Actor

The Sea Urchin (1913)
Shon the Piper (1913)
Sally Scraggs, Housemaid (1913)
The Ruby Circle (1914)
Christmas Memories (1915)
The Crippled Hand (1916)
Married Flirts (1924)
Show People (1928)
The Firefly (1937)
Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945, cameo scene with Lucille Ball and Preston Foster)

References

^ Looser, Devoney (2017). The Making of Jane Austen. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-1421422824.
^ "Robert Z. Leonard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
^ "Robert Z. Leonard | Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
^ "Robert Z. Leonard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Z. Leonard.

Robert Z. Leonard at IMDb
Robert Z. Leonard at Find a Grave
Robert Z. Leonard at Virtual History
Robert Z. Leonard portrait from the 1910s

Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard

1910s

The Master Key (1914)
The Ruby Circle (1914)
Christmas Memories (1915)
Judge Not (1915)
The Love Girl (1916)
Secret Love (1916)
The Crippled Hand (1916)
The Eagle's Wings (1916)
Little Eve Edgarton (1916)
The Plow Girl (1916)
On Record (1917)
A Mormon Maid (1917)
The Primrose Ring (1917)
At First Sight (1917)
Princess Virtue (1917)
Face Value (1918)
The Bride's Awakening (1918)
Danger, Go Slow (1918)
Her Body in Bond (1918)
Modern Love (1918)
The Big Little Person (1919)
The Delicious Little Devil (1919)
The Scarlet Shadow (1919)
What Am I Bid? (1919)
The Way of a Woman (1919)
The Miracle of Love (1919)

1920s

April Folly (1920)
The Restless Sex (1920)
Stronger Than Death (1920)
The Gilded Lily (1921)
Heedless Moths (1921)
Peacock Alley (1922)
Fascination (1922)
Broadway Rose (1922)
Jazzmania (1923)
Fashion Row (1923)
The French Doll (1923)
Mademoiselle Midnight (1924)
Circe, the Enchantress (1924)
Love's Wilderness (1924)
Cheaper to Marry (1925)
Time, the Comedian (1925)
Bright Lights (1925)
Dance Madness (1926)
Mademoiselle Modiste (1926)
The Waning Sex (1926)
A Little Journey (1927)
The Demi-Bride (1927)
Adam and Evil (1927)
Tea for Three (1927)
Baby Mine (1928)
The Cardboard Lover (1928)
A Lady of Chance (1928)
Marianne (1929, silent)
Marianne (1929, musical)

1930s

The Divorcee (1930)
In Gay Madrid (1930)
Let Us Be Gay (1930)
The Bachelor Father (1931)
Five and Ten (1931)
It's a Wise Child (1931)
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931)
Lovers Courageous (1932)
The Son-Daughter (1932)
Strange Interlude (1932)
When Ladies Meet (1933)
Dancing Lady (1933)
Peg o' My Heart (1933)
Outcast Lady (1934)
After Office Hours (1935)
Naughty Marietta (1935)
Escapade (1935)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Small Town Girl (1936)
Piccadilly Jim (1936)
Maytime (1937)
The Firefly (1937)
The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
Broadway Serenade (1939)

1940s

New Moon (1940)
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
When Ladies Meet (1941)
We Were Dancing (1942)
Stand By for Action (1942)
The Man from Down Under (1943)
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944)
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
The Secret Heart (1946)
Cynthia (1947)
B.F.'s Daughter (1948)
The Bribe (1949)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

1950s

Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
Duchess of Idaho (1950)
Grounds for Marriage (1951)
Too Young to Kiss (1951)
Everything I Have Is Yours (1952)
The Clown (1953)
The Great Diamond Robbery (1953)
Her Twelve Men (1954)
The King's Thief (1955)
Beautiful but Dangerous (1955)
Kelly and Me (1957)

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