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United States

Filmmaker · United States

James Whale

Died in 1957

James Whale was born in Dudley in 1889 into a working-class family and was working as a cobbler when the war made him an officer; a prisoner in Germany, he acted in and staged shows in the camp. He then directed on stage in London and then New York before making his way to Hollywood. He lived openly with his partner David Lewis. After films cut by the new management of his studio and a run of failures, he stopped working for the major studios. He was found drowned in his swimming pool in 1957; a farewell letter became known only much later.

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