| Christina Aziz |
A British actor, born in Withington, Manchester, England, United Kingdom. He received an Oscar, an NBR Award, and a star on the Walk of Fame in 1960. He married twice and had three children. His most important works include The Citadel (1938) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), and The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).
He was the fourth and youngest son of a civil engineer of German origin from Prussia, and his wife. Donat was of English, Polish, German, and French ancestry. He was educated at Manchester Central Grammar School for Boys and left school at the age of 15, taking elocution lessons to cope with a stammer he had. He worked as a secretary to his teacher to finance his lessons, and at the age of 16, he worked with several touring theater groups.
He played classic Shakespearean roles and moved between several theater groups, until he moved in 1930 to London. He joined the Ambassador Theatre, and met film producer Alexander Korda of London Films, who introduced him in the films Men of Tomorrow (1932) and That Night in London (1932).
He succeeded all over the world and received offers from Hollywood, where he appeared in the film The Count of Monte Cristo (1934). He had chronic asthma, which forced him to return to the UK. He worked with the MGM and appeared in the movie The 39 Steps (1935), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
He turn downed many works because of his asthma, but he continued his theatrical career, and in 1938, he signed a contract with the British MGM company for 150,000 pounds with a commitment to make 6 films. When the Second World War began, he focused on theatrical work, and after the war, he appeared in the movie Perfect Strangers (1945).
His last movie was The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) with Ingrid. Bregman. He died in London, England, United Kingdom, on June 9, 1958, of cerebral thrombosis due to brain tumor, before the film was shown.
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